Vochysiaceae

Vochysiaceae
Vochysia herbacea
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Myrtales
Family:	Vochysiaceae
Genera
Callisthene Erisma Erismadelphus Korupodendon Qualea Ruizterania Salvertia Vochysia

Vochysiaceae is a plant family belonging to the order of Myrtales.

Description

Trees or shrubs with opposite leaves; flowers are zygomorph 1-(3)-5 merous; ovary inferior or superior; one fertile stamen; fruits samara or capsules

Biogeography

Six of the eight genera are native to the Neotropics. The genera Erismadelphus and Korupodendron are native to West and Central Africa.

Evolutionary history

The family likely originated in South America. Erismadelphus is thought to have diverged from Erisma approximately 30 million years ago, and travelled to Africa as the result of long-distance dispersal.

Systematics

Vochysiaceae are closest to Chrysobalanaceae. The Vochysiaceae consists of 7 genera with 217 species. The family is classified in two tribes:

Tribe Erismeae : one inferior ovary and winged fruits

• Erisma Rudge (20 species)
• Erismadelphus Mildbr. (2 species)
• Korupodendron Litt & Cheek (1 species)

Tribe Vochysieae: three fused superior ovaries and capsulate fruit

• Callisthene Mart. (10 species)
• Qualea Aubl. (60 species)
• Salvertia A.St.-Hil. (1 species)
• Ruizterania Marc.-Bert. (19 species)
• Vochysia Aubl. (105 species)

The genus Euphronia, previously included in Vochysiaceae, is unrelated and now stands alone in the family Euphroniaceae, more closely related to the family Chrysobalanaceae.

Reference

Vochysiaceae A. St-Hil. in Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. The families of flowering plants.

• Family of Vochysiaceae link APWebsite. (engl.)
• Amy Litt & Dennis W. Stevenson: Floral development and morphology of Vochysiaceae. I. The structure of the gynoecium in American Journal of Botany, 90, 2003, S. 1533-1547: Online.
• M. L. Kawasaki: Vochysiaceae, S. 480-487 in Klaus Kubitzki: The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants, Volume 9, Flowering Plants - Eudicots, Springer Berlin, Heidelberg, 2007, ISBN 978-3-540-32214-6.