Araceae

Not to be confused with Arecaceae or Araliaceae.

Araceae
Temporal range: 115–0 Ma Early Cretaceous[1] - Recent
Inflorescence of Spathiphyllum cochlearispathum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Alismatales
Family: Araceae
Juss.[2]
Subfamilies
Snake lily (Dracunculus vulgaris) in Crete
Arrowleaf elephant ear (Xanthosoma sagittifolium), clearly showing the characteristic spadix and spathe

The Araceae are a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants in which flowers are borne on a type of inflorescence called a spadix. The spadix is usually accompanied by, and sometimes partially enclosed in, a spathe (or leaf-like bract). Also known as the arum family, members are often colloquially known as aroids. This family of 114 genera and about 3,750 known species[3] is most diverse in the New World tropics, although also distributed in the Old World tropics and northern temperate regions.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Sender was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ Christenhusz, M. J. M. & Byng, J. W. (2016). "The number of known plants species in the world and its annual increase". Phytotaxa. 261 (3). Magnolia Press: 201–217. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.261.3.1.