Viscaceae is a
taxonomic 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 ...
name of
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 this circumscription, the family includes the several genera of
mistletoes. This family name is currently being studied and under review as in past decades, several
systems of plant taxonomy
A system is a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment, is described by its boundaries, structure and purpose and expresse ...
recognized this family, notably the 1981
Cronquist system.
However, the
APG II system of 2003 does not recognize the family, treating it as a synonym of
Santalaceae. This did not end the taxonomic debate among
botanists and there are many that still think Viscaceae should be an accepted family name. According to the
APG IV system
The APG IV system of flowering plant classification is the fourth version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy for flowering plants (angiosperms) being developed by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG). It was published ...
Der and Nickrent (2008) found seven well supported clades in Santalaceae, but relationships between these clades are still poorly understood.
The traditional and cultural uses of species within the Viscaceae merit further attention.
Clades or genera treated as belonging to the currently debated family name Viscaceae include:
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Arceuthobium''
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Dendrophthora
''Dendrophthora'', the tree destroyers, is a genus of flowering plants in the sandalwood family Santalaceae
The Santalaceae, sandalwoods, are a widely distributed family of flowering plants (including small trees, shrubs, perennial herbs, and ...
''
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Ginalloa''
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Korthalsella''
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Notothixos
''Notothixos''Oliver D (1863) ''J. Proc. Linn. Soc., Bot.'' 7: 103 864 publ. 1863/ref> is a genus of mistletoe plant in the family Santalaceae.
Species
The Catalogue of Life
The Catalogue of Life is an online database that provides an index ...
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Phoradendron
''Phoradendron'' is a genus of mistletoe, native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Americas. The center of diversity is the Amazon rainforest.Coder, K. DAmerican mistletoe (''Phoradendron serotinum'' var. ''serotinum'') infection i ...
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Viscum''
References
AP-Website: Santalales
{{Authority control
Historically recognized angiosperm families