Meliaceae
| Mahogany family | |
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| Melia azedarach in flower | |
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| Family: | Meliaceae |
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See text. | |
Meliaceae, or the Mahogany family, is a flowering plant family of mostly trees and shrubs (and a few herbaceous plants, mangroves) in the order Sapindales.
They are characterised by alternate, usually pinnate leaves without stipules, and by syncarpous,[2] apparently bisexual (but actually mostly cryptically unisexual) flowers borne in panicles, cymes, spikes, or clusters. Most species are evergreen, but some are deciduous, either in the dry season or in winter.
The family includes about 53 genera and about 600 known species,[3] with a pantropical distribution; one genus (Toona) extends north into temperate China and south into southeast Australia, and another (Melia) nearly as far north.
Uses
Various species are used for vegetable oil, soap-making, insecticides, and highly prized wood (mahogany).
Some economically important species belong to this family:
- Neem tree Azadirachta indica (India)
- Crabwood Tree Carapa procera (South America and Africa)
- Cedrela odorata Central and South America; timber also known as Spanish-cedar
- Sapele Entandrophragma cylindricum (tropical Africa)
- Utile or Sipo, Entandrophragma utile (tropical Africa)
- Bossé Guarea cedrata (Africa)
- Bossé Guarea thompsonii (Africa)
- Ivory Coast Mahogany Khaya ivorensis (tropical Africa)
- Senegal Mahogany Khaya senegalensis (tropical Africa)
- Chinaberry or White Cedar, Melia azedarach (Indomalaya and Australasia)
- Mahogany Swietenia species (tropical Americas)
- Toon, Toona species (tropical Asia, Malesia, and Australia), especially Toona ciliata
Genera
Notes
- ↑ Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2009). "An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 161 (2): 105–121. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00996.x. Retrieved 2016-03-21.
- ↑ Of a gynoecium, made up of united carpels
- ↑ Christenhusz, M. J. M.; Byng, J. W. (2016). "The number of known plants species in the world and its annual increase". Phytotaxa. Magnolia Press. 261 (3): 201–217. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.261.3.1.
References
- <templatestyles src="smallcaps/styles.css"/>Pennington, T.D. & Styles, B.T. (1975): A generic monograph of the Meliaceae. Blumea 22: 419-540.