Calycanthaceae
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This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in the Spanish Wikipedia. (December 2009)
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| Calycanthaceae | |
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| Calycanthus floridus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Angiosperms |
| Class: | Magnoliids |
| Order: | Laurales |
| Family: | Calycanthaceae |
| Genera | |
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Calycanthus |
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The Calycanthaceae (sweetshrub or spicebush family) is a small family of flowering plants included in the order Laurales. The family contains three genera and only 10 species, restricted to warm temperate and tropical regions:
- Calycanthus (2 species; western and southeastern North America)
- Chimonanthus (6 species; eastern Asia)
- Idiospermum (1 species; Queensland, Australia)
- Sinocalycanthus (1 species; eastern Asia) - morphological and molecular data indicate that this is a member of Calycanthus
They are aromatic deciduous shrubs growing to 2–4 m tall, except for Idiospermum, which is a large evergreen tree. The flowers are white to red, with spirally arranged tepals. DNA-based phylogenies indicate that the Northern Hemisphere Calycanthus and Chimonanthus diverged from each other in the mid-Miocene, while the Australian Idiospermum had already diverged by the Upper Cretaceous and likely represents a remnant of a former Gondwanan distribution of Calycanthaceae that included South America, as indicated by the occurrence of Cretaceous Calycanthaceae fossils in Brazil.
References
- Calycanthaceae in L. Watson and M. J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants.
- Flora of North America: Calycanthaceae
- Flora of China Draft text of Calycanthaceae
- "Molecular phylogeny and intra- and intercontinental biogeography of Calycanthaceae"
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