Diapensiaceae

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Ordo: Ericales

Familia: Diapensiaceae
Genera: Berneuxia – Diapensia – Galax – Pyxidanthera – Schizocodon – Shortia
Name

Diapensiaceae Lindl. Intr. Nat. Syst. Bot. (ed. 2) 233. (1836) nom. cons

Type genus: Diapensia L. Sp. Pl. 1: 141. (1753)

References

Lindley, J. 1836. An Introduction to the Natural System of Botany 233.
International Plant Names Index. 2016. Diapensiaceae. Published online. Accessed: May 25 2016.
Stevens, P.F. 2001 onwards. Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 14, July 2017 [and more or less continuously updated since]. Online. Reference page.
Tropicos.org 2016. Diapensiaceae. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2016 May 25.

Vernacular names
العربية: كأسية خماسية الأوراق
català: Diapensiàcies
čeština: Diapensiovité
dansk: Fjeldpryd-familien
suomi: Uuvanakasvit
français: Diapensiacées
日本語: イワウメ科
한국어: 암매과, 돌매화나무과
lietuvių: Diapensijiniai
norsk: Fjellprydfamilien
polski: Zimnicowate
русский: Диапенсиевые
svenska: Fjällgröneväxter
українська: Діапензієві
Tiếng Việt: Họ Nham mai
中文: 岩梅科

Diapensiaceae is a small family of flowering plants, classified as a crown group, which includes 15 species in 6 genera.[2] The genera include Berneuxia Decne. (1 species),[3] Diapensia L. (5 species),[4] Galax Sims (1 species),[3] Pyxidanthera Michx. (2 species),[5] Shortia Torr. & A.Gray (4 species),[6] and Schizocodon Siebold & Zucc. (2 species).[6] Members of this family have little economic importance, however, some members are cultivated by florists.[7]

Taxonomy

Past literature classified Diapensiaceae as an old family, without defining the meaning of old.[8] The name Diapensia was given to Diapensia lapponica by Linnaeus. Previously, it was the Greek name of sanicle.[9][10] The family, originally including only Diapensia lapponica, was named by Heinrich Friedrich Link in 1829.[11] Concerning the interrelationships in Diapensiaceae, debate still remains regarding the recognition of Schizocodon and whether it should be separate from Shortia. However, recent molecular studies support the split of the two genera.[6] Additionally, recognition of species within the genera has been debated. Within the genus Pyxidanthera, two species have previously been recognized. Recent morphology and molecular work found that the two species do not differ morphologically and gene flow exists between them.[12]

Over time, various relationships among Diapensiaceae and other angiosperm families have been proposed. Previously, it was placed within the order Rosales,[13] as well as in the Cornales.[14] Diapensiaceae was also placed in an order of its own in the Cronquist system and by Takhtajan.[15] Recent studies have placed Diapensiaceae as part of the Ericales clade, belonging to the “styracoids” (Diapensiaceae, Styracaceae, Symplocaceae).[16] It is estimated that Diapensiaceae diverged from Sytracaceae about 93 million years ago.[17] The family is thought to have originated in the Northern Hemisphere.[18]
Distribution

Family Diapensiaceae members are mostly found in North America and Eastern Asia.[7]

Genera	Distribution[19]
Berneuxia	Tibet, southern China, and Burma
Diapensia	Mostly mountains in southern Asia, Diapensia lapponica is circumboreal
Galax	Eastern United States
Pyxidanthera	Eastern United States
Shortia	Eastern United States, China, and Taiwan
Schizocodon	Japan

Characteristics

Members of Diapensiaceae are mostly herbs or shrublets. Flowers have radial symmetry, are hypogynous, and have most parts arranged in whorls of 5. The ovary is made of three fused carpels. They have both ectotrophic and endotrophic mycorrhiza associations.[3]

Genera	Life form	Leaf shape	Inflorescence characters
Berneuxia	Perennial herb	linear and petiolate	Distinct scape
Diapensia	Cushion-like shrublet	linear and lanceolate to oblanceolate and sessile	Solitary
Galax	Perennial herb	reniform to orbicular and petiolate	Raceme
Pyxidanthera	Cushion-like shrublet	linear and lanceolate to oblanceolate and sessile	Solitary
Shortia/Schizocodon	Perennial herb	reniform to orbicular and petiolate	Solitary or raceme

Table reference - [5]
References

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.
Stevens, P. F. "Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 14, July 2017". Retrieved 29 January 2019.
Rönblom, K.; Anderberg, A. A. (2002). "Phylogeny of Diapensiaceae based on molecular data and morphology". Systematic Botany. 27 (2): 383–395. doi:10.1043/0363-6445-27.2.383 (inactive 31 May 2021). JSTOR 3093878.
Hou, Yan; Nowak, Michael D.; Mirré, Virginia; Bjorå, Charlotte S.; Brochmann, Christian; Popp, Magnus (2015). "Thousands of RAD-seq Loci Fully Resolve the Phylogeny of the Highly Disjunct Arctic-Alpine Genus Diapensia (Diapensiaceae)". PLOS ONE. 10 (10): e0140175. Bibcode:2015PLoSO..1040175H. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0140175. PMC 4598014. PMID 26448557.
Wells, B. W. (1929). "A new pyxie from North Carolina". Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society. 44 (2): 238–239.
Higashi, Hiroyuki; Ikeda, Hajime; Setoguchi, Hiroaki (2015). "Molecular phylogeny of Shortia sensu lato (Diapensiaceae) based on multiple nuclear sequences". Plant Systematics and Evolution. 301 (2): 523–529. doi:10.1007/s00606-014-1088-7. S2CID 18161027.
Scott, P. J. (2004). "Diapensiaceae". Flowering Plants Dicotyledons Part of the Families and Genera of Vascular Plants Book Series (Families Genera. 6): 117–121.
Baldwin Jr., J. T. (1939). "Chromosomes of the Diapensiaceae: a cytological approach to a phylogenetic problem". Journal of Heredity. 30 (4): 169–171. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.jhered.a104709.
Smith, A. W. (January 1997). A Gardener's Handbook of Plant Names: Their Meanings and Origins. Dover Publications. ISBN 0486297152.
Sweet, Robert (6 January 2018). The British Flower Garden, (series the Second) (3 ed.). Forgotten Books. ISBN 978-0428437602.
Link, Heinrich Friedrich; Willdenow, Karl Ludwig (1829–1833). Handbuch zur Erkennung der nutzbarsten und am häufigsten vorkommenden Gewächse. Berlin: Spenerschen Buchhandlung. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.129754. hdl:2027/hvd.32044107267049.
Wall, W. A.; Douglas, N. A.; Xiang, Q. Y.; Hoffmann, W. A.; Wentworth, T. R.; Hoffmann, M. G. (2010). "Evidence for range stasis during the latter Pleistocene for the Atlantic Coastal Plain endemic genus, Pyxidanthera Michaux". Molecular Ecology. 19 (19): 4302–4314. doi:10.1111/j.1365-294x.2010.04793.x. PMID 20819166. S2CID 5983059.
Thorne, R. F. (1983). "Proposed new realignments in the angiosperms". Nordic Journal of Botany. 3 (1): 85–117. doi:10.1111/j.1756-1051.1983.tb01447.x.
Dahlgren, R. (1983). "General aspects of angiosperm evolution and macrosystematics". Nordic Journal of Botany. 3: 119–149. doi:10.1111/j.1756-1051.1983.tb01448.x.
Takhtajan, A. L. (1997). Diversity and classification of flowering plants. New York: Columbia University Press.
Schönenberger, J; Anderberg, A. A.; Sytsma, K. J. (2005). "Molecular phylogenetics and patterns of floral evolution in the Ericales". International Journal of Plant Sciences. 166 (2): 265–288. doi:10.1086/427198. S2CID 35461118.
Rose, J. P.; Kleist, T. J.; Löfstrand, S. D.; Drew, B. T.; Schönenberger, J.; Sytsma, K. J. (2018). "Phylogeny, historical biogeography, and diversification of angiosperm order Ericales suggest ancient Neotropical and East Asian connections". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 122: 59–79. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2018.01.014. PMID 29410353.
Hou, Y.; Bjorå, C. S.; Ikeda, H.; Brochmann, C.; Popp, M. (2016). "rom the north into the Himalayan–Hengduan Mountains: fossil‐calibrated phylogenetic and biogeographical inference in the arctic‐alpine genus Diapensia (Diapensiaceae)". Journal of Biogeography. 43 (8): 1502–1513. doi:10.1111/jbi.12715.
Palser, Barbara F. (1963). "Studies of Floral Morphology in the Ericales VI. The Diapensiaceae". Botanical Gazette. 124 (3): 200–219. doi:10.1086/336193. S2CID 84273962.