Aurantioideae (sometimes known as Citroideae) is the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

within the rue and

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

(

Rutaceae The Rutaceae () is a family (biology), family, commonly known as the rueRUTACEAE
in Bo ...

) that contains the citrus. The subfamily's center of diversity is in the

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

region of eastern

Australasia Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different context ...

, extending west through

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

into

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, and eastwards into

Polynesia Polynesia ( , ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in ...

. Notable members include

(genus ''Citrus''), bael (''Aegle marmelos''), curd fruit (''Limonia acidissima''), species of genus ''

Murraya ''Murraya'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the citrus family, Rutaceae. It is distributed in Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands.curry tree ''Bergera koenigii'', commonly known as curry tree, curry bush or sweet neem, is a tree in the citrus family Rutaceae, first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1767. It is native to the Indian subcontinent, southern China and mainland Southeast Asi ...

(''M. koenigii'') and orange jessamine (''M. paniculata''), and the small genus ''

Clausena ''Clausena'' is a genus of flowering plants in the citrus family, Rutaceae. It was first defined by the Dutch botanist Nicolaas Laurens Burman in 1768. It is distributed in Africa, southern Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands.

''.

Description

Aurantioideae are smallish

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

s or large

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

s, or rarely

liana A liana is a long-Plant stem, stemmed Woody plant, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the Canopy (biology), canopy in search of direct sunlight. T ...

s. Their flowers are typically white and fragrant. Their fruit are very characteristic hesperidia, usually of rounded shape and colored in green, yellowish or orange hues.

Taxonomy

The subfamily has been divided into two

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

s, the ancestral

Clauseneae Clauseneae is one of the two tribes of the flowering plant family Rutaceae, subfamily Aurantioideae, the other being Citreae, which includes ''Citrus''. The tribe comprises five genera: '' Micromelum'', '' Glycosmis'', '' Clausena'', '' Murray ...

and the more advanced

Citreae Citreae is one of the two tribes of the flowering plant family Rutaceae, subfamily Aurantioideae, the other being Clauseneae. Subtribes and genera Three sub-tribes are included: * Triphasiinae ** '' Luvunga'' Buch.-Ham. ex Wight & Arn. ** '' ...

, as in a 1967 classification. A 2021 classification by Appelhans et al. based on a

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

study of almost 90% of the genera of the family Rutaceae places about 27 genera in the subfamily, stating that it was not yet feasible to produce a division into tribes. Other sources vary in the precise genera they accept.

Genera

Genera placed in Aurantioideae in Appelhans et al.'s 2021 classification of the Rutaceae into subfamilies are: * '' Aegle'' Corrêa – bael * ''

Aeglopsis ''Aeglopsis'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Rutaceae The Rutaceae () is a family (biology), family, commonly known as the rue

'' Swingle * ''

Afraegle ''Afraegle'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Rutaceae The Rutaceae () is a family (biology), family, commonly known as the rue

'' Engl. * ''

Atalantia ''Atalantia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the citrus family, the Rutaceae.Swingle, W. T., rev. P. C. ReeceChapter 3: The Botany of ''Citrus'' and its Wild Relatives.In: ''The Citrus Industry'' vol. 1. Webber, H. J. (ed.). Berkeley: Universit ...

'' Corrêa * ''

Balsamocitrus ''Balsamocitrus'' is a genus of plant in family Rutaceae. It is native to Cameroon, Central African Republic, Gabon, Guinea, Republic of the Congo, and Uganda. Species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in whic ...

'' Stapf * ''

Bergera ''Bergera'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rutaceae. It has been included in ''Murraya'' as ''M.'' sect. ''Bergera''. Species that may be placed in the genus are native from India through southeast Asia eastwards to China and Taiwa ...

'' J.Koenig ex L. – may be included in ''

Murraya ''Murraya'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the citrus family, Rutaceae. It is distributed in Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands. * '' Burkillanthus'' Swingle * '' Citropsis'' (Engl.) Swingle & M.Kellerm. – cherry oranges * ''

Citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

'' L. – citrus fruits (including ''Eremocitrus'', ''Microcitrus'' and '' Poncirus'') * ''

'' Burm.f. * '' Feroniella'' Swingle – may be included in ''

'' * '' Glycosmis'' Corrêa * '' Limnocitrus'' Swingle – may be included in '' Pleiospermium'' * '' Limonia'' L. – curd fruit * '' Luvunga'' Buch.-Ham. ex Wight & Arn. * '' Merope'' M.Roem. * '' Merrillia'' Swingle * '' Micromelum'' Blume * '' Monanthocitrus'' Tanaka * ''

Murraya ''Murraya'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the citrus family, Rutaceae. It is distributed in Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands.Naringi'' Adans. * '' Pamburus'' Swingle * '' Paramignya'' Wight * '' Pleiospermium'' Swingle * '' Swinglea'' Merr. * '' Triphasia'' Lour. * '' Wenzelia'' Merr. Genera that are not listed by Appelhans et al. include: * '' Clymenia'' Swingle – may be included in ''

References

Bibliography

* de Araújo, E. Freitas; de Queiroz, L. Paganucci & Machado, M.A. (2003): What is ''Citrus''? Taxonomic implications from a study of cp-DNA evolution in the tribe Citreae (Rutaceae subfamily Aurantioideae). ''Organisms Diversity & Evolution'' 3(1): 55-62. (HTML abstract) {{Taxonbar, from=Q663700 Rosid subfamilies