The family Epacridaceae may be readily recognized as those ericoid taxa with longitudinally dehiscent anthers that lack appendages. These were reduced to a single subfamily, the Styphelioideae, by Thorne in his Ericaceae. Cosmelieae, Oligarrheneae, Needhamielleae, Stenanthereae Dumort. Mabberley refers the Prionoteae Drude to synonymy under Epacrideae. At the rank of tribe, however, Epacrideae Dumort.
Priority is operative below the rank of family except for purposes of autonymy.
Thus, in Epacridaceae, the correct nomenclature is Epacridoideae Link and Epacrideae Dumort. In Ericaceae, it is Styphelioideae Sweet and Epacrideae Dumort. In either case, Stenanthereae has priority over Styphelieae if the styphelioide members are considered to belong to a tribe different from that circumscribed by Epacris and its relatives. Some members of the Epacridaceae are grown as ornamentals. Several are pleasantly sweet-scented.