Caprifoliaceae
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This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. (March 2013) |
| Caprifoliaceae | |
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| Lonicera japonica | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Dipsacales |
| Family: | Caprifoliaceae |
| Genera | |
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See text. |
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The Caprifoliaceae or honeysuckle family are a clade consisting of about 800[citation needed] dicotyledonous flowering plants, with a nearly cosmopolitan distribution; centres of diversity are found in eastern North America and eastern Asia, while they are absent in tropical and southern Africa.
They are mostly shrubs and vines, rarely herbs, including some ornamental garden plants in temperate regions. The leaves are mostly opposite with no stipules (appendages at the base of a leafstalk or petiole), and may be either evergreen or deciduous. The flowers are tubular funnel-shaped or bell-like, usually with five outward spreading lobes or points, and are often fragrant. They usually form a small calyx with small bracts. The fruit is in most cases a berry or a drupe. The genera Diervilla and Weigela have capsular fruit.
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Taxonomy [edit]
Views of the family-level classification of the traditionally accepted Caprifoliaceae and other plants in the botanical order Dipsacales has been considerably revised in recent decades. Most botanists now accept the placement of two of the most familiar members of this group, the elderberries (Sambucus) and the viburnums Viburnum, in the family Adoxaceae instead, these were formerly classified in the Caprifoliaceae.
Several other families of the more broadly treated Caprifoliaceae are separated by some but not all authors; these are included in the listing below of an evolutionary classification of the Dipsacales[citation needed], along with estimated numbers of species for each genus.
Adoxaceae
Diervilleae
Heptacodium [Family placement uncertain]
- Heptacodium (Seven-son Flower): 1 species
Caprifoliaceae [Viewed narrowly here]
- Leycesteria: 6 species
- Lonicera (Honeysuckle): 180 species
- Symphoricarpos (Snowberry): 17 species
- Triosteum (Horsegentian): 6 species
Linnaeaceae
- Abelia: 30 species
- Dipelta: 4 species
- Kolkwitzia (Beautybush): 1 species
- Linnaea (Twinflower): 1 species
Morinaceae
Triplostegia [Family placement uncertain]
Uses [edit]
The plants belonging to this family are mainly hardy ornamental shrubs or vines, many popular garden shrubs, especially Abelia, Lonicera, and Weigela. A few have become invasive weeds outside of their native ranges (such as Lonicera japonica).
References [edit]
- Flowering Plants of the World, 1987, Vernon H. Heywood, Andromeda Oxford Ltd., ISBN 90-5210-165-5
- Botanica, Gordon Cheers, Random House Australia, ISBN 3-8290-1953-X
