The Vitaceae are a family of flowering plants, with 14 genera and around 910 known species,[3] including common plants such as grapevines (Vitis spp.) and Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia). The family name is derived from the genus Vitis.
The family is economically important as the berries of Vitis species, commonly known as grapes, are an important fruit crop and, when fermented, produce wine.
The name sometimes appears as Vitidaceae, but Vitaceae is a conserved name and therefore has priority over both Vitidaceae and another name sometimes found in the older literature, Ampelidaceae. In the APG III system (2009) onwards, the family is placed in its own order, Vitales. Molecular phylogenetic studies place the Vitales as the most basal clade in the rosids.[4] In the Cronquist system, the family was placed near the family Rhamnaceae in order Rhamnales.
Leea D.Royen: previously placed in its own monotypic family, Leeaceae, was included in Vitaceae by APG IV (2016)[4] and the Angiosperm Phylogeny Website.
Vitoideae
Five tribes are now recognised in this subfamily:[5]
Well preserved-fruits of Indovitis chitaleyae containing seeds with similar morphology to the Vitaceae have been recovered from Late CretaceousDeccanIntertrappean beds of several sites in central India. These fruits and their dispersed seeds found in the same sediments, about 66 million years old, represent the oldest known fossils of the grape family. The fossil fruits containing 4 to 6 seeds are very similar to extant Vitis.[6]
^Wen J, Lu LM, Nie ZI, Liu XQ, Zhang N, Ickert‐Bond S, Gerrath J, Manchester SR, Boggan J, Chen ZD (2018) A new phylogenetic tribal classification of the grape family (Vitaceae). Journal of Systematics and Evolution 56(4): 262-272.
^Manchester, Steven R.; Kapgate, Dashrath K.; Wen, Jun (September 2013). "Oldest fruits of the grape family (Vitaceae) from the Late Cretaceous Deccan cherts of India". Am. J. Bot. 100 (9): 1849–59. doi:10.3732/ajb.1300008. JSTOR23596215. PMID24036414..
