Maloideae
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 Malus sikkimensis fruit
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Amelanchier - serviceberry, juneberry |
The Maloideae (apple subfamily) is a subfamily of the rose family Rosaceae characterised in its traditional description by the possession of a pome, a type of accessory fruit, and by a basal haploid chromosome count of 17. These plants are shrubs and small trees. The group includes a number of plants bearing commercially important fruits, like apples and pears.
More recent taxonomic proposals expand Maloideae to include a number of herbaceous genera that are more closely related to the traditional Maloideae than to other species of Rosaceae. These are the genera Kageneckia, Lindleya, and Vauquelinia, which have a haploid chromosome count of 15 or 17 but bear fruits that are capsules, and the genus, Gillenia, which has a haploid chromosome count of 9.
