Didiereaceae

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Didiereaceae

Didiereaceae Radlk. in Engler & Prantl, Nat. Pflanzenfam. 3(5): 462. 1896, nom. cons., sec. Applequist & Wallace 20031
  • 1. Applequist, W. L. & Wallace, R. S. 2003: Expanded circumscription of Didiereaceae and its division into three subfamilies. – Adansonia sér. 3, 25(1): 13-16
  • =Portulacarieae Fenzl in Ann. Wiener Mus. Naturgesch. 2(2): 294. 1839 syn. sec. Applequist & Wallace 20032
  • Portulacariaceae (Fenzl) Doweld, Prosyllabus Tracheophytorum: XLII. 2001 syn. sec. Applequist & Wallace 20032
  • 2. Applequist, W. L. & Wallace, R. S. 2003: Expanded circumscription of Didiereaceae and its division into three subfamilies. – Adansonia sér. 3, 25(1): 13-16

Introduction

A family with six genera and 20 species (Bruyns & al. 2014). Traditionally, Didiereaceae included xerophytic shrubs and trees endemic to Madagascar with short lateral shoots bearing spines or alternate leaves (Kubitzki 1993; Cuénoud 2003). Molecular phylogenetic studies (Applequist & Wallace 2001, 2003; Nyffeler & Eggli 2010; Bruyns & al. 2014) showed a well-supported clade including the traditional Didiereaceae plus the African genera Calyptrotheca, Portulacaria and Ceraria, previously placed in Portulacaceae. This expanded circumscription of the family is accepted here, which includes also much branched plants with opposite leaves and without spines. Applequist & Wallace (2003) divided the family in three subfamilies: Didiereoideae Appleq. & R. S. Wallace (= traditional Didiereaceaea), Calyptrothecoideae Pax & Gilg and Portulacarioideae Appleq. & R. S. Wallace. The recent molecular phylogeny of Bruyns & al. (2014) supports the monophyly of these subfamilies and the inclusion of Ceraria Pearson & Stephens within Portulacaria Jacq.A,B,C,D,E,F,G

Bibliography

A. Applequist, W. L. & Wallace, R. S. 2001: Phylogeny of Portulacaceous cohort based on ndhF sequence data. – Systematic Botany 26: 406 – 419
B. Applequist, W. L. & Wallace, R. S. 2003: Expanded circumscription of Didiereaceae and its division into three subfamilies. – Adansonia sér. 3, 25(1): 13-16
C. Bruyns, P. V., Oliveira-Neto, M., Melo-de-Pinna, G. F. & Klak, C. 2014: Phylogenetic relationships in the Didiereaceae with special reference to subfamily Portulacarioideae. – Taxon 63(5): 1053-1064. http://doi.org/10.12705/635.36
D. Cuénoud, P. 2003: Conspectus of families of expanded Caryophyllales, 5 – 6. – In: Kubitzki, K. & Bayer, C. (ed.), The families and genera of vascular plants 5. – Berlin, Heidelberg & New York: Springer
E. Hernández-Ledesma, P., Berendsohn, W. G., Borsch, T., von Mering, S., Akhani, H., Arias, S., Castañeda-Noa, I., Eggli, U., Eriksson, R., Flores-Olvera, H., Fuentes-Bazan, S., Kadereit, G., Klak, C., Korotkova, N., Nyffeler, R., Ocampo, G. & Ochoterena, H. 2015: A taxonomic backbone for the global synthesis of species diversity in the angiosperm order Caryophyllales. – Willdenowia 45(3): 281-383. http://doi.org/10.3372/wi.45.45301
F. Kubitzki, K. 1993: Didiereaceae, 292 – 295. – In: Kubitzki, K., Rohwer, J.G. & Bittrich, V. (ed.), The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants 2. – Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer
G. Nyffeler, R. & Eggli, U. 2010: Disintegrating Portulacaceae: A new familial classification of the suborder Portulacineae (Caryophyllales) based on molecular and morphological data. – Taxon 59: 227-240