The
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 ...
Pandaceae consists of three genera that were formerly recognized in the
Euphorbiaceae
Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of a genus in the family. Most spurges, such as '' Euphorbia paralias'', are herbs, but some, ...
. Those are:
*''
Galearia'' (from tribe
Galearieae
Galearieae is a no-longer-recognized tribe of plant of the family Euphorbiaceae. It comprised 3 genera, '' Galearia'', '' Microdesmis'', and ''Panda''. Molecular data show that although these three genera are related to each other, they do not belo ...
, subfamily
Acalyphoideae
The Acalyphoideae are a 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 subfamily botan ...
, family
Euphorbiaceae
Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of a genus in the family. Most spurges, such as '' Euphorbia paralias'', are herbs, but some, ...
)
*''
Microdesmis'' (from tribe
Galearieae
Galearieae is a no-longer-recognized tribe of plant of the family Euphorbiaceae. It comprised 3 genera, '' Galearia'', '' Microdesmis'', and ''Panda''. Molecular data show that although these three genera are related to each other, they do not belo ...
, subfamily
Acalyphoideae
The Acalyphoideae are a 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 subfamily botan ...
, family
Euphorbiaceae
Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of a genus in the family. Most spurges, such as '' Euphorbia paralias'', are herbs, but some, ...
)
*''
Panda
The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear (or simply the panda), is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its bold black-and-white coat and rotund body. The name "giant panda" is sometimes use ...
'' (from tribe
Galearieae
Galearieae is a no-longer-recognized tribe of plant of the family Euphorbiaceae. It comprised 3 genera, '' Galearia'', '' Microdesmis'', and ''Panda''. Molecular data show that although these three genera are related to each other, they do not belo ...
, subfamily
Acalyphoideae
The Acalyphoideae are a 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 subfamily botan ...
, family
Euphorbiaceae
Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of a genus in the family. Most spurges, such as '' Euphorbia paralias'', are herbs, but some, ...
)
These genera contain 17
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...
,
which especially live in
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mau ...
or
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
.
Species in this family are
dioecious
Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproducti ...
trees or shrubs, with alternate, simple leaves.
The genus ''
Centroplacus'' was formerly included in the Pandaceae and had also been recognized in the tribe
Centroplaceae, family
Phyllanthaceae
Phyllanthaceae is a family of flowering plants in the eudicot order Malpighiales. It is most closely related to the family Picrodendraceae.Kenneth J. Wurdack and Charles C. Davis. 2009. "Malpighiales phylogenetics: Gaining ground on one of the ...
). The
APG III system
The APG III system of flowering plant classification is the third version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy being developed by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG). Published in 2009, it was superseded in 2016 by a fu ...
recognized this genus as a part of the family
Centroplacaceae.
References
Malpighiales families
Dioecious plants
{{Malpighiales-stub