Restionaceae
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| Restionaceae Fossil range: Late Cretaceous to recent |
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 Restio tetraphyllus
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and others. (see text) |
Restionaceae is the botanical name for a family of flowering plants. Such a family has been recognized by most taxonomists. The AP-Website [May 2006] assumes 58 genera and 520 species , which agrees well with the Flora of China.
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[edit] Description
The family consists of tufted or rhizomatous herbaceous plants, superficially Rush-like in overall appearance. They belong to a group of monocotyledons that include several superficially similar families such as the sedges, rushes and true grasses.
[edit] Distribution
Plants in the family are primarily distributed in southern Africa and Australia, and are often dominant elements of the flora in Mediterranean climates of South Africa and Western Australia.[1] A few species extand northward into southeast Asia, and there is a single South American species. Many of the African species are becoming very popular as garden ornamentals in many parts of the world, some having an almost Bamboo-like habit both in their vigorous cane-like stems and their size.
[edit] Classification
The APG II system, of 2003 (unchanged from the APG system, 1998), recognizes this family and assigns it to the order Poales, in the clade commelinids of the monocots.
The Cronquist system, of 1981, also recognized this family and placed it in the order Restionales, in the subclass Commelinidae in class Liliopsida in division Magnoliophyta.
[edit] Genera
There are 58 genera in the Restionaceae:
- Alexgeorgea, Anthochortus, Askidiosperma, Calopsis, Calorophus, Cannomois, Ceratocaryum, Chaetanthus, Chondropetalum, Coleocarya, Dielsia, Dovea, Elegia, Empodisma, Harperia, Hopkinsia, Hydrophilus, Hypodiscus, Hypolaena, Ischyrolepis, Lepidobolus, Leptocarpus, Lepyrodia, Loxocarya, Mastersiella, Meeboldina, Megalotheca, Nevillea, Onychosepalum, Phyllocomos, Platycaulos, Pseudoloxocarya, Restio, Rhodocoma, Sporadanthus, Staberoha, Thamnochortus, Willdenowia, Winifredia
[edit] References
- ^ Linder, H. Peter; Pia Eldenas, Barbara G. Briggs (2003). "Contrasting patterns of radiation in African and Australian Restionaceae". Evolution 57 (12): 2688–2702. doi:.
[edit] External links
- Restionaceae in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval. Version: 27 April 2006. http://delta-intkey.com.
- Restionaceae in the Flora of China
- Florabase [218 entries, in Restionaceae sensu lato]
- NCBI Taxonomy Browser
