The Maloideae C.Weber was the apple subfamily, a grouping used by some

taxonomists In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining ( circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxa (singular: taxon) and these groups are given ...

within the rose family,

Rosaceae Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a medium-sized family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera. The name is derived from the type genus ''Rosa''. Among the most species-rich genera are ''Alchemilla'' (270), ''Sorbus ...

. Recent molecular phylogenetic evidence has shown that the traditional

Spiraeoideae The subfamily Spiraeoideae was traditionally a subfamily of flowering plants within the family Rosaceae. The taxonomy of this subfamily has changed several times in the last century as more detailed studies have been carried out. Spiraeoideae as d ...

and Amygdaloideae form part of the same

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

as the traditional Maloideae, and the correct name for this group is Amygdaloideae. Earlier circumscriptions of Maloideae are more-or-less equivalent to subtribe

Malinae Malinae is the name for the apple subtribe in the rose family, Rosaceae. This name is required by the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants, which came into force in 2011 (article 19) for any group at the subtribe rank t ...

or to tribe

Maleae The Maleae (incorrectly Pyreae) are the apple tribe in the rose family, Rosaceae. The group includes a number of plants bearing commercially important fruits, such as apples and pears, while others are cultivated as ornamentals. Older taxonomies ...

. The group includes a number of plants bearing commercially important

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

s, such as

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

s and

pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the p ...

s, while others are cultivated as ornamentals. In its traditional circumscriptionG. K. Schulze-Menz 1964. ''Reihe Rosales''. in ''A. Engler's Syllabus der Pflanzenfamilien mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der Nutzpflanzen nebst einer Übersicht über die Florenreiche und Florengebiete der Erde'', Gebrüder Borntraeger, Berlin this subfamily consisted exclusively of

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

s and small

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 characterised by a

pome In botany, a pome is a type of fruit produced by flowering plants in the subtribe Malinae of the family Rosaceae. Well-known pomes include the apple, pear, and quince. Etymology The word ''pome'' entered English in the late 14th century, and re ...

, a type of accessory fruit that does not occur in other Rosaceae, and by a basal

haploid Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Sets of chromosomes refer to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, respectively ...

chromosome A chromosome is a long DNA molecule with part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells the most important of these proteins are ...

count of 17 (instead of 7, 8, or 9 as in the other Rosaceae), involving approximately 28 genera with approximately 1100 species worldwide, with most species occurring in the temperate Northern Hemisphere.

Taxonomy

The subfamily was given the name Pomoideae

Juss. Antoine Laurent de Jussieu (; 12 April 1748 – 17 September 1836) was a French botanist, notable as the first to publish a natural classification of flowering plants; much of his system remains in use today. His classification was based on an e ...

in 1789, but this name is no longer accepted under the

nomenclature codes Nomenclature codes or codes of nomenclature are the various rulebooks that govern biological taxonomic nomenclature, each in their own broad field of organisms. To an end-user who only deals with names of species, with some awareness that species ...

because it is not based on a genus name. It has also been separated into its own family the Malaceae

Small Small may refer to: Science and technology * SMALL, an ALGOL-like programming language * Small (anatomy), the lumbar region of the back * ''Small'' (journal), a nano-science publication * <small>, an HTML element that defines smaller text ...

(formerly Pomaceae

Lindl. John Lindley FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist. Early years Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley w ...

). An earlier intermediate classification expanded Maloideae to include four genera with dry non-pome fruit. These are ''

Kageneckia ''Kageneckia'' is a genus of flowering plant in family Rosaceae. Taxonomic history ''Kageneckia'', along with ''Vauquelinia ''Vauquelinia'', commonly known as the rosewoods, is a genus of the rose family, Rosaceae. It consists of two specie ...

'', ''

Lindleya ''Lindleya'' is a genus of Mexican evergreen trees of the family Rosaceae. The sole species, ''L. mespiloides'', grows to a height of and bears solitary white fragrant flowers in summer. The fruit are dry dehiscent capsules. Taxonomic his ...

'', and ''

Vauquelinia ''Vauquelinia'', commonly known as the rosewoods, is a genus of the rose family, Rosaceae. It consists of two species of shrubs found in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. The genus was named for French chemist Louis Nicolas ...

'', which have a haploid chromosome count of 15 or 17, and ''

Gillenia ''Gillenia'' ( syn. ''Porteranthus'') is a genus of two species of perennial herbs in the family Rosaceae, '' Gillenia stipulata'' and '' Gillenia trifoliata''. Common names for plants in this genus include: Bowman's root, Indian-physic, Americ ...

'', which is

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

and has a haploid chromosome count of 9. A traditional circumscription of Maloideae includes the following genera: * ''

Amelanchier ''Amelanchier'' ( ), also known as shadbush, shadwood or shadblow, serviceberry or sarvisberry (or just sarvis), juneberry, saskatoon, sugarplum, wild-plum or chuckley pear,A Digital Flora of Newfoundland and Labrador Vascular Plants/ref> is a g ...

'' – serviceberry, juneberry * ''Aria'' (see ''

Sorbus ''Sorbus'' is a genus of over 100 species of trees and shrubs in the rose family, Rosaceae. Species of ''Sorbus'' (''s.l.'') are commonly known as whitebeam, rowan ( mountain-ash) and service tree. The exact number of species is disputed depend ...

'') * '' Aronia'' – chokeberry * ''

Chaenomeles ''Chaenomeles'' is a genus of four species https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:331479-2 of deciduous spiny shrubs, usually 1–3 m tall, in the family Rosaceae. They are native to Southeast Asia. These plants are rela ...

'' – Japanese quince * ''

Chamaemeles ''Chamaemeles'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Rosaceae. Its only species, ''Chamaemeles coriacea'', is endemic to Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthe ...

'' * ''Chamaemespilus'' (see ''

Sorbus chamaemespilus ''Sorbus chamaemespilus'', the false medlar or dwarf whitebeam, is a species of ''Sorbus'' native to the mountains of central and southern Europe, from the Pyrenees east through the Alps to the Carpathians and the Balkans, growing at altitudes of ...

'') * ''Cormus'' (see ''

'') * '' Cotoneaster'' – cotoneaster * ''

Crataegus ''Crataegus'' (), commonly called hawthorn, quickthorn, thornapple, Voss, E. G. 1985. ''Michigan Flora: A guide to the identification and occurrence of the native and naturalized seed-plants of the state. Part II: Dicots (Saururaceae–Cornacea ...

'' – hawthorn * ''

Cydonia Cydonia may refer to: Music * ''Cydonia'' (album), a 2001 album by The Orb * "Cydonia", a track by heavy metal band Crimson Glory from '' Astronomica'' Places and jurisdictions * Kydonia or Cydonia, an ancient city state on Crete, at modern ...

'' – quince * ''

Dichotomanthes ''Dichotomanthes'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Rosaceae. The sole species is ''Dichotomanthes tristaniaecarpa''. The flower is perigynous (sepals, petals and stamens around the edge of the ovary) the ovary is ...

'' * ''

Docynia ''Docynia'' (栘𣐿属, ''yí yī shǔ'') is a genus of flowering trees, evergreen or semi-evergreen, in the family Rosaceae. The fruit is a pome. The tree is endemic to Southeast Asia, including Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: U ...

'' * '' Docyniopsis'' * '' Eriobotrya'' –

loquat The loquat (''Eriobotrya japonica'') is a large evergreen shrub or tree, grown commercially for its orange fruit and for its leaves, which are used to make herbal tea. It is also cultivated as an ornamental plant. The loquat is in the family R ...

* '' Eriolobus'' * ''

Hesperomeles ''Hesperomeles'' is a genus of South American evergreen trees of the family Rosaceae that has sometimes been included along with ''Pyracantha'' in the genus ''Osteomeles''. However, ''Osteomeles'' notably have compound leaves, and recent molecula ...

'' * ''

Heteromeles ''Heteromeles arbutifolia'' (; more commonly by Californian botanists), commonly known as toyon, is a common perennial shrub native to extreme southwest Oregon, California, and the Baja California Peninsula. It is the sole species in the genus ...

'' – toyon * ''

Malacomeles ''Malacomeles'', or false serviceberry, is a genus of flowering plants in the Rosaceae. It is most closely related to '' Amelanchier'', ''Peraphyllum'', ''Crataegus'', and ''Mespilus ''Mespilus'', commonly called medlar, is a monotypic genu ...

'' * ''

Malus ''Malus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 30–55 species of small deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rosaceae, including the domesticated orchard apple, crab apples, wild apples, and rainberries. The genus is native to the temperate zone of th ...

'' –

, crabapple * ''

Mespilus ''Mespilus'', commonly called medlar, is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Rosaceae containing the single species ''Mespilus germanica'' of southwest Asia. It is also found in some countries in the Balkans, especially in Alba ...

'' – medlar * ''

Osteomeles ''Osteomeles'' is a genus of plants in the rose family, Rosaceae. They are shrubs native to eastern Asia, with Compound leaf, compound leaves, opposite leaf, opposite leaf arrangement, and small pome fruit. The fruits of all species in this genus ...

'' * ''

Peraphyllum ''Peraphyllum'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the rose family, containing the single species ''Peraphyllum ramosissimum'', commonly known as the squaw apple or wild crab apple. Translated from the Greek, the genus ''Peraphyllum'' ...

'' * ''

Photinia ''Photinia'' () is a genus of about 30 species of small trees and large shrubs, but the taxonomy has recently varied greatly, with the genera ''Heteromeles'', ''Stranvaesia'' and ''Aronia'' sometimes included in ''Photinia''. They are a part of ...

'' * '' Pseudocydonia'' – Chinese quince * '' Pyracantha'' – firethorn * ''

Pyrus Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the po ...

'' – pear * '' Rhaphiolepis'' – hawthorn * ''

'' –

rowan The rowans ( or ) or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus ''Sorbus ''Sorbus'' is a genus of over 100 species of trees and shrubs in the rose family, Rosaceae. Species of ''Sorbus'' (''s.l.'') are commonly known as whitebeam, r ...

, whitebeam, service tree * ''

Stranvaesia ''Stranvaesia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rosaceae. Its morphology is so similar to ''Photinia'' that it has sometimes been included within that genus, but recent molecular data indicate that the two genera are not related. Sp ...

'' = ''Photinia'' pro parte * ''Torminalis'' (see '' Sorbus torminalis'') Intergeneric hybrids:

Stace, C. A. Clive Anthony Stace (born 1938) is a British botanist and botanical author. He studied at King's College London, graduated from University of London in 1959 and then studied at the Natural History Museum, London. He was awarded a PhD in 1963. ...

1975. ''Hybridization and the flora of the British Isles''. Academic Press, London. * ''

× Amelasorbus × ''Amelasorbus'' is a flowering plant in the family Rosaceae. A naturally occurring hybrid, it is the result of a cross between two distinct tree genera, '' Amelanchier'' and ''Sorbus'', and shows phenotypic similarities to both parents. This ...

'' * ''

× Crataegosorbus The multiplication sign, also known as the times sign or the dimension sign, is the symbol , used in mathematics to denote the multiplication operation and its resulting product. While similar to a lowercase X (), the form is properly a four ...

'' * ''

× Crataemespilus × ''Crataemespilus'' (or ''Cratae-mespilus'') is the generic name applied to hybrids between the genera ''Crataegus'' and ''Mespilus''. It should not be confused with + ''Crataegomespilus'', which is applied to graft-chimeras between those ge ...

'' * ''

× Malosorbus The multiplication sign, also known as the times sign or the dimension sign, is the symbol , used in mathematics to denote the multiplication operation and its resulting product. While similar to a lowercase X (), the form is properly a four ...

'' * ''

× Sorbocotoneaster The multiplication sign, also known as the times sign or the dimension sign, is the symbol , used in mathematics to denote the multiplication operation and its resulting product. While similar to a lowercase X (), the form is properly a four ...

'' * '' × Sorbopyrus''

Graft hybrid In horticulture, a graft-chimaera may arise in grafting at the point of contact between rootstock and scion and will have properties intermediate between those of its "parents". A graft-chimaera is not a true hybrid but a mixture of cells, each w ...

s: * ''

+ Crataegomespilus + ''Crataegomespilus'' is the generic name applied to graft-chimeras between the genera '' Crataegus'' and ''Mespilus''. It should not be confused with × ''Crataemespilus'', which is applied to sexual hybrids between those genera, nor with '' C ...

'' * '' + Pyrocydonia'' (''Pirocydonia'')

Notes

References

* Joseph R. Rohrer, Kenneth R. Robinson, James B. Phipps – ''Floral Morphology of Maloideae (Rosaceae) and its systematic Relevance''; American Journal of Botany, 81 (5), P. 574–581; 1994 {{Authority control Amygdaloideae Rosid subfamilies Historically recognized angiosperm taxa