Adoxaceae
| Adoxaceae | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Adoxa moschatellina | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Dipsacales |
| Family: | Adoxaceae |
| Type genus | |
| Adoxa L. |
|
| Genera | |
The Adoxaceae is a small family of flowering plants in the order Dipsacales, as now constituted comprising four genera and about 150-200 species. It is characterised by opposite toothed leaves, small five- or, more rarely, four-petalled flowers in cymose inflorescences, and the fruit being a drupe. They are thus similar to many Cornaceae.
In older classifications this entire family was part of Caprifoliaceae (the honeysuckle family). Adoxa moschatellina (Moschatel) was the first plant to be moved to this new group. Much later, the genera Sambucus (elders) and Viburnum were added after careful morphological analysis of biochemical tests by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group. An additional monotypic genus Sinadoxa has been added based on molecular comparison with Adoxa.
Adoxa is a small perennial herbaceous plant, flowering early in the spring and dying down to ground level in summer immediately after the berries are mature; the leaves are compound.
The elders are mostly shrubs, but two species are large herbaceous plants; all have compound leaves. The viburnums are all shrubs, with simple leaves.
[edit] Gallery
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Viburnum davidii foliage and fruit
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Sambucus racemosa flowers
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Sambucus nigra flowers
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Sambucus canadensis foliage and fruit
[edit] External links
Media related to Adoxaceae at Wikimedia Commons
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Adoxaceae |
