Overview
The family Fagaceae, or beech family, comprises about 900 species of both evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs, which are characterized by alternate simple leaves with pinnate venation, unisexual flowers in the form of catkins, and fruit in the form of cup-like (cupule) nuts. Fagaceous leaves are often lobed and both petioles and stipules are generally present. Fruits lack endosperm and lie in a scaly or spiny husk that may or may not enclose the entire nut, which may consist of one to seven seeds. The best-known group of this family is the oaks, genus Quercus, the fruit of which is a non-valved nut (usually containing one seed) called an acorn. The husk of the acorn in most oaks only forms a cup in which the nut sits.
Several members of the Fagaceae have important economic uses. Many species of oak, chestnut, and beech (genera Quercus, Castanea, and Fagus respectively) are commonly used as timber for floors, furniture, cabinets, and wine barrels. Cork for stopping wine bottles and a myriad of other uses is made from the bark of cork oak, Quercus suber. Chestnuts, a tasty treat enjoyed by many in the winter, are the fruits from species of the genus Castanea. Numerous species from several genera are prominent ornamentals, and wood chips from the genus Fagus are often used in flavoring beers.
The Fagaceae are often divided into three or four subfamilies and are generally accepted to include nine or ten genera (listed below). Monophyly of the Fagaceae is strongly supported by both morphological (especially fruit morphology) and molecular data.[1]
The Southern Hemisphere genus Nothofagus, commonly the southern beeches, was historically placed in the Fagaceae sister to the genus Fagus,[2] but recent molecular evidence suggests otherwise. While Nothofagus shares a number of common characteristics with the Fagaceae, such as cupule fruit structure, it differs significantly in a number of ways including distinct stipule and pollen morphology as well as having a different number of chromosomes.[3] The currently accepted view by systematic botanists is to place Nothofagus in its own family, Nothofagaceae.[1]
Genera
- Castanea - Chestnuts; eight species, north temperate east Asia, southwest Asia, southeast Europe, eastern North America
- Castanopsis - chinquapins or chinkapins about 125-130 species, southeast Asia
- Chrysolepis - Golden chinkapins; tw o species, western USA
- Colombobalanus - one species C. excelsa, northern South America, often included in Trigonobalanus
- Fagus - Beeches; 10 species, north temperate east Asia, southwest Asia, Europe, eastern North America
- Formanodendron - one species F. doichangensis, southeast Asia, often included in Trigonobalanus
- Lithocarpus - Stone oaks; about 330-340 species, warm temperate to tropical Asia
- "Notholithocarpus" - Tanoaks; 1 species (formerly "Lithocarpus densiflorus", endemic to California ad southwest Oregon
- Quercus - Oaks; about 500 species, widespread Northern Hemisphere, crossing the equator in Indonesia
- Trigonobalanus - one species T. verticillata, tropical southeast Asia (three species if Colombobalanus and Formanodendron included)
The Quercus subgenus Cyclobalanopsis is treated as a distinct genus by the Flora of China, but as a subgenus by most taxonomists.
The genus Nothofagus (Southern beeches; about 35 species from the Southern Hemisphere), formerly included in the Fagaceae, is now treated in the separate family Nothofagaceae.
Distribution
The Fagaceae are widely distributed across the Northern Hemisphere. Genus-level diversity is concentrated in Southeast Asia, where most of the extant genera are thought to have evolved before migrating to Europe and North America (via the Bering Land Bridge).[4] Members of the Fagaceae (such as Fagus grandifolia, Castanea dentata and Quercus alba in the Northeastern United States, or Fagus sylvatica, Quercus robur and Q. petraea in Europe) are often ecologically dominan t in Northern temperate forests.
he family Fagaceae, or beech family, comprises about 900 species of both evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs, which are characterized by alternate simple leaves with pinnate venation, unisexual flowers in the form of catkins, and fruit in the form of cup-like (cupule) nuts. Fagaceous leaves are often lobed and both petioles and stipules are generally present. Fruits lack endosperm and lie in a scaly or spiny husk that may or may not enclose the entire nut, which may consist of one to seven seeds. The best-known group of this family is the oaks, genus Quercus, the fruit of which is a non-valved nut (usually containing one seed) called an acorn. The husk of the acorn in most oaks only forms a cup in which the nut sits.Several members of the Fagaceae have important economic uses. Many species of oak, chestnut, and beech (genera Quercus, Castanea, and Fagus respectively) are commonly used as timber for floors, furniture, cabinets, and wine barrels. Cork for stopping wine bottles and a myriad of other uses is made from the bark of cork oak, Quercus suber. Chestnuts, a tasty treat enjoyed by many in the winter, are the fruits from species of the genus Castanea. Numerous species from several genera are prominent ornamentals, and wood chips from the genus Fagus are often used in flavoring beers.
The Fagaceae are often divided into three or four subfamilies and are generally accepted to include nine or ten genera (listed below). Monophyly of the Fagaceae is strongly supported by both morphological (especially fruit morphology) and molecular data.[1]
The Southern Hemisphere genus Nothofagus, commonly the southern beeches, was historically placed in the Fagaceae sister to the genus Fagus,[2] but recent molecular evidence suggests otherwise. While Nothofagus shares a number of common characteristics with the Fagaceae, such as cupule fruit structure, it differs significantly in a number of ways including distinct stipule and pollen morphology as well as having a different number of chromosomes.[3] The currently accepted view by systematic botanists is to place Nothofagus in its own family, Nothofagaceae.[1]
Genera
- Castanea - Chestnuts; eight species, north temperate east Asia, southwest Asia, southeast Europe, eastern North America
- Castanopsis - chinquapins or chinkapins about 125-130 species, southeast Asia
- Chrysolepis - Golden chinkapins; tw o species, western USA
- Colombobalanus - one species C. excelsa, northern South America, often included in Trigonobalanus
- Fagus - Beeches; 10 species, north temperate east Asia, southwest Asia, Europe, eastern North America
- Formanodendron - one species F. doichangensis, southeast Asia, often included in Trigonobalanus
- Lithocarpus - Stone oaks; about 330-340 species, warm temperate to tropical Asia
- "Notholithocarpus" - Tanoaks; 1 species (formerly "Lithocarpus densiflorus", endemic to California ad southwest Oregon
- Quercus - Oaks; about 500 species, widespread Northern Hemisphere, crossing the equator in Indonesia
- Trigonobalanus - one species T. verticillata, tropical southeast Asia (three species if Colombobalanus and Formanodendron included)
The Quercus subgenus Cyclobalanopsis is treated as a distinct genus by the Flora of China, but as a subgenus by most taxonomists.
The genus Nothofagus (Southern beeches; about 35 species from the Southern Hemisphere), formerly included in the Fagaceae, is now treated in the separate family Nothofagaceae.
Distribution
The Fagaceae are widely distributed across the Northern Hemisphere. Genus-level diversity is concentrated in Southeast Asia, where most of the extant genera are thought to have evolved before migrating to Europe and North America (via the Bering Land Bridge).[4] Members of the Fagaceae (such as Fagus grandifolia, Castanea dentata and Quercus alba in the Northeastern United States, or Fagus sylvatica, Quercus robur and Q. petraea in Europe) are often ecologically dominan t in Northern temperate forests.
References
- ^ a b Judd, Walter S., Christopher S. Campbell, Elizabeth A. Kellogg, Peter F. Stevens, Michael J. Donoghue. Plant Systematics: A Phylogenetic Approach Third Edition. Sinauer Associates, inc. Sunderland, MA 2008.
- ^ Cronquist, Arthur. An Integrated System of Classification of Flowering Plants. Columbia University Press: New York, NY 1981.
- ^ Takhtajan, Armen. Diversity and Classification of Flowering Plants. Columbia University Press, New York 1997.
- ^ Manos, PS., AM Stanford. 2001b The historical biogeography of Fagaceae: Tracking the tertiary history of temperate and subtropical forests of the Northern Hemisphere. International Journal of Plant Sciences 162: S77-S93 Suppl. 6.
External links
- Fagaceae in Topwalks
- Family Fagaceae Diagnostic photos of many species at The Morton Arboretum
Taxonomy
The Family Fagaceae is further organized into finer groupings including:
- Subfamily (4): Castaneoideae · Fagoideae · Nepetoideae · Quercoideae
- Tribe (21): Anemoneae · Anthemideae · Arabideae · Calceolarieae · Cassiopeae · Cheloneae · Coreopsideae · Ericeae · Exochordeae · Genisteae · Helenieae · Hibisceae · Hydrangeae · Indigofereae · Lavanduleae · Narcisseae · Rhododendreae · Theeae · Tradescantieae · Veroniceae · Violeae
- Genus (41): Arcaula · Balanaulax · Balanoplis · Callaeocarpus · Calucechinus · Calusparassus · Castanea · Castanopsis · Cerris · Chrysolepis · Cliffortioides · Colombobalanus · Corylopasania · Cyclobalanopsis · Cyclobalanus · Dryophyllum · Dryopsila · Eriodrys · Erythrobalanus · Fagopsis · Fagus · Fagus-Castanea · Formanodendron · Kuromatea · Limlia · Lithocarpus · Lophozonia · Myrtilloides · Nothofagus · Notholithocarpus · Pasania · Pasaniopsis · Perytis · Pleiosyngyne · Pseudofagus · Quercophyllum · Quercus · Shiia · Synaedrys · Trigonobalanus · Trisyngyne
- Species: ZipcodeZoo has pages for 5,069 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in the Family Fagaceae.
Genera
Arcaula
Balanaulax
Balanoplis
Callaeocarpus
Calucechinus
Calusparassus
Castanea
Castanea can mean: [more]
Castanopsis
Castanopsis (chinquapin or chinkapin) is a genus of evergreen trees belonging to the beech family, Fagaceae. The genus contains about 120 species, which are today restricted to tropical and subtropical eastern Asia. A total of 58 species are native to China, with 30 endemic; the other species occur further south, through Indochina to Indonesia, and also in Japan. The English name chinkapin is shared with other related plants, including the golden chinkapins of the Pacific United States, which are sometimes included within Castanopsis but are more often considered a separate but very closely related genus, Chrysolepis. [more]
Cerris
Chrysolepis
Chrysolepis is a small genus in the beech family Fagaceae, endemic to the western United States, occurring from western Washington south to southern California. They are evergreen trees and shrubs with simple, entire (untoothed) leaves with a dense layer of golden scales on the underside (hence the genus name, from Greek chryso-, yellow, and lepis, scale) and a thinner layer on the upper side; the leaves persist for 3-4 years before falling. The fruit is a densely spiny cupule containing usually three sweet, edible nuts. [more]
Cliffortioides
Colombobalanus
Trigonobalanus is a genus of three species of evergreen in the family Fagaceae, related to beeches and chestnuts. The species are widely scattered, with one in northern South America and two in southeast Asia; some botanists treat the three species in separate genera. The three species, with their authors, major synonyms and distribution, are: [more]
Corylopasania
Cyclobalanopsis
Cyclobalanopsis is a genus of about 150 species of flowering plants in the family Fagaceae, native to eastern and southeastern Asia. The genus is closely related to Quercus and included in it as a subgenus by many botanists; however, the Flora of China treats it as a distinct genus. The species share the same common name oak with Quercus. [more]
Cyclobalanus
Dryophyllum
Dryopsila
Eriodrys
Erythrobalanus
This is an incomplete list of species. The genus contains about 400 species. [more]
Fagopsis
Fagus
Trees, winter-deciduous. Terminal buds present, long, tapered in maturity, all scales imbricate. Leaves: stipules prominent on new growth, soon deciduous. Leaf blade thin, secondary veins unbranched, ± parallel, extending to margin, each vein ending in acute or obscure tooth. Inflorescences unisexual, axillary in new growth leaves; staminate inflorescence lax, loosely capitate cluster of flowers; pistillate inflorescence short, stiff, cupule 1, terminal. Staminate flowers: sepals connate; stamens 6-16; pistillode typically absent. Pistillate flowers 2 per cupule; sepals distinct; carpels and styles 3. Fruits: maturation in 1st year following pollination; cupule 4-valved, valves distinct, ±completely enclosing nuts until maturity, prickly, prickles stout, unbranched, short, not obscuring surface of cupule, internal valves absent; nuts 2 per cupule, sharply 3-angled, slightly winged. x = 12.[1] [more]
Fagus-Castanea
Formanodendron
Trigonobalanus is a genus of three species of evergreen trees in the family Fagaceae, related to beeches and chestnuts. The species are widely scattered, with one in northern South America and two in southeast Asia; some botanists treat the three species in separate genera. The three species, with their authors, major synonyms and distribution, are: [more]
Kuromatea
Limlia
Lithocarpus
Lithocarpus is a genus in the beech family Fagaceae, differing from Quercus in the erect male spikes. The Kew Checklist (see link below) accepts 334 species, though some other texts suggest as low as 100 species. All but one are native to east and southeast Asia; the single exception, Lithocarpus densiflorus (Tanoak), being native to western North America in southwest Oregon and California. The Asian species do not have a well-known English vernacular name, though the generic term stone oak has been proposed. [more]
Lophozonia
Myrtilloides
Nothofagus
Nothofagus, also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of 36 species of trees and shrubs native to the temperate oceanic to tropical Southern Hemisphere in southern South America (Chile, Argentina) and Australasia (east and southeast Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, New Guinea and New Caledonia). Fossils have recently been found in Antarctica. [more]
Notholithocarpus
Pasania
Lithocarpus is a genus in the family Fagaceae, differing from Quercus in the erect male spikes. The Kew Checklist (see link below) accepts 334 species, though some other texts suggest as low as 100 species. About 100 Asian species of the genus were formerly treated in the genus Pasania. All but one are native to east and southeast Asia; the single exception, L. densiflorus, Tanoak, being native to western North America in southwest Oregon and California. The Asian species do not have a well-known English vernacular name, though the generic term stone oak has been proposed. [more]
Pasaniopsis
Perytis
Pleiosyngyne
Pseudofagus
Quercophyllum
Quercus
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus (; Latin "oak tree"), of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus. The genus is native to the northern hemisphere, and includes deciduous and evergreen species extending from cool temperate to tropical latitudes in Asia and the Americas. [more]
Shiia
Shia Islam (Arabic: ?, Shi?ah) is the second largest denomination of Islam. The followers of Shia Islam are called Shi'ites or Shias. "Shia" is the short form of the historic phrase Shi?atu ?Ali (???? ???), meaning "followers of Ali", "faction of Ali", or "party of Ali". [more]
Synaedrys
Trigonobalanus
Trigonobalanus is a genus of three species of evergreen in the family Fagaceae, related to beeches and chestnuts. The species are widely scattered, with one in northern South America and two in southeast Asia; some botanists treat the three species in separate genera. The three species, with their authors, major synonyms and distribution, are: [more]
Trisyngyne
At least 6 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Trisyngyne.
More info about the Genus Trisyngyne may be found here.
References
- ^ a b Judd, Walter S., Christopher S. Campbell, Elizabeth A. Kellogg, Peter F. Stevens, Michael J. Donoghue. Plant Systematics: A Phylogenetic Approach Third Edition. Sinauer Associates, inc. Sunderland, MA 2008.
- ^ Cronquist, Arthur. An Integrated System of Classification of Flowering Plants. Columbia University Press: New York, NY 1981.
- ^ Takhtajan, Armen. Diversity and Classification of Flowering Plants. Columbia University Press, New York 1997.
- ^ Manos, PS., AM Stanford. 2001b The historical biogeography of Fagaceae: Tracking the tertiary history of temperate and subtropical forests of the Northe rn Hemisphere. International Journal of Plant Sciences 162: S77-S93 Suppl. 6.
External links
- Fagaceae in Topwalks
- Family Fagaceae Diagnostic photos of many species at The Morton Arboretum
Bibliography
- Cooper, A. W. and E. P. Mercer. 1977. Morphological variation in Fagus grandifolia Ehrh. in North Carolina. J. Elisha Mitchell Sci. Soc. 93: 136-149.
- Hardin, J. W. and G. P. Johnson. 1985. Atlas of foliar surface features in woody plants, VIII. Fagus and Castanea (Fagaceae) of eastern North America. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 112: 11-20.
- Rehder, A. J. 1907. Some new or little known forms of New England trees. Rhodora 9: 109-116.
Footnotes
- Haining Qin & Peter Fritsch "Fagus". in Flora of North America Vol. 3. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org.
Sources
- The text on this page is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It includes material from Wikipedia retrieved Wednesday, April 25, 2012.
- The distribution map on the Distribution tab comes from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and is used with permission.
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