Rosaceae

Rosaceae Temporal range: Cretaceous-Holocene
Flower of Rosa pouzinii
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Rosaceae Juss.
Global distribution of Rosaceae

Rosaceae, the rose family, is a medium-sized family of flowering plants, including 4,828 known species in 91 genera.

The name is derived from the type genus Rosa. Among the most species-rich genera are Alchemilla (270), Sorbus (260), Crataegus (260), Cotoneaster (260), Rubus (250), and Prunus (plums, cherries, peaches, apricots, and almonds) with about 200 species. However, all of these numbers should be seen as estimates – much taxonomic work remains.

The Rosaceae family includes herbs, shrubs, and trees. Most species are deciduous, but some are evergreen. They have a worldwide range, but are most diverse in the Northern Hemisphere.

Several economically important products come from the Rosaceae, including many edible fruits (such as apples, pears, quinces, apricots, plums, cherries, peaches, raspberries, loquats, and strawberries), almonds, and ornamental trees and shrubs (such as roses, meadowsweets, photinias, firethorns, rowans, and hawthorns).

The Rosaceae have a cosmopolitan distribution (found nearly everywhere except for Antarctica), but are primarily concentrated in the Northern Hemisphere in regions that are not desert or tropical rainforest.

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Wikipedia