Tiliaceae

Tiliaceae is a family of flowering plants. It is not a part of the APG, APG II and APG III classifications, being sunk in Malvaceae mostly as the subfamilies Tilioideae, Brownlowioideae and Grewioideae, but has an extensive historical record of use.
All through its existence the family has had a very lively history, with various authors taking very different views on what should be part of this family. As a result, it is recommended when this name is encountered to check what the author means.
However, in the northern temperate regions the name is unambiguous as the only representative is Tilia, the lime or linden.
APG II system
The APG II system, does not recognise this as a family but submerges it in the Malvaceae sensu lato, which unites the four families Bombacaceae, Malvaceae sensu stricto, Sterculiaceae and Tiliaceae. Modern botanical taxonomy, such as the relevant volume in the Kubitzki series which conforms to APG, treats most of the plants that traditionally constitute the family (see above) in the subfamilies Tilioideae, Brownlowioideae, and Grewioideae within this extended family Malvaceae sensu lato. Cladistically, the traditional family Tiliaceae is polyphyletic.
de Candolle system
In the de Candolle system the circumscription of the family was:
family Tiliaceae
genus I. Sparmannia [sic: now Sparrmannia]
genus II? Abatia
genus III. Heliocarpus
genus IV. Antichorus
genus V. Corchorus
genus VI. Honckenya [sic, see Clappertonia]
genus VII. Triumfetta
genus VIII. Grewia
genus IX. Columbia [sic, now Colona]
genus X. Tilia
genus XI. Diplophractum
genus XII. Muntingia
genus XIII. Apeiba
genus XIV. Sloanea
genus XV. Ablania
genus XIV. Gyrostemon
genus XVII. Christiana
genus XVIII. Alegria
genus XIX. Luhea [sic, now: Luehea]
genus XX. Vatica
genus XXI. Espera
genus XXII. Wikstroemia
genus XXIII. Berrya
According to APG II system, the current placement of these genera is mostly in the Malvaceae sensu lato, but with Gyrostemon moved to family Gyrostemonaceae, Muntingia to family Muntingiaceae, Sloanea to family Elaeocarpaceae, Vatica to family Dipterocarpaceae and Wikstroemia to family Thymelaeaceae (possibly reduced to a synonym of Daphne). The genus Abatia is assigned to the family Salicaceae sensu lato.
Bentham & Hooker system
The family reached perhaps its widest circumscription in the Bentham & Hooker system:
family XXXIII Tiliaceae
series A. Holopetalae
tribus I. Brownlowieae
genus 1. Brownlowia
genus 2. Pentace
genus 3. Diplodiscus
genus 4. Pityranthe
genus 5. Christiana
genus 6. Berrya
genus 7. Carpodiptera
tribus II. Grewieae
genus 8. Grewia
genus 9. Columbia [sic, now Colona]
genus 10. Diplophractum
genus 11. Belotia
genus 12. Erinocarpus
genus 13. Triumfetta
genus 14. Heliocarpus
tribus III. Tilieae
genus 15. Entelea
genus 16. Sparrmannia
genus 17. Honckenya [sic, see Clappertonia]
genus 18. Corchorus
genus 19. Corchoropsis
genus 20. Luehea
genus 21. Mollia
genus 22. Trichospermum
genus 23. Muntingia
genus 24. Tilia
genus 25. Leptonychia
genus 26. Schoutenia
tribus IV. Apeibeae
genus 27. Glypilea
genus 28. Apeiba
series B. Heteropetalae
tribus V. Prockieae
genus 29. Prockia
genus 30. Hasseltia
genus 31. Plagiopteron
genus 32? Ropalocarpus
tribus VI. Sloanieae
genus 33. Vallea
genus 34. Sloanea
genus 35. Echinocarpus
genus 36. Antholoma
tribus VII. Elaeocarpeae
genus 37. Aristotelia
genus 38. Elaeocarpus
genus 39. Dubouzetia
genus 40. Tricuspidaria
According to APG II system, the current placement of these genera is perhaps mostly in the Malvaceae sensu lato, but with Muntingia moved to family Muntingiaceae, while tribes VI and VII form the core of family Elaeocarpaceae and tribe V has been moved to the family Salicaceae sensu lato.
The Hutchinson system follows the Bentham & Hooker system rather closely.
Cronquist system
In the Cronquist system (1981) the family includes some fifty genera, totalling around seven hundred species of trees and shrubs, rarely herbs, with a subcosmopolitan distribution. It may be separated from Malvaceae sensu stricto by the smooth surface of the pollen grains, bilocular anthers, and the stamens free or in bundles (but not monadelphous)
Ancistrocarpus Oliv.
Apeiba Aubl.
Asterophorum Sprague
Berrya Roxb.
Brownlowia Roxb.
Burretiodendron Rehder
Carpodiptera Griseb.
Christiana DC.
Clappertonia Meisn.
Colona Cav.
Corchoropsis Siebold & Zucc.
Corchorus L.
Craigia W.W.Sm. & W.E.Evans
Desplatsia Bocq.
Dicraspidia Standl.
Diplodiscus Turcz.
Duboscia Bocquet
Eleutherostylis Burret
Entelea R.Br.
Erinocarpus Nimmo ex J.Graham
Glyphaea Hook.f.
Goethalsia Pittier
Grewia L.
Hainania Merr.
Heliocarpus L.
Hydrogaster Kuhlm.
Jarandersonia Kosterm.
Luehea Willd.
Lueheopsis Burret
Microcos L.
Mollia Mart.
Mortoniodendron Standl. & Steyerm.
Neotessmannia Burret
Pentace Hassk.
Pentaplaris L.O.Williams & Standl.
Petenaea Lundell
Pityranthe Thwaites
Pseudocorchorus Capuron
Schoutenia Korth.
Sicrea (Pierre) Hallier f.
Sparrmannia L.f.
Tetralix Griseb.
Tilia L.
Trichospermum Blume
Triumfetta L.
Vasivaea Baill.
Westphalina A.Robyns & Bamps
External links
Tiliaceae in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards) The families of flowering plants: descriptions.
Malvales families
Historically recognized angiosperm families