| Cornaceae | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Cornus suecica | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Cornales |
| Family: | Cornaceae Bercht. & J.Presl |
| Genera | |
TheCornaceae are acosmopolitan family offlowering plants in the orderCornales. The family contains approximately 85 species in two genera,[1]Alangium andCornus. They are mostly trees and shrubs, which may be deciduous or evergreen, although a few species are perennial herbs. Members of the family usually have opposite or alternate simple leaves, four- or five-parted flowers clustered ininflorescences orpseudanthia, anddrupaceous fruits.[2] The family is primarily distributed in northern temperate regions and tropical Asia.[3] In northern temperate areas, Cornaceae are well known from the dogwoodsCornus.
Thesystematics of Cornaceae has been remarkably unsettled and controversial, and many genera have been added to it and removed from it over time. (One researcher called it a "dustbin".[4])Molecular phylogenetics have clarified the relatedness of some associated genera, and at least nine genera that were previously included in Cornaceae have been eliminated from the order Cornales entirely,[5] but the circumscription of Cornaceae is still unclear. TheAngiosperm Phylogeny Group usually defines Cornaceae as comprising the generaCornus andAlangium as well as five genera now separated into the familyNyssaceae. However, many of these genera are sometimes split off into their own families (e.g.Alangiaceae), and the usage remains inconsistent.[5][6]
The oldestfossil that can be related to Cornaceae is †Hironoia fusiformis, anextinct taxon collected from theFutaba Group sediments at Kamitikaba,Japan.Synapomorphies of the fruits of the fossil occur also in extant Cornaceae. The age of the sediments is of earlyConiacian to earlySantonian (about 88 Ma).[7] Although the mosaic of characters inHironoia precludes assignment to an extant genus, the fiber rather than sclereid composition of the fruit places it within theNyssaceae-Mastixiaceae. Other possible Cornaceae fromCretaceous sediments includeendocarps resemblingCornus from theSantonian-Campanian mesofossilassemblage ofÅsen. In slightly youngerLate Cretaceous sediments (Maastrichtian) four genera offossil mastixioid fruits (Beckettia,Eomastixia,Mastixicarpum andMastixiopsis) have been described fromGermany.[8]
_Cornus_sanguinea_-_Inflorescence.jpg)
Media related toCornaceae at Wikimedia Commons
