familyCornaceae

Cornaceae

Berchtold & J. Presl
Common names: Dogwood Family
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 12. Treatment on page 443. Mentioned on page 458, 548.

Herbs, shrubs, or trees, perennial, deciduous, synoecious [dioecious]; hairs unbranched or 2-armed (occasionally 1 arm absent). Leaves usually opposite, sometimes alternate, simple; stipules absent; petiole usually present, sometimes absent; blade margins entire; venation pinnate (eucamptodromous). Inflorescences axillary or terminal, cymes, umbels, or capitula. Flowers bisexual [unisexual]; perianth and androecium epigynous; hypanthium completely adnate to ovary; sepals 4(–5), distinct or slightly connate; petals 4(–5), distinct, valvate; nectary present, intrastaminal; stamens 4(–5), distinct, free; anthers dehiscing by longitudinal slits; pistil 1, [1–]2[–4]-carpellate, ovary inferior, [1–]2[–4]-locular, placentation apical; ovules 1 per locule, apotropous to epitropous; style 1; stigmas 2. Fruits drupes, rarely fused into a syncarp. Seeds 1(–2) per fruit.

Distribution

North America, Mexico, Central America, n, w South America, Eurasia, Africa, predominately northern boreal and temperate regions, also high elevations in subtropical and tropical regions.

Discussion

Genus 1, species ca. 60 (20 species in the flora).

Delimitation of Cornaceae has varied over the years, with many treatments circumscribing the family broadly to include Nyssa and several small Asian genera along with Cornus (for example, Xiang Q. Y. et al. 1998). DNA sequence data from intensive taxon sampling support narrower circumscription, with Cornus as the sole member of the family and sister to the Asian Alangiaceae de Candolle (Xiang et al. 2011); that treatment is followed here. Aucuba, sometimes included in Cornaceae, is here placed in Garryaceae.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

... more about "Cornaceae"
Zack E. Murrell +  and Derick B. Poindexter +
Berchtold & J. Presl +
Dogwood Family +
North America +, Mexico +, Central America +, n +, w South America +, Eurasia +, Africa +, predominately northern boreal and temperate regions +  and also high elevations in subtropical and tropical regions. +
Cornaceae +