Author:
Qjure
Book:
Qjurious
Type:
Info
Chapter:
3-652.14.00
Altingiaceae
Clades: Saxifragales; Saxifragidae; Malvanae; Angiospermae; Plants.
Genera: Altingia, Liquidambar, Semiliquidambar.
Botany: wind-pollinated trees; fruits hard, woody with numerous seeds.
Region: Central America, Mexico, eastern North America, eastern Mediterranean, China, tropical Asia.
Use: ornamentals; valuable wood.
Taxonomy
Altingiaceae is a small family of flowering plants in the order Saxifragales, closely related to Hamamelidaceae. The genera: Altingia and Semiliquidambar are recently included in Liquidambar. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the family Altingiaceae was not generally accepted. Molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that including Altingiaceae in Hamamelidaceae makes Hamamelidaceae paraphyletic. The Apg3 and Apg4 classifications include Altingiaceae, Cercidiphyllaceae and Daphniphyllaceae in Hamamelidaceae to make it monophyletic.
Plant theory
In Plant theory 2 Altingiaceae, Cercidiphyllaceae and Daphniphyllaceae are included in Hamamelidaceae, in accordance with the Apg4 classification.