Actinidiaceae

The Actinidiaceae are a small family of flowering plants. The family has three genera and about 360 species and is a member of the order Ericales.

Clematoclethra is a genus of plants in the family Actinidiaceae. It contains about 20 species and is endemic to subtropical and temperate regions of central and western China. Monophyly of the group is supported by genetic evidence and also evidence based on the cell biology of members of the genus. Monophyly of the genus is also supported by micromorphological characters of foliar trichomes and by phylogenetic analysis, although the exact evolutionary relationships of this genus with the other two genera of the Actinidiaceae, the Actinidia and the Saurauia, are not well understood.