Chrysobalanaceae is a family of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s, consisting of trees and

shrub A shrub or 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 by their multiple ...

s in 27 genera and about 700 species of

pantropical A pantropical ("all tropics") distribution is one which covers tropical regions of both the Eastern and Western hemispheres. Examples of species include caecilians, modern sirenians and the plant genera ''Acacia'' and ''Bacopa''. ''Neotropical' ...

distribution with a

centre of diversity A Vavilov center or center of origin is a geographical area where a group of organisms, either domesticated or wild, first developed its distinctive properties. Centers of origin were first identified in 1924 by Nikolai Vavilov. Vavilov posit ...

in the Amazon. Some of the species contain

silica Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , commonly found in nature as quartz. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one of the most complex and abundant f ...

in their bodies for rigidity and so the mesophyll often has sclerenchymatous idioblasts. The widespread species ''

Chrysobalanus icaco ''Chrysobalanus icaco'', the cocoplum, paradise plum, abajeru or icaco, also called fat pork in Trinidad and Tobago, is a low shrub or bushy tree found near sea beaches and inland throughout tropical Africa, tropical Americas and the Caribbean, ...

'' produces a plum-like fruit and the plant is commonly known as the coco plum. The family was traditionally placed as subfamily Chrysobalanoideae in the rose family (

Rosaceae Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera. The name is derived from the type genus '' Rosa''. The family includes herbs, shrubs, and trees. Most species are deciduous, but som ...

) or as a family in the rose order and exceptionally as an order in Myrtiflorae by Dahlgren In the phenotypic cladistic analysis of Nandi et al., it branched with

Elaeagnaceae The Elaeagnaceae are a plant family, the oleaster family, of the order Rosales comprising small trees and shrubs, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, south into tropical Asia and Australia. The family has about 60 species in ...

as sister group of

Polygalaceae The Polygalaceae or the milkwort family are made up of flowering plants in the order Fabales. They have a near-cosmopolitan range, with about 27 genera and ''ca''. 900 known species of herbs, shrubs and trees. Over half of the species are in on ...

, in their molecular cladistic analysis it was in

Malpighiales The Malpighiales comprise one of the largest Order (biology), orders of flowering plants. The order is very diverse, with well-known members including willows, Viola (plant), violets, aspens and Populus, poplars, Euphorbia pulcherrima, poinsett ...

and also in their combined analysis.Nandi, O.L., Chase, M.W., & Endress, P.K. 1998. A combined cladistic analysis of angiosperms using rbcL and non-molecular data sets. Ann. Missouri Bol. Gard. 85: 137-212(docstoc.com).

Genera

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

accepted the following genera: *''

Acioa ''Acioa'' is a genus of plants in the family Chrysobalanaceae described as a genus in 1775. It is native to northeastern South America. ;Species # '' Acioa barteri'' - AGRIS AGRIS is the Food and Agriculture Organization, Food and Agriculture ...

'' Aubl. *'' Afrolicania'' Mildbr. *''

Angelesia ''Angelesia'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Chrysobalanaceae. Its native range is Thailand to New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of i ...

'' Korth. *'' Atuna'' Raf. *''

Bafodeya ''Bafodeya'' is a genus of plants in the family Chrysobalanaceae described in 1976. There is only one known species, ''Bafodeya benna'', native to tropical West Africa (Mali, Guinea, Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of S ...

'' Prance ex F.White *''

Chrysobalanus ''Chrysobalanus'' is a genus of evergreen perennial shrubs to small trees, described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753. It is native to sub-tropical and tropical regions of Africa, Latin America, and Florida. ''Chrysobalanus'' attains a maximum hei ...

'' L. *''

Cordillera A cordillera is a chain or network of mountain ranges, such as those in the west coast of the Americas. The term is borrowed from Spanish, where the word comes from , a diminutive of ('rope'). The term is most commonly used in physical geogra ...

'' Sothers & Prance *''

Couepia ''Couepia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Chrysobalanaceae described as a genus in 1775.Prance, G. T. & F. White. 1988. The genera of Chrysobalanaceae: a study in practical and theoretical taxonomy and its relevance to evolutionary ...

'' Aubl. *''

Dactyladenia ''Dactyladenia'' is a genus of plants in the family Chrysobalanaceae. They are distributed in western and central Africa, from Liberia to Angola. There are about 31 species.Jongkind, C. C. (2012)Description of ''Dactyladenia globosa'' (Chrysobala ...

'' Welw. *''

Exellodendron ''Exellodendron'' is a genus of plant in the family Chrysobalanaceae described as a genus in 1972. The entire genus ''Exellodendron'' is native to South America. ;Species # '' Exellodendron barbatum'' (Ducke) Prance - Bolívar, Guyana, Surinam ...

'' Prance *''

Gaulettia ''Gaulettia'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Chrysobalanaceae Chrysobalanaceae is a family of flowering plants, consisting of trees and shrubs in 27 genera and about 700 species of pantropical distribution with a cent ...

'' Sothers & Prance *''

Geobalanus ''Geobalanus'' is a genus of flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; ' ...

'' Small *''

Grangeria ''Grangeria'' is a genus of plant in the family Chrysobalanaceae described as a genus in 1789. ''Grangeria'' is native to certain islands in the Indian Ocean: Madagascar, Mauritius, and Réunion. ;Species # '' Grangeria borbonica'' Lam. - Maur ...

'' Comm. ex Juss. *''

Hirtella ''Hirtella'' is a genus of 110 species of woody trees in family Chrysobalanaceae. It was first described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753. ''Hirtella'' naturally occurs in tropical forests throughout Latin America, the West Indies, southeast Afric ...

'' L. *''

Hunga ''Hunga'' is a genus of plants in the family Chrysobalanaceae described by British botanist Ghillean Prance in 1979. Species in this genus are native to New Guinea and New Caledonia. Species This genus includes the following species: *'' Hunga ...

'' Prance *''

Hymenopus ''Hymenopus''Serville JGA (1831) ''Annls Sci. nat.'' 22: 46. is a genus of flower mantises belonging to the family Hymenopodidae. This genus is widespread in the tropical forest Tropical forests are forested ecoregions with tropical climates ...

'' (Benth.) Sothers & Prance *'' Kostermanthus'' Prance *'' Leptobalanus'' (Benth.) Sothers & Prance *''

Licania ''Licania'' is a genus of over 100 species of trees and shrubs in the family Chrysobalanaceae. Species are found naturally occurring in neotropical forests from southern Mexico to Brazil and the Lesser Antilles. Due to increased deforestation an ...

'' Aubl. *'' Magnistipula'' Engl. *'' Maranthes'' Blume *'' Microdesmia'' (Benth.) Sothers & Prance *'' Moquilea'' Aubl. *'' Neocarya'' (DC.) Prance ex F.White *'' Parastemon'' A.DC. *'' Parinari'' Aubl. *'' Parinariopsis'' (Huber) Sothers & Prance

References

*F. Carnevale Neto et al.: Chrysobalanaceae: secondary metabolites, ethnopharmacology and pharmacological potential, "Phytochemistry Reviews" (online), 2012

Chrysobalanaceae, Malpighiales families Pantropical flora Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773) {{Malpighiales-stub