The Ericales are a large and diverse order of dicotyledons. Species in this order have considerable commercial importance including for

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...

persimmon The persimmon is the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus '' Diospyros''. The most widely cultivated of these is the Oriental persimmon, ''Diospyros kaki'' ''Diospyros'' is in the family Ebenaceae, and a number of non-per ...

, blueberry,

kiwifruit Kiwifruit (often shortened to kiwi in North American, British and continental European English) or Chinese gooseberry is the edible berry of several species of woody vines in the genus '' Actinidia''. The most common cultivar group of kiwi ...

, Brazil nuts,

argan ''Argania'' (Tashelhit: ⴰⵔⴳⴰⵏ ''Argan'') is a genus of flowering plants containing the sole species ''Argania spinosa'', known as argan, a tree endemic to the calcareous semidesert Sous valley of southwestern Morocco and to the regio ...

, and azalea. The order includes

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s, bushes, lianas, and herbaceous plants. Together with ordinary autophytic plants, the Ericales include chlorophyll-deficient

mycoheterotrophic Myco-heterotrophy (from Greek μύκης , "fungus", ἕτερος ', "another", "different" and τροφή ', "nutrition") is a symbiotic relationship between certain kinds of plants and fungi, in which the plant gets all or part of its food fro ...

plants (e.g., '' Sarcodes sanguinea'') and carnivorous plants (e.g., genus ''

Sarracenia ''Sarracenia'' ( or ) is a genus comprising 8 to 11 species of North American pitcher plants, commonly called trumpet pitchers. The genus belongs to the family Sarraceniaceae, which also contain the closely allied genera '' Darlingtonia'' an ...

''). Many species have five petals, often grown together. Fusion of the petals as a trait was traditionally used to place the order in the subclass

Sympetalae Sympetaly (fused petals) is a flower characteristic that historically was used to classify a grouping of plants termed Sympetalae, but this term has been abandoned in newer molecular based classifications, although the grouping has similarity to ...

. Mycorrhizal associations are quite common among the order representatives, and three kinds of mycorrhiza are found exclusively among Ericales (namely, ericoid, arbutoid and monotropoid mycorrhiza). In addition, some families among the order are notable for their exceptional ability to accumulate

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ha ...

. Ericales are a cosmopolitan order. Areas of distribution of families vary largely - while some are restricted to tropics, others exist mainly in Arctic or temperate regions. The entire order contains over 8,000 species, of which the Ericaceae account for 2,000-4,000 species (by various estimates).

Economic importance

The most commercially used plant in the order is

(''Camellia sinensis'') from the family

Theaceae Theaceae (), the tea family, is a family of flowering plants comprising shrubs and trees, including the economically important tea plant, and the ornamental camellias. It can be described as having from seven to 40 genera, depending on the sour ...

. The order also includes some edible fruits, including

(esp. '' Actinidia deliciosa''),

(genus ''Diospyros''), blueberry,

huckleberry Huckleberry is a name used in North America for several plants in the family Ericaceae, in two closely related genera: ''Vaccinium'' and '' Gaylussacia''. The huckleberry is the state fruit of Idaho. Nomenclature The name 'huckleberry' is a No ...

cranberry Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus ''Oxycoccus'' of the genus '' Vaccinium''. In Britain, cranberry may refer to the native species '' Vaccinium oxycoccos'', while in North America, cranberry ...

, Brazil nut, and

Mamey sapote ''Pouteria sapota'', the mamey sapote, is a species of tree native to Mexico and Central America. The tree is also cultivated in the Caribbean. Its fruit is eaten in many Latin American countries. The fruit is made into foods such as milksh ...

. The order also includes shea (''Vitellaria paradoxa''), which is the major dietary lipid source for millions of sub-Saharan Africans. Many Ericales species are cultivated for their showy flowers: well-known examples are azalea, rhododendron,

camellia ''Camellia'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are more than 220 described species, with some controv ...

, heather, polyanthus,

cyclamen ''Cyclamen'' ( or ) is a genus of 23 species of perennial flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. ''Cyclamen'' species are native to Europe and the Mediterranean Basin east to the Caucasus and Iran, with one species in Somalia. They gro ...

phlox ''Phlox'' (; Greek φλόξ "flame"; plural "phlox" or "phloxes", Greek φλόγες ''phlóges'') is a genus of 67 species of perennial and annual plants in the family Polemoniaceae. They are found mostly in North America (one in Siberia) in di ...

, and busy Lizzie.

Gallery of photos

Balsam I IMG 9566.jpg, ''

Impatiens balsamina ''Impatiens balsamina'', commonly known as balsam, garden balsam, rose balsam, touch-me-not or spotted snapweed, is a species of plant native to India and Myanmar. It is an annual plant growing to 20–75 cm tall, with a thick, but soft ste ...

'' Primula rosea I IMG 7210.jpg, '' Primula rosea'' from the

Primulaceae The Primulaceae , commonly known as the primrose family (but not related to the evening primrose family), are a family of herbaceous and woody flowering plants including some favourite garden plants and wildflowers. Most are perennial though som ...

Classification

These families are recognized in the APG III system as members of the Ericales: * Family

Actinidiaceae The Actinidiaceae are a small family of flowering plants. The family has three genera and about 360 species and is a member of the order Ericales. Distribution They are temperate and subtropical woody vines, shrubs, and trees, native to As ...

(

family) * Family

Balsaminaceae The Balsaminaceae (commonly known as the balsam family) are a family (biology), family of dicotyledonous plants, comprising two genus, genera: ''Impatiens'', which consists of over 1000 species, and ''Hydrocera'', consisting of 1 species. The flo ...

(

balsam Balsam is the resinous exudate (or sap) which forms on certain kinds of trees and shrubs. Balsam (from Latin balsamum "gum of the balsam tree", ultimately from Semitic, Aramaic ''busma'', Arabic ''balsam'' and Hebrew ''basam'', "spice", "perfume ...

family)

* Family

Clethraceae The Clethraceae are a small family of flowering plants in the order Ericales, composed of two genera, ''Clethra'' and '' Purdiaea'', with approximately 75 species. They are native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Asia and the Americas, w ...

( clethra family) * Family

Cyrillaceae The Cyrillaceae are a small family (biology), family of flowering plants in the order Ericales, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Americas. The family comprises two genera, ''Cliftonia'' and ''Cyrilla'', each containing a single ...

(

cyrilla ''Cyrilla racemiflora'', the sole species in the genus ''Cyrilla'', is a flowering plant in the family Cyrillaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Americas, from the southeastern United States (coastal areas from southeastern ...

family) * Family Diapensiaceae * Family Ebenaceae (

ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also contains the persimmons. Unlike most woods, ebony is dense enough to sink in water. It is finely textured and has a mirror finish when ...

and

family) * Family

Ericaceae The Ericaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The family is large, with c.4250 known species spread across 124 genera, making it th ...

(

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler a ...

, rhododendron, and blueberry family) * Family Fouquieriaceae (

ocotillo ''Fouquieria splendens'' (commonly known as ocotillo (), but also referred to as buggywhip, coachwhip, candlewood, slimwood, desert coral, Jacob's staff, Jacob cactus, and vine cactus) is a plant indigenous to the Sonoran Desert and Chihuahuan ...

family) * Family

Lecythidaceae The Lecythidaceae comprise a family of about 20 genera and 250–300 species of woody plants native to tropical South America, Africa (including Madagascar), Asia and Australia. The most important member of the family in world trade is the B ...

( Brazil nut family) * Family

Marcgraviaceae The Marcgraviaceae are a neotropical angiosperm family in the order Ericales. The members of the family are shrubs, woody epiphytes, and lianas, with alternate, pinnately nerved leaves. The flowers are arranged in racemes. The flowers are accomp ...

* Family

Mitrastemonaceae ''Mitrastemon'' is a genus of two widely disjunct species of parasitic plants. It is the only genus within the family Mitrastemonaceae. ''Mitrastemon'' species are root endoparasites, which grow on Fagaceae. It is also a non-photosynthetic plant ...

* Family

Pentaphylacaceae The Pentaphylacaceae are a small family of plants within the order Ericales. In the APG III system of 2009, it includes the former family Ternstroemiaceae. Genera In 2014, the Angiosperm Phylogeny Website included 14 genera in the family: Plant ...

* Family

Polemoniaceae The Polemoniaceae (Jacob's-ladder or phlox family) are a family of flowering plants consisting of about 25 genera with 270–400 species of annuals and perennials native to the Northern Hemisphere and South America, with the center of diversit ...

(

family) * Family

( primrose and snowbell family) * Family Roridulaceae * Family

Sapotaceae 240px, '' Madhuca longifolia'' var. ''latifolia'' in Narsapur, Medak district, India The Sapotaceae are a family (biology), family of flowering plants belonging to the order (biology), order Ericales. The family includes about 800 species of ev ...

(

sapodilla ''Manilkara zapota'', commonly known as sapodilla (), sapote, naseberry, nispero or chicle, is a long-lived, evergreen tree native to southern Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. An example natural occurrence is in coastal Yucatán in the ...

family) * Family

Sarraceniaceae Sarraceniaceae are a family of pitcher plants, belonging to order Ericales (previously Nepenthales). The family comprises three extant genera: ''Sarracenia'' (North American pitcher plants), '' Darlingtonia'' (the cobra lily or California pitc ...

(American

pitcher plant Pitcher plants are several different carnivorous plants which have modified leaves known as pitfall traps—a prey-trapping mechanism featuring a deep cavity filled with digestive liquid. The traps of what are considered to be "true" pitcher p ...

family) * Family Sladeniaceae * Family Styracaceae ( silverbell family) * Family Symplocaceae (sapphireberry family) * Family

Tetrameristaceae Tetrameristaceae is a family of flowering plants. The family consists of five species, of trees or shrubs, in three genera: * ''Pelliciera'' in Central and South America * ''Pentamerista'' in the Guyanas * ''Tetramerista'' in Southeast Asia The ...

* Family

(

and

family) Likely phylogenetic relationships between the families of the Ericales:

Previously included families

These families are not recognized in the APG III system but have been in common use in the recent past: * Family

Myrsinaceae Myrsinoideae is a subfamily of the family Primulaceae in the order Ericales. It was formerly recognized as the family Myrsinaceae, or the myrsine family, consisting of 35 genera and about 1000 species. It is widespread in temperate to tropical ...

(

and scarlet pimpernel family) → Primulaceae * Family Pellicieraceae → Tetrameristaceae * Family Maesaceae → Primulaceae * Family Ternstroemiaceae → Pentaphylacaceae * Family

Theophrastaceae Theophrastoideae is a small subfamily of flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. It was formerly recognized as a separate family Theophrastaceae. As previously circumscribed, the family consisted of eight genera and 95 species of trees or shr ...

→ Primulaceae These make up an early diverging group of

asterid In the APG IV system (2016) for the classification of flowering plants, the name asterids denotes a clade (a monophyletic group). Asterids is the largest group of flowering plants, with more than 80,000 species, about a third of the total flo ...

s. Under the

Cronquist system The Cronquist system is a taxonomic classification system of flowering plants. It was developed by Arthur Cronquist in a series of monographs and texts, including ''The Evolution and Classification of Flowering Plants'' (1968; 2nd edition, 1988) ...

, the Ericales included a smaller group of plants, which were placed among the

Dilleniidae Dillenidae is a botanical name at the rank of subclass. Circumscription of the subclass will vary with the taxonomic system being used; the only requirement being that it includes the family Dilleniaceae. A well-known system that uses this name ...

: * Family

* Family

Grubbiaceae The Grubbiaceae are a family of flowering plants endemic to the Cape floristic region of South Africa. The family includes five species of leathery-leaved shrubs in two genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biologica ...

* Family Empetraceae * Family Epacridaceae * Family Pyrolaceae * Family

Monotropaceae Monotropoideae, sometimes referred to as monotropes, are a flowering plant subfamily in the family Ericaceae. Members of this subfamily are notable for their mycoheterotrophic and non-photosynthesizing or achlorophyllous characteristics. Descrip ...

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q21737 Angiosperm orders

Economic importance

Gallery of photos

Classification

Previously included families

See also

References

Bibliography