Rosoideae Explained

The rose subfamily Rosoideae consists of more than 850 species, including many shrubs, perennial herbs, and fruit plants such as strawberries and brambles. Only a few are annual herbs.

The circumscription of the Rosoideae is still not wholly certain; recent genetic research^[1] has resulted in several changes at the genus level and the removal from Rosoideae of some genera (notably Cercocarpus, Cowania, Dryas and Purshia) previously included in the subfamily.

Genera

• Acaena – bidibidis
• Agrimonia – agrimonies
• Alchemilla – lady's mantles
• Aphanes – parsley-pierts (sometimes in Alchemilla^[2])
• Aremonia
• Argentina – silverweeds (sometimes in Potentilla)
• Bencomia
• Chamaerhodos Bunge^[2] – little-rose
• Cliffortia
• Coluria
• Comarum (formerly in Potentilla)
• Dasiphora – woody cinquefoils (formerly in Potentilla)
• Dendriopoterium (currently in Sanguisorba^[3])
• Drymocallis – sticky cinquefoils (formerly in Potentilla)
• Fallugia^[2]
• Filipendula
• Fragaria – strawberries
• Geum – avenses
• Hagenia – African redwood
• Leucosidea – oldwood
• Marcetella
• Margyricarpus – pearlfruit
• Polylepis
• Potaninia^[2]
• Potentilla – typical cinquefoils
• Poteridium^[2]
• Poterium
• Purpusia (sometimes in Potentilla ^[4])
• Rosa – roses
• Rubus – brambles and raspberries
• Sanguisorba – burnets
• Sarcopoterium
• Sibbaldia^[2]
• Sibbaldianthe
• Sibbaldiopsis – three-toothed cinquefoil (formerly in Potentilla)
• Sieversia^[2]
• Spenceria
• Tetraglochin
• Waldsteinia (sometimes in Geum^[2])

Notes and References

1. Torsten Eriksson . Malin S. Hibbs . Anne D. Yoder . Charles F. Delwiche . Michael J. Donoghue . amp . 2003 . The phylogeny of Rosoideae (Rosaceae) based on sequences of the internal transcribed spacers (ITS) of nuclear ribosomal DNA and the trnL/F region of chloroplast DNA . . 164 . 2 . 197–211 . 10.1086/346163 . PDF.
2. D. Potter . T. Eriksson . R. C. Evans . S. Oh . J. E. E. Smedmark . D. R. Morgan . M. Kerr. K. R. Robertson . M. Arsenault. T. A. Dickinson . C. S. Campbell . amp . 2007 . Phylogeny and classification of Rosaceae . . 266 . 1–2 . 5–43 . 10.1007/s00606-007-0539-9 . PDF.
3. Web site: Dendriopoterium Svent. Plants of the World Online Kew Science . Plants of the World Online . 15 December 2021 . en.
4. Web site: Purpusia Brandegee Plants of the World Online Kew Science . Plants of the World Online . 15 December 2021 . en.