Cochlospermaceae is a family of two genera and 20-25 species of trees and shrubs. They occur widely throughout the tropical regions of the world, but are curiously absent from Malaysia. Most species in this family are mesophytic or xerophytic, growing primarily in drier climates.

Some authorities treat Cochlospermaceae as a synonym of Bixaceae

Bixaceae

Bixaceae, or the achiote family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants. Under the Cronquist system, it was traditionally placed in the order Violales...

. For example, the APG II system

APG II system

The APG 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 Group. It was a revision of the first APG system, published in 1998, and was superseded in 2009...

treats this as an option segregate of Bixaceae.

External links

• Cochlospermaceae in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants