Ericaceae

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

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

Familia: Ericaceae
Subfamiliae: Arbutoideae – Cassiopoideae – Enkianthoideae – Epacridoideae – Ericoideae – Harrimanelloideae – Monotropoideae – Pyroloideae – Vaccinioideae

Genera

Acrothamnus – Acrotriche – Agapetes – Agarista – Agiortia – Allotropa – Andersonia – Andromeda – Androstoma – Anthopteropsis – Anthopterus – Arbutus – Archeria – Arctostaphylos – Arctous – Astroloma – Azalea – Bejaria – Brachyloma – Bryanthus – Budawangia – Calluna – Calopteryx – Cassiope – Cavendishia – Ceratiola – Ceratostema – Chamaedaphne – Cheilotheca – Chimaphila – Choristemon – Coleanthera – Comarostaphylis – Conostephium – Corema – Cosmelia – Costera – Craibiodendron – Croninia – Cyathodes – Cyathopsis – Daboecia – Decatoca – Demosthenesia – Didonica – Dielsiodoxa – Dimorphanthera – Diogenesia – Diplycosia – Disterigma – Dracophyllum – Elliottia – Empetrum – Enkianthus – Epacris – Epigaea – Eremotropa – Erica – Eubotryoides – Eubotrys – Gaultheria – Gaylussacia – Gonocalyx – Harrimanella – Hemitomes – Hymenanthes – Kalmia – Kalmiopsis – Lateropora – Lebetanthus – Ledothamnus – Ledum – Leiophyllum – Leucopogon – Leucothoe – Lissanthe – Loiseleuria – Lyonia – Lysinema – Macleania – Melichrus – Menziesia – Metagonia – Moneses – Monotropa – Monotropastrum – Monotropsis – Montitega – Mycerinus – Needhamiella – Notopora – Oreanthes – Oreocallis – Ornithostaphylos – Orthaea – Orthilia – Oxydendrum – Paphia – Pellegrinia – Pentachondra – Pernettya – Phanerandra – Philippia – Phyllodoce – Pieris – Pityopus – Planocarpa – Pleuricospora – Plutarchia – Polyclita – Prionotes – Psammisia – Pterospora – Pyrola – Rhododendron – Rhodothamnus – Rusbya – Sarcodes – Satyria – Semiramisia – Siphonandra – Sphenotoma – Sphyrospermum – Styphelia – Symphysia – Tepuia – Themistoclesia – Therorhodion – Thibaudia – Trochocarpa – Utleya – Vaccinium – Woollsia – Xolisma – Xylococcus – Zenobia
Name

Ericaceae Juss., Gen. Pl. 159. 1789. nom. cons.

Type genus: Erica L.

Synonyms

Heterotypic
Andromedaceae Döll, Rhein. Fl.: 428. 1843.
Type genus: Andromeda L.
Arbutaceae Bromhead, Mag. Nat. Hist., n.s., 4: 337, 338. 1840.
Type genus: Arbutus L.
Arctostaphylaceae J. Agardh, Theoria Syst. Pl.: 106. 1858.
Type genus: Arctostaphylos Adans., nom. cons.
Azaleaceae Vest, Anleit. Stud. Bot.: 272, 294. 1818.
Type genus: Azalea L., nom. rej.
Diplarchaceae Klotzsch, Allgem. Deutsch. Nat. Hist. Zeit. 3: 230. 1857.
Type genus: Diplarche Hook.f. & Thomson
Empetraceae Hook. & Lindl. in W.J. Hooker, Fl. Scot.: 297. 1821, nom. cons.
Type genus: Empetrum L.
Epacridaceae R.Br., Prodr.: 535. 1810, nom. cons.
Type genus: Epacris Cav., nom. cons.
Hypopityaceae Klotzsch, Linnaea 24: 11. 1851.
Type genus: Hypopitys Hill
Ledaceae J.F. Gmel., Allg. Gesch. Pflanzengifte, ed. 2: 404. Jun 1803.
Type genus: Ledum L.
Menziesiaceae Klotzsch, Linnaea 24: 11. 1851.
Type genus: Menziesia Sm. Menziesia
Oxycoccaceae A.Kern., Pflanzenleben 2: 713, 714. 1891.
Type genus: Oxycoccus Hill
Phyllodoceae Drude in Engler & Prantl, Nat. Pflanzenfam. IV, 1: 31, 38. 1889.
Type genus: Phyllodoce Salisb.
Pyrolaceae Lindl., Syn. Brit. Fl.: 175. 1829, nom. cons.
Type genus: Pyrola L.
Rhododendraceae Juss., Gen. Pl.: 158. 1789.
Type genus: Rhododendron L.
Rhodoraceae Vent., Tabl. Règne Vég. 2: 449. 1799.
Type genus: Rhodora L.
Salazariaceae F.A.Barkley, Phytologia 32: 304. 1975.
Type genus: Salaxis Salisb.
Stypheliaceae Horan., Prim. Lin. Syst. Nat.: 72. 1834.
Type genus: Styphelia Sm.
Vacciniaceae DC. ex Perleb., Vers. Arzneikr. Pfl.: 228. 1818. nom. cons.
Type genus: Vaccinium L.

References
Primary references

Jussieu, A.L. de 1789. Genera plantarum, secundum ordines naturales disposita juxta methodum in Horto Regio Parisiensi exaratam. 498 pp. Paris: Herissant et Theophile Barrois. BHL Reference page. : 159.

Additional references

Crayn, D.M., Kron, K. & Potter, B. 2014. Typification of some names in Epacridoideae (Ericaceae). Telopea 17: 319–321. DOI: 10.7751/telopea20147924 Full text PDF Reference page.
Kron, K.A., Judd, W.S., Stevens, P.F., Crayn, D.M., Anderberg, A.A., Gadek, P.A., Quinn, C.J. & Luteyn, J.L. 2002. Phylogenetic classification of Ericaceae: molecular and morphological evidence. The Botanical Review 68(3): 335–423. DOI: 10.1663/0006-8101(2002)068[0335:PCOEMA]2.0.CO;2 ResearchGate Reference page.
Zhao, Q.R., Zhou J., Peng H. & Liu Z.W. 2019. Resurrection of the East Asian genus Eremotropa (Monotropoideae, Ericaceae), based on molecular and morphological data. Journal of Systematics and Evolution 57(1): 75-80. DOI: 10.1111/jse.12429 Paywall Reference page.

Links

Hassler, M. 2019. Ericaceae. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2019. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published online. Accessed: 2019 Oct. 11. Reference page.
Stevens, P.F. 2001 onwards. Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 14, July 2017 [and more or less continuously updated since]. Online. Reference page.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2020. Ericaceae in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2020 Apr 17. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2020. Ericaceae. Published online. Accessed: Apr 17 2020.
Tropicos.org 2020. Ericaceae. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 17 Apr 2020.

Vernacular names
العربية: خلنجية
asturianu: Ericácees
azərbaycanca: Erikakimilər
башҡортса: Арса һымаҡтар
беларуская: Верасовыя
български: Пиренови
català: Ericàcies
čeština: Vřesovcovité
dansk: Lyng-familien
Deutsch: Heidekrautgewächse
English: Heath family
Esperanto: Erikacoj
español: Ericáceas
eesti: Kanarbikulised
euskara: Erikazeo
فارسی: خلنگیان
suomi: Kanervakasvit
Nordfriisk: Hiasplaanten
français: Éricacées
galego: Ericáceas
עברית: אברשיים
hrvatski: Vrjesovke
hornjoserbsce: Wrjosowe rostliny
magyar: Hangafélék
հայերեն: Հավամրգազգիներ
íslenska: Lyngætt
italiano: Ericacee
日本語: ツツジ科
ქართული: მანანასებრნი
қазақша: Көкбұта тұқымдасы
한국어: 진달래과
kurdî: Famîleya gezikan
lietuvių: Erikiniai
latviešu: Ēriku dzimta
македонски: Вресови
മലയാളം: എറിക്കേസീ
Nedersaksies: Heedfemilie
Nederlands: Heidefamilie
norsk nynorsk: Lyngfamilien
norsk: Lyngfamilien
polski: Wrzosowate
Runa Simi: Thumana yura rikch'aq ayllu
русский: Вересковые
davvisámegiella: Daŋasšattut
slovenčina: Vresovcovité
српски / srpski: Вресови
svenska: Ljungväxter
ไทย: วงศ์กุหลาบป่า
Türkçe: Fundagiller
українська: Вересові
Tiếng Việt: Họ Thạch nam
中文（简体）: 杜鹃花科
中文（繁體）: 杜鵑花科

The Ericaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The family is large, with c. 4250 known species spread across 124 genera,[2] making it the 14th most species-rich family of flowering plants.[3] The many well known and economically important members of the Ericaceae include the cranberry, blueberry, huckleberry, rhododendron (including azaleas), and various common heaths and heathers (Erica, Cassiope, Daboecia, and Calluna for example).[4]

Description

The Ericaceae contain a morphologically diverse range of taxa, including herbs, dwarf shrubs, shrubs, and trees. Their leaves are usually evergreen,[5] alternate or whorled, simple and without stipules. Their flowers are hermaphrodite and show considerable variability. The petals are often fused (sympetalous) with shapes ranging from narrowly tubular to funnelform or widely urn-shaped. The corollas are usually radially symmetrical (actinomorphic) and urn-shaped, but many flowers of the genus Rhododendron are somewhat bilaterally symmetrical (zygomorphic).[6] Anthers open by pores.[7]
Taxonomy

Michel Adanson used the term Vaccinia to describe a similar family, but Antoine Laurent de Jussieu first used the term Ericaceae. The name comes from the type genus Erica, which appears to be derived from the Greek word ereíkē (ἐρείκη). The exact meaning is difficult to interpret, but some sources show it as meaning 'heather'. The name may have been used informally to refer to the plants before Linnaean times, and simply been formalised when Linnaeus described Erica in 1753, and then again when Jussieu described the Ericaceae in 1789.[8]

Historically, the Ericaceae included both subfamilies and tribes. In 1971, Stevens, who outlined the history from 1876 and in some instances 1839, recognised six subfamilies (Rhododendroideae, Ericoideae, Vaccinioideae, Pyroloideae, Monotropoideae, and Wittsteinioideae), and further subdivided four of the subfamilies into tribes, the Rhododendroideae having seven tribes (Bejarieae, Rhodoreae, Cladothamneae, Epigaeae, Phyllodoceae, and Diplarcheae).[9] Within tribe Rhodoreae, five genera were described, Rhododendron L. (including Azalea L. pro parte), Therorhodion Small, Ledum L., Tsusiophyllum Max., Menziesia J. E. Smith, that were eventually transferred into Rhododendron, along with Diplarche from the monogeneric tribe Diplarcheae.[10]

In 2002, systematic research resulted in the inclusion of the formerly recognised families Empetraceae, Epacridaceae, Monotropaceae, Prionotaceae, and Pyrolaceae into the Ericaceae based on a combination of molecular, morphological, anatomical, and embryological data, analysed within a phylogenetic framework.[11] The move significantly increased the morphological and geographical range found within the group. One possible classification of the resulting family includes 9 subfamilies, 126 genera, and about 4000 species:[3]

Enkianthoideae Kron, Judd & Anderberg (one genus, 16 species)
Pyroloideae Kosteltsky (4 genera, 40 species)
Monotropoideae Arnott (10 genera, 15 species)
Arbutoideae Niedenzu (up to six genera, about 80 species)
Cassiopoideae Kron & Judd (one genus, 12 species)
Ericoideae Link (19 genera, 1790 species)
Harrimanelloideae Kron & Judd (one species)
Styphelioideae Sweet (35 genera, 545 species)
Vaccinioideae Arnott (50 genera, 1580 species)

Genera

See the full list at List of Ericaceae genera.

Distribution and ecology

The Ericaceae have a nearly worldwide distribution. They are absent from continental Antarctica, parts of the high Arctic, central Greenland, northern and central Australia, and much of the lowland tropics and neotropics.[3]

The family is largely composed of plants that can tolerate acidic, infertile conditions. Like other stress-tolerant plants, many Ericaceae have mycorrhizal fungi to assist with extracting nutrients from infertile soils, as well as evergreen foliage to conserve absorbed nutrients.[12] This trait is not found in the Clethraceae and Cyrillaceae, the two families most closely related to the Ericaceae. Most Ericaceae (excluding the Monotropoideae, and some Styphelioideae) form a distinctive accumulation of mycorrhizae, in which fungi grow in and around the roots and provide the plant with nutrients.[13] The Pyroloideae are mixotrophic and gain sugars from the mycorrhizae, as well as nutrients.[14]

In many parts of the world, a "heath" or "heathland" is an environment characterised by an open dwarf-shrub community found on low-quality acidic soils, generally dominated by plants in the Ericaceae. A common example is Erica tetralix. This plant family is also typical of peat bogs and blanket bogs; examples include Rhododendron groenlandicum and Kalmia polifolia. In eastern North America, members of this family often grow in association with an oak canopy, in a habitat known as an oak-heath forest.[15]

In heathland, plants in the family Ericaceae serve as hostplants to the butterfly Plebejus argus[16].

Some evidence suggests eutrophic rainwater can convert ericoid heaths with species such as Erica tetralix to grasslands.[17] Nitrogen is particularly suspect in this regard, and may be causing measurable changes to the distribution and abundance of some ericaceous species.
References

Angiosperm Phylogeny Group III (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.
Christenhusz, M. J. M. & Byng, J. W. (2016). "The number of known plants species in the world and its annual increase". Phytotaxa. 261 (3): 201–217. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.261.3.1.
Stevens, P.F. (2001 onwards). "Ericaceae". Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
Kron, Kathleen A.; Powell, E. Ann & Luteyn, J.L. (2002). "Phylogenetic relationships within the blueberry tribe (Vaccinieae, Ericaceae) based on sequence data from MATK and nuclear ribosomal ITS regions, with comments on the placement of Satyria". American Journal of Botany. 89 (2): 327–336. doi:10.3732/ajb.89.2.327. PMID 21669741.
Patterson, Patricia A. (1985). Field Guide to the Forest Plants of Northern Idaho. United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service. pp. 37–47.
Watson, L. & Dallwitz, M.J. (19 August 2014). "Ericaceae Juss". The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
"Flowering Plant Families, UH Botany".
Jussieu, A.-L. de (1789). Genera plantarum ordines naturales disposita. Paris: Herissant & Barrois. pp. 159–160.
Stevens (1971).
Craven, L.A. (April 2011). "Diplarche and Menziesia transferred to Rhododendron (Ericaceae)". Blumea. 56 (1): 33–35. doi:10.3767/000651911X568594.
Kron, K.A.; Judd, W.S.; Stevens, P.F.; Crayn, D.M.; Anderberg, A.A.; Gadek, P.A.; Quinn, C.J. & Luteyn, J.L. (2002). "Phylogenetic Classification of Ericaceae: Molecular and Morphological Evidence". The Botanical Review. 68 (3): 335–423. doi:10.1663/0006-8101(2002)068[0335:pcoema]2.0.co;2.
Keddy, P.A. (2007). Plants and Vegetation: Origins, Processes, Consequences. Cambridge University Press.
Cairney, J.W.G.; Meharg, A.A. (2003). "Ericoid mycorrhiza: a partnership that exploits harsh edaphic conditions". European Journal of Soil Science. 54 (4): 735–740. doi:10.1046/j.1351-0754.2003.0555.x.
Liu, Z.; Wang, Z.; Zhou, J. & Peng, H. (2010). "Phylogeny of Pyroleae (Ericaceae): implications for character evolution". Journal of Plant Research. 124 (3): 325–337. doi:10.1007/s10265-010-0376-8. PMID 20862511. S2CID 38665814.
"The Natural Communities of Virginia Classification of Ecological Community Groups (Version 2.6)". Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. July 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
Thomas, C. D. (1 August 1985). "Specializations and polyphagy of Plebejus argus (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) in North Wales". Ecological Entomology. 10 (3): 325–340. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2311.1985.tb00729.x. ISSN 1365-2311. S2CID 86813755.

Keddy, P.A. (2010). Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press. pp. 103–104.

Bibliography
Stevens, P.F. (1971). "A classification of the Ericaceae: subfamilies and tribes". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 64 (1): 1–53. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.1971.tb02133.x.
Cafferty, Steve; Jarvis, Charles E. (November 2002). "Typification of Linnaean Plant Names in Ericaceae". Taxon. 51 (4): 751–753. doi:10.2307/1555030. JSTOR 1555030.
Stevens, P.F.; Luteyn, J.; Oliver, E.G.H.; Bell, T.L.; Brown, E.A.; Crowden, R.K.; George, A.S.; Jordan, G.J.; Ladd, P.; Lemson, K.; McLean, C.B.; Menadue, Y.; Pate, J.S.; Stace, H.M.; Weiller, C.M. (2004). "Ericaceae". In Kubitzki, K. (ed.). Flowering Plants. Dicotyledons: Celastrales, Oxalidales, Rosales, Cornales, Ericales. The families and genera of vascular plants. Vol. 6. Springer. pp. 145–194. ISBN 9783540065128.