Olacaceae is a

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

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 t ...

s in the order

Santalales The Santalales are an order of flowering plants with a cosmopolitan distribution, but heavily concentrated in tropical and subtropical regions. It derives its name from its type genus ''Santalum'' (sandalwood). Mistletoe is the common name for a ...

. They are

woody plant A woody plant is a plant that produces wood as its structural tissue and thus has a hard stem. In cold climates, woody plants further survive winter or dry season above ground, as opposite to herbaceous plants that die back to the ground until sp ...

s, native throughout the

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

regions of the world. , 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 the family varies; some sources maintain a broad family, others split it into seven segregate families.

Taxonomy

The 1998

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 A ...

and the 2003

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 Gr ...

assign it to the order

in the clade

core eudicots The eudicots, Eudicotidae, or eudicotyledons are a clade of flowering plants mainly characterized by having two seed leaves upon germination. The term derives from Dicotyledons. Traditionally they were called tricolpates or non-magnoliid dicots ...

. Prior to the advent of molecular data, the circumscription of the family Olacaceae varied widely between different authorities.Valéry Malécot and Daniel L. Nickrent. 2008. "Molecular Phylogenetic Relationships of Olacaceae and Related Santalales". ''Systematic Botany'' 33(1):97-106. Among these various classifications, about 30 genera were included in the family. 15 genera are recognized for Olacaceae by the

Germplasm Resources Information Network Germplasm Resources Information Network or GRIN is an online USDA National Genetic Resources Program software project to comprehensively manage the computer database for the holdings of all plant germplasm collected by the National Plant Germpl ...

. The phylogenetic investigation published in 2008 recovered seven clades that were well-supported by molecular and morphological characters, but no formal taxonomic reorganization of the family was proposed. For this reason, Olacaceae in the broad sense was adopted by the APG III-system. The formal reconfiguration of this family (as well as the rest of the order Santalales) was published by Nickrent and co-workers in 2010 and this concept is shown below. Olacaceae in the broad sense was split into seven families, and the genus ''

Schoepfia ''Schoepfia'' is a genus of small hemiparasitic trees, flowering plants belonging to the family Schoepfiaceae. The genus has long been placed in the Olacaceae family. Description Plants in this genus are small trees or shrubs which exhibit het ...

'' was placed with ''Arjona'' and ''Quinchamalium'' (both previously Santalaceae) in the family Schoepfiaceae.

Genera

;Olacaceae ''sensu stricto'' *'' Dulacia'' - 13 species of South America *''

Olax ''Olax'' is a plant genus in the family Olacaceae. The name derives from the Latin, ''olax'' (malodorous), and refers to the unpleasant scent of some of the ''Olax'' species. ''Olax'' is an Old World genus represented by several climbers, som ...

'' - ca 40 species of the Old World tropics *'' Ptychopetalum'' - 2 species of tropical South America and 2 species of western and central Africa ;Aptandraceae *'' Anacolosa'' - 16 species of the Old World tropics *'' Aptandra'' - 3 species in tropical America and 1 species in Africa *''

Cathedra A ''cathedra'' is the raised throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principal ...

'' - 5 species of South America *'' Chaunochiton'' - 3 species of tropical America *'' Harmandia'' - one species in southeastern Asia *'' Hondurodendron'' - one species in Honduras *'' Ongokea'' - one species in Africa *'' Phanerodiscus'' - 3 species of Madagascar ;Ximeniaceae *''

Curupira The ''Curupira'' () is a mythological creature of Brazilian folklore. The name comes from the Tupi language ''kuru'pir'', meaning "covered in blisters". According to the cultural legends, this creature has bright red/orange hair, and resembles ...

'' - one species in Amazonian Brazil *'' Douradoa'' - one species in Brazil *'' Malania'' - one species in China *'' Ximenia'' - 10 species of the Old and New World tropics ;Coulaceae *'' Coula'' - one species in tropical western Africa *'' Minquartia'' - one species in tropical America *'' Ochanostachys'' - one species in western Malaysia ;Strombosiaceae *'' Diogoa'' - 2 species of tropical Africa *'' Engomegoma'' - one species of tropical Africa *'' Scorodocarpus'' - one species in tropical Asia *''

Strombosia ''Strombosia'' is a plant genus of about 10 species in the family Olacaceae. It has also been classified in the family Strombosiaceae. The generic name is from the Greek ', meaning "pear-shaped", referring to the fruit. Description ''Strombosi ...

'' - 3 species of tropical Asia and 6 species of tropical Africa *'' Strombosiopsis'' - 3 species of tropical Africa *'' Tetrastylidium'' - 2 species of South America ;Erythropalaceae Erythropalum scandens 05

*'' Erythropalum'' - one species of Indomalaysia *'' Heisteria'' - ca 33 species of tropical America and 3 species in Africa *'' Maburea'' - one species in Guyana ;Octoknemaceae *''

Octoknema ''Octoknema'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Olacaceae Olacaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Santalales. They are woody plants, native throughout the tropical regions of the world. , the circumscription of the f ...

'' - 14 species of tropical Africa ;Unplaced genus *'' Brachynema'' - morphological cladistic analysis places this genus in Ericales,Malécot V, Nickrent DL, Baas P, van den Oever L, Lobreau-Callen D (2004) A morphological cladistic analysis of Olacaceae. Syst. Bot. 29(3): 569-586. and no genetic study has yet been published

References

External links

Parasitic Plant Connection: Aptandraceae
{{Taxonbar, from=Q131428 Eudicot families