Meliaceae

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Rosids
Cladus: Eurosids II
Ordo: Sapindales

Familia: Meliaceae
Subfamiliae: Cedreloideae – Melioideae

Genera: Aglaia - Anthocarapa - Aphanamixis - Astrotrichilia - Azadirachta - Cabralea - Calodecaryia - Capuronianthus - Carapa - Cedrela - Chisocheton - Chukrasia - Cipadessa - Dysoxylum - Ekebergia - Entandrophragma - Guarea - Heynea – Heckeldora - Humbertioturraea - Khaya - Lansium - Lepidotrichilia – Leplaea – Lovoa - Malleastrum - Melia - Munronia - Naregamia - Neobeguea – Neoguarea – Nymania – Owenia - Pseudobersama - Pseudocarapa - Pseudocedrela – Pseudoclausena – Pterorhachis – Quivisianthe – Reinwardtiodendron - Ruagea - Sandoricum - Schmardaea - Soymida - Sphaerosacme - Swietenia - Synoum - Toona - Trichilia - Turraea - Turraeanthus - Vavaea - Walsura - Xylocarpus

Name

Meliaceae Juss., Gen. Pl. 263. 1789, nom. cons.

Type genus: Melia L.

Synonyms

Aitoniaceae Airy Shaw in Willis, A dictionary o f the flowering plants and ferns, ed. 7, 21. 1966, nom. illeg.
Aitoniaceae R.A.Dyer in E.Phillips, Gen. S. Afr. Fl. Pl. 1: 298. 1975, nom. illeg.
Aitoniaceae Harv. & Sond., in ?

References

Jussieu, A.L. de 1789. Genera Plantarum 263.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2020. Meliaceae in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2020 Sept. 19. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2020. Meliaceae. Published online. Accessed: Sept. 19 2020.
Koenen, E.J. & de Wilde, J.J. 2012. A taxonomic revision of the reinstated genus Leplaea and the newly recognized genus Neoguarea (Meliaceae, Sapindales): the exclusion of Guarea from Africa. Plant Ecology and Evolution 145(2): 209-241. DOI: 10.5091/plecevo.2012.656 Open access Reference page.
Muellner, A.N., Samuel, R., Johnson, S.A., Cheek, M., Pennington, T.D. & Chase, M.W. 2003. Molecular phylogenetics of Meliaceae (Sapindales) based on nuclear and plastid DNA sequences. American Journal of Botany 90(3): 471-480. DOI: 10.3732/ajb.90.3.471 Open access Reference page.
Reveal, J.L. 2012. An outline of a classification scheme for extant flowering plants. Phytoneuron 2012-37: 1–221. Full text PDF Reference page.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Meliaceae in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service.

Vernacular names
azərbaycanca: Meliekimilər
català: Meliàcia
čeština: Zederachovité
dansk: Paternostertræ-familien
Deutsch: Mahagonigewächse
English: Mahogany family
Esperanto: Meliacoj
suomi: Mahonkikasvit
עברית: אזדרכתיים
hornjoserbsce: Melijowcowe rostliny
հայերեն: Մելիազգիներ
日本語: センダン科
la .lojban.: Spatrmeliace
ಕನ್ನಡ: ಮೆಲಿಯೇಸೀ
한국어: 멀구슬나무과
lietuvių: Melijiniai
македонски: Махагонии
norsk: Mahognifamilien
polski: Meliowate
Runa Simi: Mara yura rikch'aq ayllu
русский: Мелиевые
తెలుగు: మెలియేసి
ไทย: วงศ์กระท้อน
українська: Мелієві
Tiếng Việt: Họ Xoan
中文: 楝科

Meliaceae, the mahogany family, is a flowering plant family of mostly trees and shrubs (and a few herbaceous plants, mangroves) in the order Sapindales.

They are characterised by alternate, usually pinnate leaves without stipules, and by syncarpous,[2] apparently bisexual (but actually mostly cryptically unisexual) flowers borne in panicles, cymes, spikes, or clusters. Most species are evergreen, but some are deciduous, either in the dry season or in winter.

The family includes about 53 genera and about 600 known species,[3] with a pantropical distribution; one genus (Toona) extends north into temperate China and south into southeast Australia, another (Synoum) into southeast Australia, and another (Melia) nearly as far north.

The fossil record of the family extends back into the Late Cretaceous.[4]
Fruits of Chisocheton cumingianus

Uses

Various species are used for vegetable oil, soap-making, insecticides, and highly prized wood (mahogany).

Some economically important genera and species belong to this family:

Neem tree Azadirachta indica (India)
Carapa: includes the "crabwood trees" e.g. Carapa procera (South America and Africa)
Cedrela odorata Central and South America; timber also known as Spanish-cedar
Entandrophragma: includes sapele and "utile" or "sipo" (E. utile) of tropical Africa
Guarea, the genus of Bossé or "pink mahogany" includes: G. thompsonii and G. cedrata (Africa)
Khaya includes: Ivory Coast Mahogany and Senegal Mahogany (tropical Africa)
Chinaberry or white cedar, Melia azedarach (Indomalaya and Australasia)
Santol (Sandoricum koetjape), grown for their edible fruit in Southeast Asia and South Asia
Lanzones (Lansium parasiticum), grown for their edible fruit in Southeast Asia
Swietenia is the classic "mahogany" genus from the tropical Americas
Toona: the genus of "toon tree" species (tropical Asia, Malesia, and Australia), especially Toona ciliata

Genera
Chinese rice flower (Aglaia odorata)
Subfamily Cedreloideae

This is also known as subfamily Swietenioideae.[5][6]
tribe Cedreleae[5]

Cedrela – Americas
Toona - Asia

other tribes and genera:

Capuronianthus
Carapa
Chukrasia
Entandrophragma
Khaya
Lovoa
Neobeguea
Pseudocedrela
Schmardaea
Soymida
Swietenia
Xylocarpus

Subfamily Melioideae
tribe: Aglaieae

Aglaia
Lansium
Reinwardtiodendron

- related genera:

Chisocheton
Dysoxylum (synonym Pseudocarapa)
Sphaerosacme

tribe: Guareeae[7] - Africa

Guarea

- related genera:

Heckeldora
Leplaea
Ruagea
Turraeanthus

tribe: Melieae

Melia
Azadirachta[8]

tribe: Sandoriceae

Sandoricum

tribe: Turraeeae

Calodecarya
Humbertioturraea
Munronia
Naregamia
Nymania
Turraea

- related genera:

Anthocarapa

tribe: Trichilieae

Astrotrichilia
Cipadessa
Ekebergia
Heynea
Lepidotrichilia
Malleastrum
Owenia
Pseudobersama
Pseudoclausena
Pterorhachis
Trichilia
Walsura

- related genera:

Quivisianthe

tribe: Vavaeeae

Vavaea

tribe unassigned:

Aphanamixis
Cabralea
Synoum

Notes

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.
Of a gynoecium, made up of united carpels
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.
Atkinson, Brian A. (January 2020). "Fossil evidence for a Cretaceous rise of the mahogany family". American Journal of Botany. 107 (1): 139–147. doi:10.1002/ajb2.1416. ISSN 0002-9122. PMID 31903551.
Gouvea CF, Dornelas MC, Rodriguez AP (2008). "Floral Development in the Tribe Cedreleae (Meliaceae, Sub-family Swietenioideae): Cedrela and Toona". Annals of Botany. 101 (1): 39–48. doi:10.1093/aob/mcm279. PMC 2701842. PMID 17981877.
Missouri Botanic Garden: list of Meliaceae genera (retrieved 18 January 2018)
Koenen E (2011) Phylogenetic and biogeographic studies in Guareeae (Meliaceae: Melioideae) - (retrieved 18 January 2018)

Koenen E (2011) ibid.

References

Pennington, T.D. & Styles, B.T. (1975): A generic monograph of the Meliaceae. Blumea 22: 419–540.