Colchicaceae is a
family of
flowering plants that includes 15 genera with a total of about 285 known species according to Christenhusz and Byng in 2016.[2]
Description
The family is characterized by the presence of
colchicine.[3]
Taxonomy
The
APG III system, of 2009 (unchanged from the
APG systems, of 1998 and 2003), recognizes this family and places it in the order
Liliales, in the clade
monocots.[1] It is a group of herbaceous perennials with
rhizomes or
corms.
The genus Petermannia F.Muell. is excluded from this family and placed in its own family Petermanniaceae, Liliales. The former controversy regarding the inclusion of Androcymbium in Colchicum has now been resolved in favor of the 2007 classification of Manning et al.[5] who included Androcymbium in Colchicum. This is supported by molecular phylogenetic studies with dense species sampling (i.e. 41 species previously placed in Androcymbium and 96 species of Colchicum) that showed that the type species of Androcymbium, A. melanthioides (Colchicum melanthioides), is more closely related to species of Colchicum than it is to many species traditionally placed in Androcymbium.[6][7]
Subsequently, Nguyen et al.(2013) proposed reclassifying the family on the basis of subfamilies:[8]
Subfamily Uvularioideae (distribution: Eastern Asia and North America)
Tribe Uvularieae (Disporum, Uvularia)
Subfamily Wurmbeoideae (distribution: Australia, Africa, Europe, central and tropical Asia)
^Manning, J.C.; Forest, F.; Vinnersten, A. (2007). "The genus Colchicum L. redefined to include "Androcymbium" Willd. based on molecular evidence". Taxon. 56 (3): 872–882.
doi:
10.2307/25065868.
JSTOR25065868.
^Chacón, J.; Renner, S. S. (2014). "Assessing model sensitivity in ancestral area reconstruction using Lagrange: A case study using the Colchicaceae family". Journal of Biogeography. 41 (7): 1414–1427.
doi:
10.1111/jbi.12301.
^Chacón, J.; Cusimano, N.; Renner, S. S. (2014). "The evolution of Colchicaceae, with a focus on chromosome numbers". Systematic Botany. 39 (2): 415–427.
doi:
10.1600/036364414X680852.
Vinnersten, A.; Reeves, G. (1 October 2003). "Phylogenetic relationships within Colchicaceae". American Journal of Botany. 90 (10): 1455–1462.
doi:
10.3732/ajb.90.10.1455.
PMID21659097.