Opiliaceae
Encyclopedia
Opiliaceae is the botanical name
for a family
of flowering plant
s. It consists of perhaps a dozen genera, totalling several dozen species of tropical woody plants. Several genera contain parasitic
species. The biggest genus, in number of species and in stature of the individual plants, is Agonandra
, the only American genus. All other members of the family are found in the Old World tropics, where they are widespread.
Since it was first described this family has been recognized universally by taxonomists. The APG II system
, of 2003 (unchanged from the APG system
, of 1998), also recognizes this family and assigns it to the order Santalales
in the clade core eudicots.
Botanical name
A botanical name is a formal scientific name conforming to the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature and, if it concerns a plant cultigen, the additional cultivar and/or Group epithets must conform to the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants...
for 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. It consists of perhaps a dozen genera, totalling several dozen species of tropical woody plants. Several genera contain parasitic
Parasitic plant
A parasitic plant is one that derives some or all of its sustenance from another plant. About 4,100 species in approximately 19 families of flowering plants are known. Parasitic plants have a modified root, the haustorium, that penetrates the host plant and connects to the xylem, phloem, or...
species. The biggest genus, in number of species and in stature of the individual plants, is Agonandra
Agonandra
Agonandra is a genus of plants in the family Opiliaceae. It contains about 10 species, including Agonandra loranthoides and Agonandra brasiliensis native to South America....
, the only American genus. All other members of the family are found in the Old World tropics, where they are widespread.
Since it was first described this family has been recognized universally by taxonomists. 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...
, of 2003 (unchanged from the APG system
APG system
The APG system of plant classification is the first, now obsolete, version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy that was published in 1998 by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group. It was superseded in 2003 by a revision, the APG II system, and then in 2009 by a further...
, of 1998), also recognizes this family and assigns it to the order Santalales
Santalales
Santalales is an order of flowering plants with a cosmopolitan distribution, but heavily concentrated in tropical and subtropical regions.Most have seeds without a testa, which is unusual for flowering plants...
in the clade core eudicots.
External links
- Opiliaceae in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval. Version: 2 June 2006. http://delta-intkey.com
- Opiliaceae at Parasitic Plants
- NCBI Taxonomy Browser