Clethraceae

Clethraceae
Clethra arborea flowers
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Clethraceae
Klotzsch[1]
Genera

The Clethraceae are a small family of flowering plants in the order Ericales, composed of two genera, Clethra and Purdiaea, with approximately 75 species.[2] They are native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Asia and the Americas, with one species also on Madeira.[citation needed]

In the past, most botanists included only Clethra in the family, but recent research has shown Purdiaea, previously placed in the closely related family Cyrillaceae, is more closely allied to Clethra.[3]

References

  1. ^ 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.
  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). Magnolia Press: 201–217. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.261.3.1.
  3. ^ Anderberg, A.A.; Zhang, Z. (2002). "Phylogenetic relationships of Cyrillaceae and Clethraceae (Ericales) with special emphasis on the genus Purdiaea Planch". Organisms Diversity & Evolution. 2 (2): 127–137. doi:10.1078/1439-6092-00036.