Anacardiaceae

Anacardiaceae
Cashew
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae (unranked): Angiosperms (unranked): Eudicots (unranked): Rosids Order: Sapindales Family: Anacardiaceae (R.Br.) Lindl. (1831)
Type genus
Anacardium
Genera
See text.

Anacardiaceae (the cashew family or the sumac family) is a family of flowering plants bearing fruits that are drupes and in some cases producing urushiol, an irritant. Its numerous genera include several of economic importance. Notable plants in this family include cashew (in the type genus Anacardium), mango, poison ivy, sumac, smoke tree, marula and pistachio. The genus Pistacia (which includes the pistachio) sometimes is placed in its own family, Pistaciaceae.

Selected genera

Description

Trees or shrubs each with inconspicuous flowers, highly poisonous, sometimes foul smelling resinous or milky sap.^[1] Resin-canals located in the inner fibrous bark of plants fibrovascular system found in the stems, roots and leaves is characteristic of all members of this family; resin-canals located in the pith is a characteristic of many of the cashew family species and several species have them located in the primary cortex or the regular bark. Tannin sacs are also widespread among the family.^[2]

The wood of the Anacardiaceae family has the frequent occurrence of simple small holes in the vessels, occasionally in some species side by side with scalariform holes (in Campnosperma, Micronychia and Anaphrenium argenteum). The simple pits are located along the vessel wall and in contact with the parenchyma.(see Vessel element) ^[2]

Leaves are alternate or rarely opposite^[3] and without stipule.^[1]

Flowers grow at the end of a branch or stem or at an angle from where the leaf joins the stem and have bracts.^[1] Often with this family bisexual and male flowers on some plants, and bisexual and female flowers on others or flowers having both stamens and pistils (perfect). Calyx with 3 to 7 cleft sepals and the same number of petals, occasionally no petals, overlapping each other in the bud. Stamens twice as many or equal to the number of petals, inserted at the base of the^[3] fleshy ring or cup-shaped disk, and inserted below the pistil(s).^[1] stamen stalks separate, anthers able to move.^[3] Flowers have the ovary free, but the petals and stamen are borne on the calyx.^[1] In the stamenate flowers, ovaries are 1-celled. In the pistillate flowers, ovaries are 1-celled or sometimes 4-5-celled. 1-3 styles and 1 ovule in each cavity.^[3]

Fruits rarely opening at maturity^[1] and are most often drupes.^[3]

Seed coats are very thin or are crust like. Little or no endosperm. Fleshy cotyledons.^[3] Solitary seeds with no albumen around the embryo.^[1]

Taxonomy

In 1759, Bernard de Jussieu arranged the plants in the royal garden of the Trianon at Versailles, according to his own scheme. That classification included a description of an order called Terebintaceæ which contained a suborder that included Cassuvium (Anacardium), Anacardium (Semecarpus), Mangifera, Connarus, Rhus and Rourea. In 1789, Antoine Laurent de Jussieu, nephew of Bernard de Jussieu, published that classification scheme.^[4]

Robert Brown described a subset of Terebintaceae called Cassuvlæ or Anacardeæ in 1818, using the herbarium that was collected by Christen Smith during a fated expedition headed by James Kingston Tuckey to explore the River Congo. The name and genera were based on the order with the same name that had been described by Bernard de Jussieu in 1759. The herbarium from that expedition contained only one genera from the family, Rhus.^[5]

Augustin Pyramus de Candolle in 1824, used Robert Browns name Cassuvlæ or Anacardeæ, wrote another description of the group and filled it with the genera Anacardium, Semecarpus, Holigarna, Mangifera, Buchanania, Pistacia, Astronium, Comocladia and Picramnia.^[6]

John Lindley described the "Essential character" of Anacardiaceæ, the "Cashew Tribe" in 1831, adopting the order that was described by Jussieu but abandoning the name Terebintaceæ. He includes the genera which were found in de Candolle's Anacardieæ and Sumachineæ: Anacardium, Holigarna, Mangifera, Rhus and Mauria.^[1]

Taxonomy references

Ecology

The cashew family is more abundant in warm or tropical regions with only a few species living in the temperate zones.^[3] Mostly native to tropical Americas, Africa and India. Pistacias and some species of Rhus can be found in southern Europe, Rhus species can be found in much of North America and Schinus inhabit South America exclusively.^[1]

Uses

Members of this family produce cashew and pistacia nuts and other produce mango and marula fruits.^[1]

Some members produce a viscous or adhesive fluid which turns black and is used as a varnish or for tanning and even as a mordant for red dyes.^[1]

Medicinally the edible nuts from this family have a reputation for being good for the brain.^[1]

Notes

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Anacardiaceae

References

External links

• Media related to Anacardiaceae at Wikimedia Commons
• Information related to Anacardiaceae from Wikispecies.
• Tree of Life: Anacardiaceae
• Anacardiaceae in Topwalks
• Anacardiaceae in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants.
• Family Anacardiaceae - Flowers in Israel
• Anacardiaceae of Chile, by Chileflora