Hippocastanoideae is a subfamily of flowering plants in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.[1] The group was formerly treated as the separate families Aceraceae and Hippocastanaceae. Molecular phylogenetic research by Harrington et al. (2005)[2] has shown that while both the Aceraceae and Hippocastanaceae are monophyletic in themselves, their removal from the Sapindaceae sensu lato would leave Sapindaceae sensu stricto as a paraphyletic group, particularly with reference to the genus Xanthoceras.
The most widespread genera are Acer (the maples) and Aesculus (the horse chestnuts and buckeyes). A feature of the subfamily is the palmate compound leaves.[3]
| Genus | Authority | Common Name | Number of Living Species | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acer | Linnaeus | Maples | 160 | |
| Aesculus | Linnaeus | Horse-chestnuts & buckeyes | 13-19 | |
| Billia | Peyeitsch | 2 | ||
| Dipteronia | Oliver | 2 | ||
| Handeliodendron | Rehder | 1 | ||