Araliaceae

Read about Araliaceae in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Araliaceae (from the genus Aralia, the meaning of which is unknown). Ginseng Family. Fig. 45. Herbs, shrubs, or trees, often prickly or climbing: stems solid, pithy: leaves usually alternate, simple, or pinnately or ternately compound: flowers bisexual or unisexual, small, regular, epigynous, commonly in umbels; sepals minute, often almost wanting; petals 5, rarely more, valvate or imbricated, sometimes cohering at the apex and deciduous as a cap; stamens usually 5, alternate with the petals, and inserted at the edge of an epigynous disk, rarely twice or thrice as many; ovary inferior, 2-15-celled; cells 1-ovuled; styles as many as the carpels: fruit a berry, rarely splitting into segments. Fifty-one genera and about 400 species are distributed in tropical and temperate regions of both hemispheres. The two great centers of distribution are tropical America and the Malay Peninsula. The family is very closely related to the Umbelliferae, but differs in the berry-like fruit with more numerous carpels. The leaves of the English ivy (Hedera Helix) were used in medicine in olden times. The roots of ginseng (Panax Ginseng and Panax quinquefolium) are much prized in China where they are carried about on the person as a charm against disease. These roots are now extensively and profitably cultivated in America for the Chinese trade. The roots of Aralia nudicaulis (American sarsaparilla) are considered a tonic. Chinese rice-paper is made from the pith of Tetrapanax papyriferum simply by cutting the pith spirally into thin sheets. Many Araliaceae are grown as ornamental plants. Many genera are cultivated in America. Among these are: Acanthopanax; Aralia (including Spikenard, Hercules' Club or Devil's Walking-club, Wild Sarsaparilla, Bristly Sarsaparilla, Chinese Angelica Tree); Dizygotheca; Fatsia; Oreopanax; Polyscias; Pseudopanax; Hedera (English Ivy); and Panax (Ginseng). CH The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

? Araliaceae
Aralia elata
Plant Info
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Apiales Family: Araliaceae Juss.
Subfamilies and genera
*Subfamily Aralioideae Anakasia Apiopetalum Aralia Arthrophyllum Astrotricha Boninofatsia Brassaiopsis Cephalaralia Cheirodendron Cromapanax Cuphocarpus Cussonia Dendropanax Eleutherococcus ×Fatshedera Fatsia Gamblea Gastonia Harmsiopanax Hedera Heteropanax Hunaniopanax Kalopanax Mackinlaya Macropanax Megalopanax Merrilliopanax Meryta Metapanax Motherwellia Munroidendron Oplopanax Oreopanax Osmoxylon Panax Polyscias Pseudopanax Pseudosciadium Raukaua Reynoldsia Schefflera Sciadodendron Seemannaralia Sinopanax Stilbocarpa Tetrapanax Tetraplasandra Trevesia Woodburnia Subfamily Hydrocotyloideae Azorella Centella Hydrocotyle Platysace Xanthosia
Synonyms
*Botryodendraceae J.Agardh Hydrocotylaceae (Drude) Hyl., nom. cons.

Araliaceae is a family of flowering plants, also known as the Aralia family (after its type genus Aralia) or Ivy family. The family includes 254 species of trees, shrubs, lianas and perennial herbaceous plants into 2 subfamilies. Species usually bear pinnately or palmately compound leaves, and usually have small flowers produced in large panicles.

The family is closely related to Apiaceae and Pittosporaceae, and the boundaries between these families and other members of Apiales are still uncertain. Some recent systems included Araliaceae in an expanded Apiaceae but this has not been widely followed. Molecular phylogenies suggest that at least some of the genera traditionally included in Apiaceae as subfamily Hydrocotyloideae appear to be more closely related to Araliaceae, and the inclusion of Hydrocotyle and Trachymene in Araliaceae has been recommended (Chandler & Plunkett 2004).

The generic level classification of Araliaceae has been unstable; in particular, numerous genera have been synonymized under Schefflera. Recent molecular phylogenies have shown that this large pantropical genus is polyphyletic and it is likely that it will be divided once again into several genera in the near future.

References and external links

• Chandler, G.T. and G. M. Plunkett. 2004. Evolution in Apiales: nuclear and chloroplast markers together in (almost) perfect harmony. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 144: 123-147 (abstract).
• Frodin, D. G. and R. Govaerts. 2004. World Checklist and Bibliography of Araliaceae. Kew Publishing.
• Plunkett, G.M., Soltis, D.E. & Soltis, P.S. 1997. Clarification of the relationship between Apiaceae and Araliaceae based on MATK and RBCL sequence data. American Journal of Botany 84: 565-580 (available online; pdf file).
• Wen, J., G. M. Plunkett, A. D. Mitchell, and S.J. Wagstaff. 2001. The Evolution of Araliaceae: A Phylogenetic Analysis Based on ITS Sequences of Nuclear Ribosomal DNA. Systematic Botany 26: 144–167 (abstract).
• Araliaceae Resource Center