Dioscoreaceae () is a

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

monocotyledon Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, (Lilianae ''sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are grass and grass-like flowering plants (angiosperms), the seeds of which typically contain only one embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. They constitute one of ...

ous

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s, with about 715 known

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

in nine

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

. The best-known member of the family is the yam (some species of ''

Dioscorea ''Dioscorea'' is a genus of over 600 species of flowering plants in the family Dioscoreaceae, native throughout the tropical and warm temperate regions of the world. The vast majority of the species are tropical, with only a few species extending ...

''). The

APG system The APG system (Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system) of plant classification is the first version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy. Published in 1998 by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, it was replaced by the improved AP ...

(1998) and

APG II system The APG II system (Angiosperm Phylogeny Group II system) of plant classification is the second, now obsolete, version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy that was published in April 2003 by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Gro ...

(2003) both place it in the order

Dioscoreales The Dioscoreales are an order of monocotyledonous flowering plants in modern classification systems, such as the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group and the Angiosperm Phylogeny Web. Within the monocots Dioscoreales are grouped in the lilioid monocots ...

, in the clade

monocots Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, (Lilianae ''sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are grass and grass-like flowering plants (angiosperms), the seeds of which typically contain only one embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. They constitute one of t ...

. However, the circumscription changed in the APG II system, with the 2003 system expanded to include the plants that in the 1998 system were treated in the families Taccaceae and Trichopodaceae.

Taxonomy

The Dioscoreaceae were first described by

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model used ...

in 1810 as Dioscoreae, and alternatively referred to as Dioscorinae.

Subdivision

The

circumscription Circumscription may refer to: *Circumscribed circle *Circumscription (logic) *Circumscription (taxonomy) * Circumscription theory, a theory about the origins of the political state in the history of human evolution proposed by the American anthrop ...

of Dioscoreaceae has expanded over the years. For instance when Stenomeridaceae, as ''

Stenomeris ''Stenomeris'' is a genus of plants in the family Dioscoreaceae. It has two known species, native to Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or ...

'' was also included in Dioscoreaceae as subfamily Stenomeridoideae together with ''Avetra'', the remaining four genera were grouped in

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Dioscoreoideae, the two being distinguished by the presence of bisexual and unisexual flowers respectively.

Genera

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants by ...

accepted four genera in the family: *''

'' Plum. ex L. (including ''Epipetrum'' Phil., ''Rajania'' L.) *''

'' Planch. *''

Tacca The genus ''Tacca'', which includes the batflowers and arrowroot, consists of flowering plants in the order Dioscoreales, native to tropical regions of South America, Africa, Australia, Southeast Asia, and various oceanic islands. In older texts ...

'' J.R.Forst. & G.Forst. *''

Trichopus ''Trichopus'' is a genus of two known species of flowering plants. These plants were formerly included in the family Trichopodaceae, but are now considered to belong to Dioscoreaceae.Govaerts, R., Wilkin, P. & Saunders, R.M.K. (2007). World Chec ...

'' Gaertn.

References

Bibliography

* * , In * * *

External links

Dioscoreaceae

in L. Watson and M. J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards)
''The families of flowering plants''Monocot families (USDA)NCBI Taxonomy BrowserDioscoreaceae linksTaccaceae linksTrichopodaceae links
at CSDL, Texas
Dioscoreaceae Scratchpad in eMonocot
* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q161220 Monocot families