Gentianaceae is a family of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s of 105 genera and about 1600 species.

Etymology

The family takes its name from the genus '' Gentiana'', named after the Illyrian king

Gentius Gentius (, ''Génthios''; 181–168 BC) was an Illyrian king who belonged to the Labeatan dynasty. He ruled in 181–168 BC, being the last attested Illyrian king. He was the son of Pleuratus III, a king who kept positive relations with Rome. ...

Distribution

Distribution is

cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Internationalism * World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship * Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community * Cosmopolitan ...

Characteristics

The family consists of trees, shrubs and herbs showing a wide range of colours and floral patterns.

Flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s are

actinomorphic Floral symmetry describes whether, and how, a flower, in particular its perianth, can be divided into two or more identical or mirror-image parts. Uncommonly, flowers may have no axis of symmetry at all, typically because their parts are spirall ...

and bisexual with fused sepals and petals. The

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s are attached to the inside of the petals ( epipetalous) and alternate with the corolla lobes. There is a glandular disk at the base of the gynoecium, and flowers have parietal placentation. The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

is cymose, with simple or complex

cymes In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a main axis ( ped ...

. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

s are dehiscent septicidal capsules splitting into two halves, rarely some species have a

berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples of berries in the cul ...

. Seeds are small with copiously oily endosperms and a straight embryo. The habit varies from small

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, pachycaul

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 to (usually)

herb Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distingu ...

s, with ascending, erect or twining stems. Plants are usually rhizomatous. Leaves

opposite In lexical semantics, opposites are words lying in an inherently incompatible binary relationship. For example, something that is ''even'' entails that it is not ''odd''. It is referred to as a 'binary' relationship because there are two members i ...

, less often alternate or in some species whorled, simple in shape, with entire edges and bases connately attached to the stem. Stipules are absent. Plants usually accumulate bitter

iridoid Iridoids are a type of monoterpenoids in the general form of cyclopentanopyran, found in a wide variety of plants and some animals. They are biosynthetically derived from 8-oxogeranial. Iridoids are typically found in plants as glycosides, mo ...

substances; bicollateral bundles are present. Ecologically, partial

myco-heterotrophy Myco-heterotrophy (from Greek , , and ) is a symbiotic relationship between certain kinds of plants and fungi, in which the plant gets all or part of its food from parasitism upon fungi rather than from photosynthesis. A myco-heterotroph i ...

is common among species in this family with a few genera such as ''

Voyria ''Voyria'', commonly known as ghostplants, is a genus of 20 species of herbaceous perennial plants, belonging to the family Gentianaceae. They are mostly native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Caribbean, Central America and South A ...

'' and ''

Voyriella ''Voyriella'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Gentianaceae Gentianaceae is a family of flowering plants of 105 genera and about 1600 species. Etymology The family takes its name from the genus ''Gentiana'', named after ...

'' lacking

chlorophyll Chlorophyll is any of several related green pigments found in cyanobacteria and in the chloroplasts of algae and plants. Its name is derived from the Greek words (, "pale green") and (, "leaf"). Chlorophyll allows plants to absorb energy ...

and being fully myco-heterotrophic.

Ecology

Some of these plants have limited ranges and are protected under governmental oversight. For example, ''

Gentianella uliginosa ''Gentianella uliginosa'' is a species of flowering plant belonging to the family Gentianaceae Gentianaceae is a family of flowering plants of 105 genera and about 1600 species. Etymology The family takes its name from the genus ''Gentiana'', ...

'' (Dune Gentian), which occurs in some limited areas of

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, is a priority species under the Biodiversity Action Plan of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Biogeographic history

Gentianaceae are distributed worldwide, but most species occur in

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...

zones. According to Merckx et al., the

neotropics The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In biogeog ...

were an important area for the early diversification events in Gentianaceae, most of which occurring during the

Eocene The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...

. However, Pirie et al. suggested that ancient

vicariance Allopatric speciation () – also referred to as geographic speciation, vicariant speciation, or its earlier name the dumbbell model – is a mode of speciation that occurs when biological populations become geographically isolated from ...

cannot be ruled out as an explanation for the early origins of Exaceae across

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 ...

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

and the Indian subcontinent unless a strong assumption is made about the maximum age of

Gentianales Gentianales is an order of flowering plant, included within the asterid clade of eudicots. It comprises more than 20,000 species in about 1,200 genera in 5 families. More than 80% of the species in this order belong to the family Rubiaceae. Man ...

Uses

Economically, some species are cultivated

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...

s and many species yield bitter principles used medicinally and in flavorings.

Taxonomy

The family was first described by

Antoine Laurent de Jussieu Antoine Laurent de Jussieu (; 12 April 1748 – 17 September 1836) was a French botanist, notable as the first to publish a natural classification of flowering plants; much of his system remains in use today. His classification was based on an e ...

in 1789.

Tribes

*tribe Chironieae (

G.Don George Don (29 April 1798 – 25 February 1856) was a Scottish botanist and plant collector. Life and career George Don was born at Doo Hillock, Forfar, Angus, Scotland on 29 April 1798 to Caroline Clementina Stuart and George Don (b.1756), pr ...

)

Endl. Stephan Friedrich Ladislaus Endlicher, also known as Endlicher István László (24 June 1804 – 28 March 1849), was an Austrian botanist, numismatist and Sinologist. He was a director of the Botanical Garden of Vienna. Biography Endlicher s ...

**subtribe Canscorinae Thiv & Kadereit **subtribe Chironiinae

**subtribe Coutoubeinae

*tribe Exaceae Colla *tribe Gentianeae Colla **subtribe Gentianinae

**subtribe Swertiinae ( Griseb.) Rchb. *tribe Helieae Gilg *tribe Potalieae Rchb. **subtribe Faroinae Struwe & V.A.Albert **subtribe Lisianthiinae

**subtribe Potaliinae (

Mart. Carl Friedrich Philipp (Karl Friedrich Philipp) von Martius (17 April 1794 – 13 December 1868) was a German botany, botanist and explorer. Between 1817 and 1820, he travelled 10,000 km through Brazil while collecting botanical specimens. His m ...

) Progel *tribe Saccifolieae (Maguire & Pires) Struwe, Thiv, V.A.Albert & Kadereit *tribe Voyrieae Gilg

Genera

105 genera are accepted. *'' Adenolisianthus'' *''

Anthocleista ''Anthocleista'' is a genus of tree- and shrub-like tropical plants in the subtribe Potaliinae in the Gentian family. There are between 14 and 16 species in the genus, native mainly to tropical Africa, including Madagascar and the Mascarene Isl ...

'' *'' Aripuana'' *''

Bartonia ''Bartonia'' is a genus of the gentian family, tribe Gentianeae, subtribe Swertiinae. Members of this genus are called screwstems. ''Bartonia'' was also the name of a genus in the Loasaceae family, but those species are now generally classifie ...

'' *'' Bisgoeppertia'' *'' Blackstonia'' *'' Calolisianthus'' *'' Canscora'' *'' Celiantha'' *''

Centaurium ''Centaurium'' (centaury) is a genus of 20 species in the gentian family (Gentianaceae), tribe Chironieae, subtribe Chironiinae. The genus was named after the centaur Chiron, famed in Greek mythology for his skill in medicinal herbs. It is dis ...

'' *'' Chelonanthus'' *'' Chironia'' *'' Chorisepalum'' *'' Cicendia'' *'' Comastoma'' *'' Congolanthus'' *'' Coutoubea'' *'' Cracosna'' *'' Crawfurdia'' *'' Curtia'' *''

Cyrtophyllum ''Cyrtophyllum''Reinwardt CGC ex Blume (1823) ''Cat. Gew. Buitenzorg (Blume)'' 47. ''et Bijdr. Fl. Ned. Ind.'' 16: 1022 ct 1826-Nov 1827 is a genus of tropical Asian tree species in the family Gentianaceae and the tribe Potalieae. Species m ...

'' *''

Deianira Deianira, Deïanira, or Deianeira ( ; , or , ), also known as Dejanira, is a Calydonian princess in Greek mythology whose name translates as "man-destroyer" or "destroyer of her husband". She was the wife of Heracles and, in late Classical acc ...

'' *'' Djaloniella'' *'' Duplipetala'' *'' Enicostema'' *''

Eustoma ''Eustoma'', commonly known as lisianthus or prairie gentian, is a small genus of plants in the gentian family. They are native to warm regions of the southern United States, Mexico, Caribbean and northern South America. This genus is typically ...

'' *'' Exaculum'' *''

Exacum ''Exacum'' ( ) is a genus of plant in family Gentianaceae. It contains 75 species native to tropical regions of sub-Saharan Africa, southern Arabian Peninsula, south and southeast Asia, New Guinea, and Australia. Species 75 species are accepted. ...

'' *'' Exochaenium'' *''

Fagraea ''Fagraea'' is a genus of plants in the family Gentianaceae.Backlund, M., et al. (2000)Phylogenetic relationships within the Gentianales based on NDHF and RBCL sequences, with particular reference to the Loganiaceae.''American Journal of Botany'' ...

'' *'' Faroa'' *''

Frasera ''Frasera'', the green gentians, is a genus in the Gentianaceae, gentian family, native to North America and named for John Fraser (botanist), John Fraser, a Scottish botanist and colleague of Thomas Walter.The Frasera (Walter, 1795) were named f ...

'' *'' Geniostemon'' *'' Gentiana'' *''

Gentianella ''Gentianella'' is a plant genus in the Gentianaceae, gentian family (Gentianaceae). Plants of this genus are known commonly as dwarf gentians. there were about 256 species in this genus. They are herbs that occur in alpine and arctic habitat t ...

'' *'' Gentianopsis'' *'' Gentianothamnus'' *''

Gyrandra ''Gyrandra'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Gentianaceae Gentianaceae is a family of flowering plants of 105 genera and about 1600 species. Etymology The family takes its name from the genus ''Gentiana'', named after the Illyria ...

'' *''

Halenia ''Halenia'' (spurred gentian) is a genus of plant in family Gentianaceae. It contains the following species (but this list may be incomplete): * '' Halenia alleniana'', Standl. ex Wilbur * '' Halenia aquilegiella'', Standl. * '' Halenia brevico ...

'' *'' Helia'' *'' Hockinia'' *'' Hoppea'' *''

Irlbachia ''Irlbachia'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Gentianaceae. It is native to Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana and Brazil. The genus name of ''Irlbachia'' is in honour of Franz Gabriel von Bray (1765–1832), a Bavarian diplomat ...

'' *'' Ixanthus'' *'' Jaeschkea'' *'' Karina'' *'' Klackenbergia'' *'' Kuepferia'' *'' Lagenanthus'' *'' Lagenias'' *'' Latouchea'' *'' Lehmanniella'' *'' Limahlania'' *'' Lisianthius'' *'' Lomatogoniopsis'' *'' Lomatogonium'' *''

Macrocarpaea The genus ''Macrocarpaea'', with 105 species and two hybrids of 0.5 m herbs, shrubs, epiphytes and small trees to 10 m tall, is the largest genus of the tribe Helieae of the gentian family (Gentianaceae). Species of ''Macrocarpaea'' have diurnal ...

'' *'' Megacodon'' *'' Metagentiana'' *'' Microrphium'' *'' Neblinantha'' *'' Neurotheca'' *'' Obolaria'' *'' Oreonesion'' *'' Ornichia'' *''

Orphium ''Orphium'' is a plant genus in the Gentian family (Gentianaceae), endemic to South Africa. The name derives from the legendary Greek musician Orpheus.Chittenden, Fred J. Ed., Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening, Oxford 1951 The ...

'' *'' Phyllocyclus'' *'' Picrophloeus'' *''

Potalia ''Potalia'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Gentianaceae. Its native range is Southern Tropical America. Species: *''Potalia amara'' *''Potalia chocoensis'' *''Potalia coronata'' *''Potalia crassa'' *''Potalia elegan ...

'' *'' Prepusa'' *''

Pterygocalyx ''Pterygocalyx'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Gentianaceae. The only species is ''Pterygocalyx volubilis''. Its native range is Russian Far East The Russian Far East ( rus, Дальний Восток ...

'' *'' Purdieanthus'' *'' Pycnosphaera'' *'' Rogersonanthus'' *'' Roraimaea'' *''

Sabatia ''Sabatia'', the rose gentians, is a genus of about 20 species of flowering plants in the family Gentianaceae, native to eastern and central North America (Nova Scotia west to Wisconsin and New Mexico, and south to Florida and Texas), Central A ...

'' *'' Saccifolium'' *''

Schenkia ''Schenkia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the gentian family, Gentianaceae. It is sometimes included in the genus ''Centaurium''. Selected species *'' Schenkia australis'' ( R.Br.) G.Mans. (Australia) *'' Schenkia sebaeoides'' Griseb. &nda ...

'' *'' Schinziella'' *'' Schultesia'' *'' Sebaea'' *'' Senaea'' *'' Sinogentiana'' *'' Sinoswertia'' *'' Sipapoantha'' *''

Swertia ''Swertia'' is a genus in the gentian family containing plants sometimes referred to as the felworts. Some species bear very showy purple and blue flowers. Many members of this genus have medicinal and cultural purposes. Plants of genus '' Fras ...

'' *'' Symbolanthus'' *''

Symphyllophyton ''Symphyllophyton'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Gentianaceae Gentianaceae is a family of flowering plants of 105 genera and about 1600 species. Etymology The family takes its name from the genus ''Gentiana'', named ...

'' *'' Tachia'' *'' Tachiadenus'' *'' Tapeinostemon'' *'' Tetrapollinia'' *'' Tripterospermum'' *''

Tubella ''Tubella inconspicua'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Gentianaceae. It is the sole species in genus ''Tubella''. It is endemic to El Salvador.Urogentias'' *''

Utania ''Utania'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the gentian family (Gentianaceae), the tribe Potalieae, and the subtribe Potaliinae. A small genus it has 12 species. Description Small to medium trees, usually 1-3m tall, but occasionally u ...

'' *''

Valdesiana ''Valdesiana elegans'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Gentianaceae. It is the sole species in genus ''Valdesiana''. It is an annual native to Portugal and western Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in South ...

'' *'' Veratrilla'' *''

'' *''

'' *'' Xestaea'' *''

Yanomamua ''Yanomamua'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Gentianaceae Gentianaceae is a family of flowering plants of 105 genera and about 1600 species. Etymology The family takes its name from the genus ''Gentiana'', named after ...

'' *''

Zeltnera ''Zeltnera'' is a genus of flowering plants in the Gentianaceae, gentian family. It was erected in 2004 when the genus ''Centaurium'' (the centauries) was split. Genetic analysis revealed that ''Centaurium'' was Polyphyly, polyphyletic, made up o ...

Etymology

Distribution

Characteristics

Ecology

Biogeographic history

Uses

Taxonomy

Tribes

Genera

Phylogeny

References

External links