Hydrangeaceae are a family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 of flowering plant

Flowering plant

The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...

s in the order Cornales

Cornales

Cornales is an order of flowering plants, basal among the asterids, containing about 600 species. Plants within Cornales usually have four-parted flowers, drupaceous fruits, and inferior gynoecia topped with disc-shaped nectaries...

, with a wide distribution in Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

 and North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

, and locally in southeastern Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

.

Overview

In its broad sense (as treated by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group

Angiosperm Phylogeny Group

The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, or APG, refers to an informal international group of systematic botanists who came together to try to establish a consensus on the taxonomy of flowering plants that would reflect new knowledge about plant relationships discovered through phylogenetic studies., three...

), the family includes 17 genera, but some botanists divide the family into two, with seven genera split off into a separate family, Philadelphaceae.

The genera are characterised by leaves

Leaf

A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....

 in opposite pairs (rarely whorled or alternate), and regular, bisexual flower

Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...

s with 4 (rarely 5-12) petals. The fruit

Fruit

In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...

 is a capsule

Capsule (fruit)

In botany a capsule is a type of simple, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. A capsule is a structure composed of two or more carpels that in most cases is dehiscent, i.e. at maturity, it splits apart to release the seeds within. A few capsules are indehiscent, for example...

 or berry

Berry

The botanical definition of a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary. Grapes are an example. The berry is the most common type of fleshy fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp. They may have one or more carpels with a thin covering and fleshy interiors....

 containing several seed

Seed

A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...

s, the seeds with a fleshy endosperm

Endosperm

Endosperm is the tissue produced inside the seeds of most flowering plants around the time of fertilization. It surrounds the embryo and provides nutrition in the form of starch, though it can also contain oils and protein. This makes endosperm an important source of nutrition in human diet...

.

Genera

Hydrangeaceae Dumort. Barthélemy Charles Joseph Dumortier Barthélemy Charles Joseph, Baron Dumortier was a Belgian politician and botanist. Some consider him to be the true discoverer of cell division, although he is rarely credited as such.-Works:...  sensu stricto     Broussaisia Broussaisia Kanawao is a species of perennial flowering plant in the Hydrangea family, Hydrangeaceae, that is endemic to Hawaii. It belongs to a monotypic genus.... Cardiandra Decumaria Decumaria Woodvamp is a genus of two species of flowering plants in the family Hydrangeaceae, one native to the southeastern United States, and the other native to central China.... Deinanthe Deinanthe Deinanthe is a genus consisting of a few species of rare herbaceous-habit rhizomatous plants found in the mountain woodlands of East Asia, ranging from China to Japan. They are handsome clump-forming perennials good for shade, woodland and rock gardens. These attractive deciduous plants have... Dichroa Dichroa Dichroa is a genus of 12 species of flowering plants in the family Hydrangeaceae, native to eastern and southeastern Asia. They are deciduous shrubs growing to 1-3 m tall, with their leaves arranged in opposite pairs. The flowers are produced in a broad inflorescence similar to that of the related... Hydrangea Hydrangea Hydrangea is a genus of about 70 to 75 species of flowering plants native to southern and eastern Asia and North and South America. By far the greatest species diversity is in eastern Asia, notably China, Japan, and Korea... Kirengeshoma Kirengeshoma Kirengeshoma is a genus containing one or two species of plants in the Hydrangea family. Both are native to Eastern Asia, with palmate leaves and yellow flowers, growing in shady environments. They are grown as a garden plant in other parts of the world.... Pileostegia Platycrater Schizophragma Schizophragma Schizophragma is a genus of four species of lianas in the Hydrangeaceae, native to Asia from the Himalaya east to Taiwan and Japan. One species, S. hydrangeoides, is known as Climbing Hydrangea Vine....

Philadelphaceae D.Don David Don David Don was a Scottish botanist,David Don was born on December 21, 1799, at Doo Hillock, Forfar, Angus, Scotland. He was the younger brother of George Don, also a botanist, their father being George Don of Forfar and his wife Caroline Clementina Stuart... Carpenteria Carpenteria Carpenteria californica , the sole species in the genus Carpenteria, is an evergreen shrub native to California. It is closely related to the genus Philadelphus... Deutzia Deutzia Deutzia is a genus of about 60 species of shrubs in the family Hydrangeaceae, native to eastern and central Asia , and Central America and also Europe. By far the highest species diversity is in China, where 50 species occur.The species are shrubs ranging from 1–4 m in height... Fendlera Fendlera Fendlera is a genus of shrubs in the Hydrangeaceae. They are most commonly known as fendlerbush. The name fendlerbush is also used for the closely related genus Fendlerella.... Fendlerella Fendlerella Fendlerella is a monotypic genus of shrubs in the Hydrangeaceae containing the single species Fendlerella utahensis. This plant is known as Utah Fendlerella, yerba desierto, or sometimes as Utah Fendlerbush .-External links:**... Jamesia Jamesia Jamesia is a genus of shrubs in the Hydrangeaceae, most commonly known as Jamesia, Cliffbush or Waxflower. It is native to interior western North America, in the U.S. states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, growing in mountains at 1600–3000 m altitude.There... Philadelphus Whipplea Whipplea Whipplea is a monotypic genus containing the single species Whipplea modesta, which is known by several common names including common whipplea, yerba de selva, and modesty...

In addition, the genus Pottingeria

Pottingeria

Pottingeria is a small tree or large shrub native to mountainous areas of southeast Asia .It had long been thought, at least by some, to belong in the order Celastrales. In a phylogenetic study of that order in 2006, Pottingeria was found to be a member of the order, but not of any of its families...

is sometimes included in Hydrangeaceae, while others treat it in either Balanophoraceae

Balanophoraceae

Balanophoraceae is a subtropical to tropical family of obligate parasitic flowering plants, notable for their unusual development and obscure affinities. The family consist of 17 genera and approximately 50 species...

, or in its own family Pottingeria

Pottingeria

Pottingeria is a small tree or large shrub native to mountainous areas of southeast Asia .It had long been thought, at least by some, to belong in the order Celastrales. In a phylogenetic study of that order in 2006, Pottingeria was found to be a member of the order, but not of any of its families...

ceae.