The Magnoliaceae () are a flowering plant family, the magnolia family, in the order Magnoliales. It consists of two genera: Magnolia and Liriodendron (tulip trees).
Unlike most angiosperms, whose flower parts are in whorls (rings), the Magnoliaceae have their stamens and pistils in spirals on a conical receptacle. This arrangement is found in some fossil plants and is believed to be a basal or early condition for angiosperms. The flowers also have parts not distinctly differentiated into sepals and petals, while angiosperms that evolved later tend to have distinctly differentiated sepals and petals. The poorly differentiated perianth parts that occupy both positions are known as tepals. This family has distinct fruit with brightly colored seeds.
The family has about 300 species and ranges across subtropical eastern North America, Mexico and Central America, the West Indies, tropical South America, southern and eastern India, Sri Lanka, Indochina, Malesia, China, Japan, and Korea.
There are multiple systematic and taxonomic groupings within the family leading to a continual debate. DNA sequencing is uncovering new information leading to rearrangements of these systematic and taxonomic classifications.
Genera
The number of genera in Magnoliaceae is a subject of debate. Up to 17 have been recognized, including Alcimandra, Lirianthe, Manglietia, Michelia, Pachylarnax, Parakmeria, Talauma and Yulania. However, many recent studies have opted to merge all genera within subfamily Magnolioideae into the genus Magnolia. Thus, Magnoliaceae would include only two extant genera, Magnolia and Liriodendron.
Description
Flowers In magnolias, the tepals are arranged in whorls, and the other flower parts are arranged spirally, not in whorls.
The monophyly of Magnoliaceae is supported by a number of shared morphological characters among the various genera in the family. Most have bisexual flowers (with the exception of Kmeria and some species of Magnolia section Gynopodium), showy,...
