Polygalaceae

Polygalaceae
Securidaca longipedunculata
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Polygalaceae
Hoffmanns. & Link[1]
Type genus
Polygala
Tribes

See text.

Distribution of the Polygalaceae
Synonyms
  • Diclidantheraceae J. Agardh
  • Moutabeaceae Pfeiffer
  • Xanthophyllaceae Reveal & Hoogland

The Polygalaceae or the milkwort family are made up of flowering plants in the order Fabales. They have a near-cosmopolitan range, with about 27 genera and ca. 900 known species[2] of herbs, shrubs and trees. Over half of the species are in one genus, Polygala, the milkworts.

The family was first described in 1809 by Johann Hoffmansegg and Johann Link.[3] In 1896, Robert Chodat split it into 3 tribes. A fourth tribe was split off from the tribe Polygaleae in 1992.[4] Under the Cronquist classification system, Polygalaceae were treated in a separate order of their own, Polygalales. Currently, according to the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, the family belongs in Fabales.

  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. ^ 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.
  3. ^ Harvard University; Royal Botanic Gardens Kew; Australian National Herbarium. "Polygalaceae". International Plant Names Index. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  4. ^ Eriksen, Bente (1993). "Phylogeny of the Polygalaceae and its taxonomic implications". Plant Systematics and Evolution. 186 (1/2): 33–55. doi:10.1007/BF00937712. ISSN 0378-2697. JSTOR 23674643. S2CID 32590790.