Simaroubaceae

Simaroubaceae
Ailanthus altissima
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Simaroubaceae
DC.[1]
Genera

See text

Distribution of the family Simaroubaceae.
Synonyms
  • Ailanthaceae J.Agardh
  • Castelaceae J.Agardh
  • Holacanthaceae Jadin, nom. inval.
  • Leitneriaceae Benth. & Hook.f., nom. cons.
  • Simabaceae Horan.
  • Soulameaceae Endl.[1]

The Simaroubaceae are a small, mostly tropical, family in the order Sapindales. In recent decades, it has been subject to much taxonomic debate, with several small families being split off. A molecular phylogeny of the family was published in 2007, greatly clarifying relationships within the family.[2] Together with chemical characteristics such as the occurrence of petroselinic acid in Picrasma,[3] in contrast to other members of the family such as Ailanthus,[4] this indicates the existence of a subgroup in the family with Picrasma, Holacantha, and Castela.

The best-known species is the temperate Chinese tree-of-heaven Ailanthus altissima, which has become a cosmopolitan weed tree of urban areas[5] and wildlands.[6]

Well-known genera in the family include the tropical Quassia and Simarouba.

  1. ^ a b "Family: Simaroubaceae DC., nom. cons". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2003-01-17. Retrieved 2011-04-19.
  2. ^ Clayton, Joshua W.; Edwino S. Fernando; Pamela S. Soltis; Douglas E. Soltis (2007). "Molecular phylogeny of the tree-of-heaven family (Simaroubaceae) based on chloroplast and nuclear markers". International Journal of Plant Sciences. 168 (9): 1325–1339. doi:10.1086/521796. S2CID 86016778.
  3. ^ Tsujimoto, M.; Koyanagi, H. (May 1933). "On Nikagi Oil". Bull. Chem. Soc. Jpn. 8 (5): 161–167.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  4. ^ T. Stuhlfauth; H. Fock; H. Huber; K. Klug (1985). "The distribution of fatty acids including petroselinic and tariric acids in the fruit and seed oils of the Pittosporaceae, Araliaceae, Umbelliferae, Simarubaceae and Rutaceae". Biochemical Systematics and Ecology. 13: 447–453. doi:10.1016/0305-1978(85)90091-2.
  5. ^ Elizabeth Pan; Nina Bassuk (March 1986). "Establishment and Distribution of Ailanthus altissima in the Urban Environment" (PDF). J. Environ. Hort. 4 (1): 1–4.
  6. ^ Knapp, Liza B; Canham, Charles D (2000). "Invasion of an Old-Growth Forest in New York by Ailanthus altissima: Sapling Growth and Recruitment in Canopy Gaps". Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society. 127 (4): 307. doi:10.2307/3088649. JSTOR 3088649.