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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Malvaceae
Malvaceae (), or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include Theobroma cacao, cacao, Cola (plant), cola, cotton, okra, Hibiscus sabdariffa, ...
,
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 ...
Malvoideae. The tribe circumscribes approximately 70 genera and 1040 species and has the greatest species diversity out the three tribes that make up Malvoideae (followed by Hibisceae and then Gossypieae). The flowers of Malveae are five- merous with a characteristic staminal column, a trait found throughout Malvoideae. Although there are not many economically important species within Malveae, the tribe includes '' Althaea officinalis'', otherwise known as the marsh-mallow.
The fruits of Malveae are generally
schizocarp
A schizocarp is a dry fruit that, when mature, splits up into mericarps.
There are different definitions:
* Any Dry fruits, dry fruit composed of multiple carpels that separate.
: Under this definition the mericarps can contain one or more ...
ic, although some are functionally capsular. The tribe generally includes herbaceous plants, although '' Robinsonella'' are trees. The tribe is a well supported
monophyletic
In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria:
# the grouping contains its own most recent co ...
group, supported by
chloroplast
A chloroplast () is a type of membrane-bound organelle, organelle known as a plastid that conducts photosynthesis mostly in plant cell, plant and algae, algal cells. Chloroplasts have a high concentration of chlorophyll pigments which captur ...
and
ribosomal DNA
The ribosomal DNA (rDNA) consists of a group of ribosomal RNA encoding genes and related regulatory elements, and is widespread in similar configuration in all domains of life. The ribosomal DNA encodes the non-coding ribosomal RNA, integral struc ...
. Within Malvoideae, Malveae forms a
monophyletic
In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria:
# the grouping contains its own most recent co ...
clade
In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...
with Gossypieae, sister to Hibisceae. Malveae species are primarily found in the Americas, although genera within the tribe are also found in Eurasia, Australia, and Africa.
The intergeneric relationships within Malveae are not well resolved. The tribe was originally split between Eumalveae, Malopeae, Sideae and Abutileae based on
carpel
Gynoecium (; ; : gynoecia) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more ...
arrangement,
ovule
In seed plants, the ovule is the structure that gives rise to and contains the female reproductive cells. It consists of three parts: the ''integument'', forming its outer layer, the ''nucellus'' (or remnant of the sporangium, megasporangium), ...
numbers and the flowers'
stigmatic
Stigmata (, plural of , 'mark, spot, brand'), in Catholicism, are bodily wounds, scars and pain which appear in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ: the hands, wrists, feet, near the heart, the head (from the cro ...
arrangements, however, now Malveae is generally grouped into 14 alliances (''
Abutilon
''Abutilon'' is a large genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is distributed throughout the tropics and subtropicsBatesimalva,
Kearnemalvastrum
''Kearnemalvastrum'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Malvaceae.
Its native range is Mexico to Colombia. It is also found in the countries of Costa Rica, Guatemala and Honduras.
The genus name of ''Kearnemalvastrum'' is in ...
,
Malvastrum
''Malvastrum'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Malvaceae. Its native range is the New World
The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and ...
,
Sphaeralcea
''Sphaeralcea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family (Malvaceae). There are about 40-60 species, including annuals, perennials, and shrubs. Most originate in the drier regions of North America, with some known from South America. ...
,
Modiola
''Modiola'' is a monotypic genus of plants in the mallow family containing the single species ''Modiola caroliniana'', which is known by several common names including bristly-fruited mallow, Carolina bristlemallow, babosilla, and redflower mall ...
,
Anoda
''Anoda'' is a genus of flowering plants in the Malvaceae, mallow family. It includes 24 species of herbs, native to the subtropical and tropical Americas from the southwestern United States (Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas) through Mexico, Centra ...
,
Gaya
Gaya may refer to:
Geography Czech Republic
*Kyjov, a town called Gaya in German and Latin
Guinea
* Gaya or Gayah, a town
India
*Gaya, India, a city in Bihar
**Gaya Airport
*Bodh Gaya, a town in Bihar near Gaya
*Gaya district, Bihar
Niger
*G ...
Malva
''Malva'' is a genus of herbaceous annual, biennial, and perennial plants in the family Malvaceae. It is one of several closely related genera in the family to bear the common English name mallow. The genus is widespread throughout the temp ...
,
Sidalcea
''Sidalcea'' is a genus (approx. 25 species) of the botanical family Malvaceae. It contains several species of flowering plants known generally as checkerblooms or checkermallows, or prairie mallows in the United Kingdom. They can be annuals or ...
,
Malacothamnus
''Malacothamnus'' (bushmallow) is a genus of shrubs found throughout much of mainland California and on three of the Channel Islands. Outside of California, ''Malacothamnus'' is known from the northern half of Baja California and from a few disju ...
'' and '' Plagianthus''). Recent ribosomal sequencing, however, suggests that these alliances are non monophyletic and may be better characterized by the presence or absence of involucre
bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale.
Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also lo ...
s (''i.e''., an epicalyx). No new
phylogenies
A phylogenetic tree or phylogeny is a graphical representation which shows the evolutionary history between a set of species or taxa during a specific time.Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA. In o ...
have yet been proposed.
Genera
The following genera are recognized and as grouped from Bayer & Kubitzki(2003):