Topic summary
Cunninghamioideae
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Cunninghamia.
Taxonomy
It is the most basal extant member of the Cupressaceae. Phylogenetic evidence indicates that its lineage diverged from the rest of the family during the early Jurassic. Fossil representatives of the subfamily Cunninghamioideae, of which Cunninghamia is the only living member, extend back to the Middle Jurassic. The subfamily, which has 12 described genera, experienced a high diversity during the Cretaceous, but underwent a severe decline at the end of the Cretaceous, leaving Cunninghamia as the only living genus by the beginning of the Cenozoic.