Aceraceae
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Aceraceae is a family of woody plants. As the most important genus is Acer, it is called the (Maple family). It comprises some 120 species of trees and shrubs. A common character is that the leaves are opposite.
They have long been known to be closely related to the Sapindaceae, as are the Hippocastanaceae. Several taxonomists (including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group) now include the plants in the families Aceraceae and the Hippocastanaceae in that family. Recent research (Harrington et al. 2005) has shown that both these small families each are monophyletic. As they are basal to Sapindaceae, they may be either included or excluded in the larger family. It is a matter of style only.
[edit] References
- Harrington, M. G., K. J. Edwards, S. A. Johnson, M. W. Chase, and P. A. Gadek. 2005. Phylogenetic inference in sapindaceae sensu lato using plastid matK and rbcL DNA sequences. Systematic Botany 30: 366-382 (abstract here).
- Aceraceae in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval. http://delta-intkey.com.
