Moraceae

Moraceae Temporal range: 80 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓ Cretaceous - Recent
Panama Rubber Tree (Castilla elastica)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Moraceae Link
Genera
See text.

Moraceae — often called the mulberry family or fig family — are a family of flowering plants comprising about 40 genera and over 1000 species. Most are widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, less so in temperate climates. The only synapomorphy within Moraceae is presence of laticifers and milky sap in all parenchymatous tissues, but generally useful field characters include two carpels sometimes with one reduced, compound inconspicuous flowers, and compound fruits.^[1] Included are well-known plants such as the fig, banyan, breadfruit, mulberry, and Osage-orange. The 'flowers' of Moraceae are often pseudanthia (reduced inflorescences).

Classification

Formerly positioned within the now defunct order Urticales, recent genetic studies have resulted in its placement within Rosales in a clade called the urticalean rosids that also includes Ulmaceae, Celtidaceae, Cannabaceae and Urticaceae. Cecropia, which were variously placed in Moraceae, Urticaceae, or their own family Cecropicaceae, have turned out to belong in Urticaceae.^[2]

Moraceae dioecy evolves from monoecy, dioecy was the primitive state in Moraceae and monoecy evolved within it up to four times.^[3]

Genera

Footnotes

References

• Datwyler, Shannon L. & Weiblen, George D. (2004): On the origin of the fig:Phylogenetic relationships of Moraceae from ndhF sequences. American Journal of Botany 91(5): 767-777. PDF fulltext
• Judd, Walter S.; Campbell, Christopher S.; Kellogg, Elizabeth A.; Stevens, Peter F. & Donoghue, Michael J. (2008): Plant Systematics: A Phylogenetic Approach. Sinauer Associates, Inc. Sunderland, MA.
• Sytsma, Kenneth J.; Morawetz, Jeffery; Pires, J. Chris; Nepokroeff, Molly; Conti, Elena; Zjhra, Michelle; Hall, Jocelyn C. & Chase, Mark W. (2002): Urticalean rosids: Circumscription, rosid ancestry, and phylogenetics based on rbcL, trnL-F, and ndhF sequences. American Journal of Botany 89(9): 1531-1546. PDF fulltext
• Zerega, Nyree J. C.; Clement, Wendy L.; Datwyler, Shannon L. & Weiblen, George D. (2005): Biogroegraphy and divergence times in the mulberry family (Moraceae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 37(2): 402-416. doi|10.1016/j.ympev.2005.07.004 PDF fulltext

External links

Wikispecies has information related to: Moraceae

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• Moraceae in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants.