| Actinidiaceae | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Actinidia chinensis var.deliciosa | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Ericales |
| Family: | Actinidiaceae Gilg &Werderm.[1] |
| Type genus | |
| Actinidia | |
| Genera | |
TheActinidiaceae are a smallfamily offlowering plants. The family has threegenera and about 360species and is a member of the orderEricales.[2]
They are temperate and subtropicalwoodyvines, shrubs, and trees, native to Asia (Actinidia orkiwifruit,Clematoclethra, andSaurauia) and Central America and South America (Saurauia only).Saurauia, with its 300 species, is the largest genus in this family. Although now confined to Asia and tropical Central and South America, evidence indicates in the past the family had a wider distribution. The now extinct genusParasaurauia is thought to have belonged to the Actinidiaceae and lived in North America during the earlyCampanian.[3]
The plants are usually small trees or shrubs, or sometimes vines (Actinidia). The alternate, simple, spiralleaves have serrated or entire margins. They lackstipules or are minutely stipulated. They are often beset with rather flattened bristles.
Theflowers grow solitary or are aggregated in terminalcymes, with freesepals andpetals. Except for members of the genusClematoclethra which have 10 stamens, thestamens are numerous and originally attached at the back.[3] They invert just before the flower starts expanding, so their bases becomeapical.
The plants may bedioecious,monoecious, orhermaphroditic. The fruit is usually aberry, such as the edible kiwifruit, a cultivar from the genusActinidia.
Before genetic evidence appeared in the last 10 years, the placement of the Actinidiaceae within the Ericales was highly controversial. TheUSDA Plants Database, a resource considered authoritative, still places the Actinidaceae within theTheales, an order which has been shown not to bemonophyletic.[4] Placement of the Actinidiaceae within the Ericales has been strongly supported recently by genetic evidence, and contrary to previous thought, it is not abasal member of the Ericales. Multiple studies using genetic evidence now firmly place the Actinidiaceae in the Ericoidclade, a monophyletic group consisting of theEricaceae, theCyrillaceae, theClethraceae, theSarraceniaceae, and theRoridulaceae. Further genetic evidence points to the Actinidiaceae being sister to the Roridulaceae, with the Roridulaceae and Sarraceniaceae, forming another, smaller, monophyletic group.[5]
What genera were to be placed in the Actinidiaceae before recent genetic and micromorphological studies emerged was highly controversial. Before recent evidence, the genusSladenia was often placed within the Actinidiaceae. Also,Saurauia was sometimes considered its own family. Thus, before more detailed studies started, two to four genera could be placed within the Actinidiaceae. Micromorphological characters have confirmed thatSladenia does not belong in the Actinidiaceae. Furthermore, biological characteristics of thecells, and molecular evidence have confirmed the three genera currentlycircumscribed in the Actinidiaceae,Clematoclethra,Saurauia, andActinidia, do indeed form a monophyletic group.[6][7]
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)| International | |
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