Pinaceae
| Pinaceae | |
|---|---|
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| Larix (golden), Abies (central foreground) and Pinus (right foreground) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Pinophyta |
| Class: | Pinopsida |
| Order: | Pinales |
| Family: |
Pinaceae Lindley, 1836 |
| Genera (no. of species) | |
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Subfamily Pinoideae
Subfamily Piceoideae
Subfamily Laricoideae
Subfamily Abietoideae
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Subfamily Pinoideae
Subfamily Piceoideae
Subfamily Laricoideae
Subfamily Abietoideae
The Pinaceae (pine family) are trees or shrubs, including many of the well-known conifers of commercial importance such as cedars, firs, hemlocks, larches, pines and spruces. The family is included in the order Pinales, formerly known as Coniferales. Pinaceae are supported as monophyletic by their protein-type sieve cell plastids, pattern of proembryogeny, and lack of bioflavonoids. They are the largest extant conifer family in species diversity, with between 220 and 250 species (depending on taxonomic opinion) in 11 genera, and the second-largest (after Cupressaceae) in geographical range, found in most of the Northern Hemisphere, with the majority of the species in temperate climates, but ranging from subarctic to tropical. The family often forms the dominant component of boreal, coastal, and montane forests. One species, Pinus merkusii, grows just south of the equator in Southeast Asia. Major centres of diversity are found in the mountains of southwest China, Mexico, central Japan, and California.
Members of the family Pinaceae are trees (rarely shrubs) growing from 2 to 100 m (7 to 300 ft) tall, mostly evergreen (except the deciduous Larix and Pseudolarix), resinous, monoecious, with subopposite or whorled branches, and spirally arranged, linear (needle-like) leaves. The embryos of Pinaceae have three to 24 cotyledons.
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Wikipedia