Berberidaceae

From Freepedia

Berberidaceae

Image:Berberis darwin fls.jpg
Berberis darwinii shoot with flowers

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Ranunculales
Family:	Berberidaceae

Genera

See text

Berberidaceae is a family of 15 genera flowering plants commonly called the barberry family. This family is in the order Ranunculales. The family contains about 570 species, of which the majority (450) are in Berberis. The species include trees, shrubs and perennial herbaceous plants.

Genera

In some older treatments of the family, Berberidaceae only included four genera (Berberis, Epimedium, Mahonia, Vancouveria), with the other genera treated in separate families, Leonticaceae (Bongardia, Caulophyllum, Gymnospermium, Leontice), Nandinaceae (Nandina), and Podophyllaceae (Achlys, Diphylleia, Dysosma, Jeffersonia, Podophyllum, Ranzania).

Mahonia is very closely related to Berberis, and some botanists include it within Berberis. Species in the two genera can be hybridised, with the hybrids being classified in the hybrid genus X Mahoberberis.