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Lecythidaceae

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lecythidaceae
Illustration of Couroupita guianensis by Lansdown Guilding
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Lecythidaceae
A.Rich.[1]
Type genus
Lecythis
Genera

See text

Synonyms[3]
  • Barringtoniaceae DC. ex F.Rudolphi
  • Scytopetalaceae Engl.
Barringtonia acutangula (Freshwater Mangrove) fruits in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
Careya arborea in Narsapur, Medak district, India.

The Lecythidaceae (/ˌlɛsɪθɪˈds/ LESS-ith-ih-DAY-see) comprise a family of about 30 genera[3] and 250–300 species of woody plants native to tropical South America, Africa (including Madagascar), Asia and Australia.

Well known members of the family include the cannonball tree (Couroupita guianensis) and the edible Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa).[4]

Genera

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30 genera are currently accepted.[3]

Taxonomy

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According to molecular analysis of Lecythidaceae, including work by Mori et al. (2007),[5] subfamilies include:

Barringtonioidea

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Previously Barringtoniaceae;[6] also sensu Takhtajan 1997;[6] this subfamily was also called Planchonioideae (which included Barringtonia). Genera are restricted to the Old World tropics.

Foetidioideae

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Previously Foetidiaceae[6] from Madagascar is monogeneric:

Lecythidoideae

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Genera restricted to the New World tropics.[7]

Scytopetaloideae

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The APG II system of 2003 included genera from the family Scytopetalaceae and others

Napoleonaeoideae

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Previously as family Napoleonaeaceae;[6] species are native to Africa.

References

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  1. ^ Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2009). "An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 161 (2): 105–121. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00996.x. hdl:10654/18083.
  2. ^ "Lecythidaceae A.Rich., Dict. Class. Hist. Nat. [Bory] 9: 269 (1825), nom. cons". International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2025. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  3. ^ a b c "Lecythidaceae A.Rich". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
  4. ^ Mori, Scott A.; Tsou, Chi-Hua; Wu, Chi-Chih; Cronholm, Bodil; Anderberg, Arne A. (2007). "Evolution of Lecythidaceae with an emphasis on the circumscription of neotropical genera: Information from combined NDHF and TRNL-F sequence data". American Journal of Botany. 94 (3): 289–301. Bibcode:2007AmJB...94..289M. doi:10.3732/ajb.94.3.289. PMID 21636402.
  5. ^ Mori, S. A.; Tsou, C. -H.; Wu, C. -C.; Cronholm, B.; Anderberg, A. A. (2007). "Evolution of Lecythidaceae with an emphasis on the circumscription of neotropical genera: Information from combined ndhF and trnL-F sequence data". American Journal of Botany. 94 (3): 289–301. Bibcode:2007AmJB...94..289M. doi:10.3732/ajb.94.3.289. PMID 21636402.
  6. ^ a b c d e Takhtajan, A. (1997). Diversity and classification of flowering plants. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-10098-1.
  7. ^ Oscar M. Vargas, Drew A. Larson, Juvenal Batista, Xavier Cornejo, Bruno Garcia Luize, Diana Medellín-Zabala, Michel Ribeiro, Nathan P. Smith, Stephen A. Smith, Alberto Vicentini, and Christopher W. Dick "Reclassification of the Bertholletia Clade of the Brazil Nut Family (Lecythidaceae) Based on a Phylogenetic Analysis of Plastome and Target Sequence Capture Data," Harvard Papers in Botany 29(1), 159-179, (30 June 2024). https://doi.org/10.3100/hpib.v29iss1.2024.n18
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