The Simaroubaceae, also known as the quassia family, are a small, mostly tropical, family in the order

Sapindales Sapindales is an order of flowering plants. Well-known members of Sapindales include citrus; maples, horse-chestnuts, lychees and rambutans; mangos and cashews; frankincense and myrrh; mahogany and neem. The APG III system of 2009 includ ...

. In recent decades, it has been subject to much taxonomic debate, with several small families being split off. A

molecular phylogeny 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 ...

of the family was published in 2007, greatly clarifying relationships within the family. Together with chemical characteristics such as the occurrence of

petroselinic acid Petroselinic acid is a fatty acid that occurs naturally in several animal and vegetable fats and oils. It is a white powder and is commercially available. In chemical terms, petroselinic acid is classified as a monounsaturated omega-12 fatty ac ...

in ''Picrasma'', in contrast to other members of the family such as ''

Ailanthus ''Ailanthus'' (; derived from ''ailanto,'' an Ambonese Malay, Ambonese word probably meaning "tree of the gods" or "tree of heaven") is a genus of trees belonging to the family Simaroubaceae, in the order Sapindales (formerly Rutales or Geranial ...

'', this indicates the existence of a subgroup in the family with ''Picrasma'', ''Holacantha'', and ''

Castela ''Castela'' is a genus of thorny shrubs and small trees in the family Simaroubaceae. Members of the genus are native to the Americas, especially the tropical regions. The generic name honours the French naturalist René Richard Louis Castel. '' ...

''. The best-known species is the temperate

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

tree-of-heaven ''

Ailanthus altissima ''Ailanthus altissima'' ( ), commonly known as tree of heaven or ailanthus tree, is a deciduous tree in the quassia family. It is native to northeast and central China, and Taiwan. Unlike other members of the genus ''Ailanthus'', it is found ...

'', which has become a

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 ...

weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, growing where it conflicts with human preferences, needs, or goals.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. Pla ...

tree of urban areas and wildlands. Well-known genera in the family include the tropical ''

Quassia ''Quassia'' ( or ) is a plant genus in the family Simaroubaceae. Its size is disputed; some botanists treat it as consisting of only one species, '' Quassia amara'' from tropical South America, while others treat it in a wide circumscription as ...

'' and ''

Simarouba ''Simarouba'' is a genus of trees and shrubs in the family Simaroubaceae, native to the neotropics. It has been grouped in the subtribe Simaroubina along with the '' Simaba'' and ''Quassia'' genera. They have compound leaves, with between 1 and 12 ...

''. It is known in English by the

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...

s of the quassia family or ailanthus family.

Genera

20 genera are accepted: *''

'' *†'' Ailanthophyllum'' *''

Brucea ''Brucea'' is a genus of plant in the family Simaroubaceae. It is named for the Scottish scholar and explorer James Bruce. , Plants of the World Online accepts the following species: * ''Brucea antidysenterica ''Brucea'' is a genus of plant i ...

'' *''

'' *'' Eurycoma'' *'' Gymnostemon'' *''

Hannoa ''Hannoa'' is a genus of plant in the family Simaroubaceae. Found in tropical parts of Africa. Description The genus consists of trees, shrubs or shrublets. They have leaves that are not crowded at the ends of the branches, imparipinnate. With l ...

'' *''

Homalolepis ''Homalolepis'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Simaroubaceae The Simaroubaceae, also known as the quassia family, are a small, mostly tropical, family in the order Sapindales. In recent decades, it has been subject to ...

'' *''

Iridosma ''Iridosma'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Simaroubaceae The Simaroubaceae, also known as the quassia family, are a small, mostly tropical, family in the order Sapindales. In recent decades, it has been subj ...

'' *'' Leitneria'' *''

Nothospondias ''Nothospondias'' is a genus of plants in the family Simaroubaceae. It contains the sole species ''Nothospondias staudtii'', native to Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Ghana, and Nigeria. It is a dioecious Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dioecious, ) is a ...

'' *'' Odyendea'' *''

Perriera ''Perriera'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Simaroubaceae. It is endemic to Madagascar. The genus name of ''Perriera'' is in honour of Joseph Marie Henry Alfred Perrier de la Bâthie Joseph Marie Henry Alfred Perrier d ...

'' *''

Picrasma ''Picrasma'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Simaroubaceae, comprising six to nine species native to temperate to tropical regions of Asia, and tropical regions of the Americas. The species are shrubs and tree In botany, a ...

'' *''

Picrolemma ''Picrolemma'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Simaroubaceae. They are small dioecious Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dioecious, ) is a characteristic of certain species that have distinct unisexual individuals, each producing eithe ...

'' *''

Pierreodendron ''Pierreodendron'' is a genus of plants in the family Simaroubaceae. Its native range is western tropical Africa and is found in Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, Togo and Zaïre. It was first publishe ...

'' *''

Samadera ''Samadera'' is a genus of four species of plants belonging to the family Simaroubaceae in the order Sapindales. Its range is from eastern Africa through tropical Asia to eastern Australia. Type species: ''Samadera indica'' Gaertn Description ...

'' *''

Simaba ''Simaba'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Simaroubaceae. Its native range stretches from southern tropical America and Trinidad, across to western tropical Africa to Angola then across to western Malesia. It was first pu ...

'' *''

Soulamea ''Soulamea'' is a genus of plant in family Simaroubaceae. They are shrubs or small trees, and are dioecious, with the exception of ''Soulamea amara'', which has bisexual flowers. It is native to parts of Malesia in the West Pacific. From the Seych ...

Excluded genera

*'' Allantospermum'' →

Irvingiaceae Irvingiaceae is a small family of flowering plants, consisting of about 13 species; it was erected by Exell and Mendonça in 1951. The family and type genus were named after the Scottish naval surgeon, Edward George Irving.D. Gledhill. ''The Na ...

*'' Alvaradoa'' → Picramniaceae *'' Desbordesia'' →

*''

Harrisonia ''Harrisonia'' is a small genus of flowering plants in the subfamily Cneoroideae of the Rutaceae (citrus family). Older taxonomic treatments have placed this genus in the Simaroubaceae. Species ''Plants of the World Online'' currently includes: ...

'' →

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

*''

Irvingia ''Irvingia'' is a genus of African and Southeast Asian trees in the family Irvingiaceae, sometimes known by the common names wild mango, African mango, bush mango, dika, mbukpap uyo or Irvingia gabonensis, ogbono. They bear edible mango-like ...

'' → Irvingiaceae *'' Kirkia'' →

Kirkiaceae Kirkiaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Sapindales. It comprises one (or two) genera, '' Kirkia'' (and '' Pleiokirkia'' now included in ''Kirkia''), totalling six species. These two genera were previously placed in family Simaroub ...

*'' Klainedoxa'' → Irvingiaceae *''

Picramnia ''Picramnia'', the bitterbushes, is a genus of flowering plants generally placed in the family Picramniaceae, but sometimes included in Simaroubaceae. The name is conserved name, conserved against the genera ''Pseudo-brasilium'' Michel Ada ...

'' → Picramniaceae *''

Recchia ''Recchia'' is a genus of trees in the family Surianaceae. It is native to tropical habitats of Mexico. Species It includes the following species: * '' Recchia connaroides'' — endemic to Oaxaca state in southwestern Mexico. * '' Recchia mexic ...

'' →

Surianaceae The Surianaceae are a family of plants in the order Fabales with five genera and eight known species. It has an unusual distribution: the genus '' Recchia'' is native to Mexico, and the sole member of '' Suriana'', '' S. maritima'', is a c ...

References

External links

{{Authority control Sapindales families