Linaceae is a
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
of
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...
s. The family is
cosmopolitan, and includes about 250 species in 14 genera, classified into two subfamilies: the Linoideae and Hugonioideae (often recognized as a distinct family, the Hugoniaceae). Leaves of the Linaceae are always simple; arrangement varies from alternate (most species) to opposite (in ''Sclerolinon'' and some ''Linum'') or whorled (in some ''Hesperolinon'' and ''Linum'' species). The
hermaphroditic
In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes.
Many taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrates) do not have se ...
,
actinomorphic flowers are
pentameric or, very rarely,
tetramer
A tetramer () (''tetra-'', "four" + '' -mer'', "parts") is an oligomer formed from four monomers or subunits. The associated property is called ''tetramery''. An example from inorganic chemistry is titanium methoxide with the empirical formula T ...
ic (e.g., ''Radiola linoides'', ''Linum keniense'').
In the Linoideae, the largest genus is ''
Linum
''Linum'' (flax) is a genus of approximately 200 species[''Linum''.]
The Jepson Manual. ...
'', the flaxes, with 180–200 species including the cultivated
flax
Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known i ...
, ''Linum usitatissimum''. Members of the Linoideae include herbaceous annuals and perennials, as well as woody subshrubs, shrubs, and small trees (''Tirpitzia'') inhabiting temperate and tropical latitudes of Eurasia, Africa, Australia, and the Americas. The largest genus of the Hugonioideae is ''Hugonia'' (about 40 species); the Hugonioideae are woody vines, shrubs, and trees, and are almost entirely tropical in distribution. In addition to their growth habits and geographic distributions, the Linoideae and Hugonioideae can be differentiated by the number of fertile stamens (five in the Linoideae, 10 in the Hugonioideae) and fruit type (capsules in the Linoideae, fleshy drupe-like fruits in the Hugonioideae).
Genera in subfamily
Linoideae
*''
Anisadenia
''Anisadenia'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Linaceae.
Its native range is Himalaya to Central China.
Species:
*''Anisadenia pubescens
''Anisadenia'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Linaceae.
...
'' Wall. ex Meisn. (2 sp.)
*''
Hesperolinon'' (Gray) Small (13 sp.)
*''
Linum
''Linum'' (flax) is a genus of approximately 200 species[''Linum''.]
The Jepson Manual. ...
'' L. (approximately 200 species)
*''
Radiola'' Hill (1 sp.)
*''
Reinwardtia'' Dumort. (1 sp.)
*''
Sclerolinon'' C.M.Rogers (1 sp.)
*''
Tirpitzia'' Hallier f. (3 sp.)
Former genera; ''Cliococca'' (synonym of ''Linum'' L.)
Genera in subfamily
Hugonioideae
*''
Hebepetalum'' Benth. (3 sp.)
*''
Hugonia
''Hugonia'' is a genus of plant in the family Linaceae. The genus was named by Linnaeus after Augustus Johann von Hugo (1686-1760) of Hannover.
Species include:
* ''Hugonia deplanchei''
* ''Hugonia jenkinsii''
* ''Hugonia macrophylla'' Oliv.
* ...
'' l. (6 sp.)
*''
Indorouchera'' Hallier f. (1 sp.)
*''
Roucheria'' Planch. (7 sp.)
Former genera; ''Durandea'' (synonym of Hugonia L.,) and ''Philbornea'' (synonym of Hugonia L.
)
Under the old
Cronquist system
The Cronquist system is a taxonomic classification system of flowering plants. It was developed by Arthur Cronquist in a series of monographs and texts, including ''The Evolution and Classification of Flowering Plants'' (1968; 2nd edition, 1988) ...
of classifying the flowering plants, the Linaceae were placed in their own
order
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...
, the
Linales. Modern classifications place them in the order
Malpighiales
The Malpighiales comprise one of the largest orders of flowering plants, containing about 36 families and more than species, about 7.8% of the eudicots. The order is very diverse, containing plants as different as the willow, violet, poinse ...
.
References
External links
*
Linaceae in Topwalksi
{{Taxonbar, from=Q155951
Malpighiales families