Celastraceae

Celastraceae, the Celastraceae, is a family of plants in the order Celastrales. It groups around 90 to 100 genera and 1,300 species of climbers, shrubs and small trees. The vast majority of genera are tropical, except Celastrus and Euonymus, which are widely spread throughout temperate latitudes.

Description

They are trees or shrubs, sometimes scandent, pubescent, glabrous or almost glabrous; hermaphroditic, polygamous or dioecious plants. Alternate, opposite and whorled leaves, simple, entire, crenate and serrate, with calcium oxalate crystals; stipules persistent, expired or absent. Axillary inflorescences or in floral nodes accompanied by undeveloped leaves, cymose, thyrsoid, racemose or fasciculated, bracts present, erose, actinomorphic flowers; sepals 4 or 5, free or united at the base, imbricated, sometimes persistent; petals 4 or 5, free, overlapping; stamens equal in number to parts of perianth, free filaments arising below or at margin of disc, alternate or alternisepals, anthers tetrasporangiate and ditheca or bisporangiate, longitudinal dehiscence, commonly introrse or lateral (extrorse and sometimes nearly terminal in Euonymous); ovary superior, semisuperior, or rarely semiinferous, 2–5-carpellate, with equal number of locules as carpels, sometimes aborting one locule, style terminal, usually shortly 2–5-lobed, ovules (1) 2 (3), 2–6 in Canotia, numerous in Goupia, erect, rarely pendulous, placenta axillary. Fruit capsule, samara, berry or drupe; seeds often arlate.

Synonymy

• Canotiaceae, Chingithamnaceae, Goupiaceae, Lophopyxidaceae, Siphonodontaceae. According to Cronquist System.
• Brexiaceae.[1] Archived on October 28, 2021 in Wayback Machine., Plagiopteraceae[2] Archived on October 30, 2021 in Wayback Machine., Stackhousiaceae[3] Archived on November 30, 2007 in Wayback Machine.
• Brexiaceae, Canotiaceae, Chingithamnaceae, Euonymaceae, Hippocrateaceae, Salaciaceae, Siphonodontaceae, Stackhousiaceae[4]

Subfamilies

Contains the following sufamilies:

• Celastroidae
• Hippocrateoideae
• Parnassioideae
• Salacioideae
• Stackhousioideae

Genres