Ebenaceae
| Ebenaceae | |
|---|---|
| |
| Diospyros sandwicensis | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Ericales |
| Family: | Ebenaceae Gürke[1]
|
| Genera | |
|
See text | |
The Ebenaceae are a family of flowering plants belonging to order Ericales. The family includes ebony and persimmon among about 768[2] species of trees and shrubs. It is distributed across the tropical and warmer temperate regions of the world.[3] It is most diverse in the rainforests of Malesia, India, Thailand[4], tropical Africa and tropical America.[5]
Many species are valued for their wood, particularly ebony, for fruit, and as ornamental plants.
Biology
The fruits contain
The plants may have a strong scent. Some species have aromatic wood. They are important and conspicuous trees in many of their native
Ebony is a dense black wood taken from several species in the genus
Description
The family includes trees and shrubs. The leaves are usually alternately arranged, but some species have opposite or whorled leaves. The inflorescence is usually a cyme of flowers, sometimes a raceme or a panicle, and some plants produce solitary flowers. Most species are dioecious. The flower has 3 to 8 petals, which are joined at the bases. There are usually several single or paired stamens, which are often attached to the inner wall of the corolla. Female flowers have up to 8 stigmas.[3] The calyx is persistent.[7] The fruits are berry-like or capsular.[3] Like the wood of some species, the roots and bark may be black in color.[7]
Etymology
The family name Ebenaceae is based on the genus name Ebenus, published by Otto Kuntze in 1891.[8] It is a later homonym of Ebenus L., a genus already named in the family Fabaceae, and is thus nomen illegitimum. The plant that Kuntze had named Ebenus was accordingly reassigned to the genus Maba, which in turn has since been included in the genus Diospyros.
Because the name Ebenaceae had become well known, having been used in major botanical references such as Bentham and Hooker's Genera Plantarum, Engler and Prantl's Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien, and Hutchinson's Families of Flowering Plants, it was conserved[9] and is therefore legitimate.[10]
Genera
During the last century, seven genera have been included in the family at one time or another.[3] One phylogenetic analysis reduced the family to four genera:[7]
| Genus | Authority | Citation | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diospyros | L. | Sp. Pl. 2: 1057–1058 | 1753 |
| Euclea | L. | Syst. Veg. (ed. 13) 747 | 1774 |
| Lissocarpa[11] | Benth. | Gen. Pl. 2(2): 667, 671 | 1876 |
Royena
|
L. | Sp. Pl. 1: 397 | 1753 |
References
- hdl:10654/18083.
- ^ "Ebenaceae — The Plant List". Theplantlist.org. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
- ^ a b c d James E. Eckenwalder. "Ebenaceae". Flora of North America. Vol. 8.
- ^ "Ebenaceae".Forest Herbarium e-Flora of Thailand
- ^ José Manuel Sánchez de Lorenzo-Cáceres. "Arboles Ornamentales".
- ^ The Nature Conservancy – Hawaiʻi Operating Unit (March 2004). "Kānepuʻu Preserve Lānaʻi, Hawaiʻi Long-Range Management Plan Fiscal Years 2005–2010" (PDF). Hawaii Department of Land & Natural Resources Natural Area Partnership Program: 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-16. Retrieved 2009-04-09.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ a b c Duangjai, S., et al. (2006). Generic delimitation and relationships in Ebenaceae sensu lato: evidence from six plastid DNA regions. American Journal of Botany 93(12), 1808-27.
- ^ "Index Nominum Genericorum (ING)".
- S2CID 87725431.
- ISBN 3-906166-48-1.
- ^ Lissocarpa. The Plant List. Accessed 13 August 2012.