Pinaceae

Pinaceae
Temporal range: Jurassic–Recent Possible Triassic record [1]
Larix (golden), Abies (central foreground) and Pinus (right foreground)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Gymnospermae
Division: Pinophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Pinales
Family: Pinaceae
Lindley 1836
Genera
Synonyms
  • Abietaceae von Berchtold & Presl 1820
  • Cedraceae Vest 1818
  • Compsostrobaceae Delevoryas & Hope 1973
  • †Kranneraceae Corda 1866
  • Piceaceae Goroschankin 1904

The Pinaceae (/pɪˈneɪsiːˌiː, -siˌaɪ/), or pine family, are conifer trees or shrubs, including many of the well-known conifers of commercial importance such as cedars, firs, hemlocks, piñons, larches, pines and spruces. The family is included in the order Pinales, formerly known as Coniferales. Pinaceae have distinctive cones with woody scales bearing typically two ovules, and are supported as monophyletic by both morphological trait and genetic analysis.[2] They are the largest extant conifer family in species diversity, with between 220 and 250 species (depending on taxonomic opinion) in 11 genera,[3] and the second-largest (after Cupressaceae) in geographical range, found in most of the Northern Hemisphere, with the majority of the species in temperate climates, but ranging from subarctic to tropical. The family often forms the dominant component of boreal, coastal, and montane forests. One species, Pinus merkusii, grows just south of the equator in Southeast Asia.[4] Major centres of diversity are found in the mountains of southwest China, Mexico, central Japan, and California.

  1. ^ "Fort Wingate (Triassic of the United States)". PBDB.org.
  2. ^ Gernandt, David S.; Holman, Garth; Campbell, Christopher; Parks, Matthew; Mathews, Sarah; Raubeson, Linda A.; Liston, Aaron; Stockey, Ruth A.; Rothwell, Gar W. (September 2016). "Phylogenetics of extant and fossil Pinaceae: methods for increasing topological stability". Botany. 94 (9): 863–884. doi:10.1139/cjb-2016-0064. ISSN 1916-2790.
  3. ^ Aljos Farjon (1998). World Checklist and Bibliography of Conifers. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. ISBN 978-1-900347-54-9.
  4. ^ Earle, Christopher J., ed. (2018). "Pinus merkusii". The Gymnosperm Database. Retrieved March 17, 2015.