Meliaceae Explained

Meliaceae, the mahogany family, is a flowering plant family of mostly trees and shrubs (and a few herbaceous plants, mangroves) in the order Sapindales.

They are characterised by alternate, usually pinnate leaves without stipules, and by syncarpous,^[1] apparently bisexual (but actually mostly cryptically unisexual) flowers borne in panicles, cymes, spikes or clusters. Most species are evergreen, but some are deciduous, either in the dry season or in winter.

The family includes about 53 genera and about 600 known species,^[2] with a pantropical distribution; one genus (Toona) extends north into temperate China and south into southeast Australia, another (Synoum) into southeast Australia, and another (Melia) nearly as far north. They most commonly grow as understory trees in rainforests, but are also found in mangroves and arid regions.^[3]

The fossil record of the family extends back into the Late Cretaceous.^[4]

Uses

Various species are used for vegetable oil, soap-making, insecticides, and highly prized wood (mahogany).

Some economically important genera and species belong to this family:

Azadirachta indica, neem tree (India)
Carapa

includes the "crabwood trees" e.g. Carapa procera (South America and Africa)

Cedrela odorata Central and South America; timber also known as Spanish-cedar
Entandrophragma

includes sapele (Entandrophragma cylindricum), and "utile" or "sipo" (E. utile) of tropical Africa

Guarea, the genus of Bossé or "pink mahogany", includes: G. thompsonii and G. cedrata (Africa)
Khaya includes: Ivory Coast Mahogany and Senegal Mahogany (tropical Africa)
Lansium domesticum, lanzones, grown for its edible fruit in Southeast Asia
Melia azedarach, Chinaberry or white cedar (Indomalaya and Australasia)
Sandoricum koetjape, santol, grown for its edible fruit in Southeast Asia and South Asia
Swietenia is the classic "mahogany" genus from the tropical Americas
Toona

the genus of "toon tree" species (tropical Asia, Malesia, and Australia), especially Toona ciliata

Genera

58 genera are currently accepted.^[5]

The family is divided into two subfamilies, Cedreloideae and Melioideae, which are supported by phylogenetic evidence.^[6]

Subfamily Cedreloideae

This is also known as subfamily Swietenioideae.^[7] ^[8]

Subfamily Melioideae

References

(1975): A generic monograph of the Meliaceae. Blumea 22: 419–540.

External links

Notes and References

Of a gynoecium, made up of united carpels
Christenhusz, M. J. M. . Byng, J. W. . 2016 . The number of known plants species in the world and its annual increase . Phytotaxa . 261 . 201–217 . 10.11646/phytotaxa.261.3.1 . 3 . free . 2016-07-14 . 2016-07-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160729085754/http://biotaxa.org/Phytotaxa/article/download/phytotaxa.261.3.1/20598 . live .
Book: Heywood. V.H.. Flowering Plant Families of the World. Brummitt. R.K.. Culham. A.. Seberg. O.. Firefly Books. 2007. 9781842461655. Ontario, Canada. 207.
Atkinson. Brian A.. January 2020. Fossil evidence for a Cretaceous rise of the mahogany family. American Journal of Botany. en. 107. 1. 139–147. 10.1002/ajb2.1416. 31903551. 0002-9122. free.
https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30001419-2 Meliaceae Juss.
Holzmeyer, L., Hauenschild, F., Mabberley, D.J. and Muellner-Riehl, A.N. (2021), Confirmed polyphyly, generic recircumscription and typification of Dysoxylum (Meliaceae), with revised disposition of currently accepted species. Taxon, 70: 1248-1272. https://doi.org/10.1002/tax.12591
Floral Development in the Tribe Cedreleae (Meliaceae, Sub-family Swietenioideae): Cedrela and Toona.. Gouvea CF, Dornelas MC, Rodriguez AP . Annals of Botany . 101 . 1 . 39–48. 2008. 10.1093/aob/mcm279. 17981877. 2701842.
Web site: Missouri Botanic Garden: list of Meliaceae genera (retrieved 18 January 2018). 18 January 2018. 29 November 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221129233741/http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/research/APweb/genera/meliaceaegen.html. live.