Peridiscaceae

Peridiscaceae
Botanical illustration of Peridiscus lucidus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Saxifragales
Family: Peridiscaceae
Kuhlm.[1]
Type genus
Peridiscus
Genera

Peridiscaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Saxifragales.[2] Four genera comprise this family: Medusandra, Soyauxia, Peridiscus, and Whittonia.,[3] with a total of 12 known species.[4] It has a disjunct distribution, with Peridiscus occurring in Venezuela and northern Brazil, Whittonia in Guyana,[5] Medusandra in Cameroon, and Soyauxia in tropical West Africa.[6] Whittonia is possibly extinct, being known from only one specimen collected below Kaieteur Falls in Guyana. In 2006, archeologists attempted to rediscover it, however, it proved unsuccessful.[3]

The largest genus is Soyauxia, with about seven species. Medusandra has two species. Peridiscus and Whittonia each contain one species. The Peridiscaceae are small trees or erect shrubs of wet tropical forests.

It was not until 2009 that all four of the genera were united into a single family.[3] Peridiscus and Whittonia are clearly close relatives. This pair, and the other two genera have long been considered anomalous, being variously classified by different authors.

  1. ^ Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2009). "An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III" (PDF). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 161 (2): 105–121. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00996.x. hdl:10654/18083. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
  2. ^ Peter F. Stevens. 2001 onwards. "Peridiscaceae". At: Angiosperm Phylogeny Website At: Missouri Botanical Garden Website. (see External links below).
  3. ^ a b c Kenneth J. Wurdack and Charles C. Davis. 2009. "Malpighiales phylogenetics: Gaining ground on one of the most recalcitrant clades in the angiosperm tree of life." American Journal of Botany 96(8):1551-1570.
  4. ^ Christenhusz, M. J. M. & Byng, J. W. (2016). "The number of known plants species in the world and its annual increase". Phytotaxa. 261 (3): 201–217. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.261.3.1.
  5. ^ Clemens Bayer. 2007. "Peridiscaceae" pages 297-300. In: Klaus Kubitski (editor). The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants volume IX. Springer-Verlag: Berlin;Heidelberg, Germany. ISBN 978-3-540-32214-6
  6. ^ Vernon H. Heywood, Richard K. Brummitt, Ole Seberg, and Alastair Culham. Flowering Plant Families of the World. Firefly Books: Ontario, Canada. (2007). ISBN 1-55407-206-9