Viscaceae is a
taxonomic 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 ...
name 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. In this circumscription, the family includes the several genera of
mistletoes. This family name is currently being studied and under review as in past decades, several
systems of plant taxonomy
A system is a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment, is described by its boundaries, structure and purpose and is exp ...
recognized this family, notably the 1981
Cronquist system
The Cronquist system is a list of systems of plant taxonomy, taxonomic classification system of angiosperms, flowering plants. It was developed by Arthur Cronquist in a series of monographs and texts, including ''The Evolution and Classification of ...
.
However, the
APG II system of 2003 does not recognize the family, treating it as a synonym of
Santalaceae. This did not end the taxonomic debate among
botanists and there are many that still think Viscaceae should be an accepted family name. According to the
APG IV system, Der and Nickrent (2008) found seven well supported clades in Santalaceae, but relationships between these clades are still poorly understood.
The traditional and cultural uses of species within the Viscaceae merit further attention.
Clades or genera treated as belonging to the currently debated family name Viscaceae include:
*''
Arceuthobium
The genus ''Arceuthobium'', commonly called dwarf mistletoes, is a genus of 42 species of parasitic plants that parasitize members of Pinaceae and Cupressaceae in North America, Central America, Asia, Europe, and Africa. Of the 42 species that h ...
''
*''
Dendrophthora''
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Ginalloa''
*''
Korthalsella''
*''
Notothixos''
*''
Phoradendron''
*''
Viscum''
References
AP-Website: Santalales
{{Authority control
Historically recognized angiosperm families