Rosaceae
Rosaceae Juss. comprises approximately 90–100 genera and 4,800–5,000 species, distributed worldwide, with greatest diversity in the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Molecular phylogenetic studies have resolved the family into three major subfamilies—Rosoideae, Amygdaloideae, and Dryadoideae—clarifying relationships among economically important genera such as Rosa, Prunus, Malus, Pyrus, Fragaria, and Rubus. Members are characterized by alternate stipulate leaves, conspicuous flowers with numerous stamens, a well-developed floral hypanthium, and highly diverse fruit types.
Key characteristics
- Herbs, shrubs, or trees
- Leaves alternate and usually stipulate
- Flowers showy, bisexual, and five-merous
- Hypanthium well developed
- Stamens numerous
- Ovary superior to inferior, depending on the genus
- Fruits highly variable (drupe, pome, achene, hip, follicle, aggregate fruit)
Distribution
Rosaceae has a nearly cosmopolitan distribution, although it is most diverse in the temperate regions of Europe, Asia, and North America. Members occur in temperate forests, grasslands, shrublands, alpine meadows, wetlands, mountain slopes, orchards, and cultivated landscapes. Rosaceae is widely distributed throughout, the Salt Range, Potohar Plateau, the Himalayas, Karakoram, and Hindu Kush. Species occur in temperate forests, alpine meadows, scrublands, river valleys, orchards, cultivated fields, and mountain ecosystems.