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Peridiscaceae

Peridiscaceae · Kew POWO · Kew Plants of the World Online

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Peridiscaceae

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Peridiscaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Saxifragales. Four genera comprise this family: Medusandra, Soyauxia, Peridiscus, and Whittonia., with a total of 12 known species. It has a disjunct distribution, with Peridiscus occurring in Venezuela and northern Brazil, Whittonia in Guyana, Medusandra in Cameroon, and Soyauxia in tropical West Africa. Whittonia is possibly extinct, being known from only one specimen collected below Kaieteur Falls in Guyana. In 2006, archeologists attempted to rediscover it, however, it proved unsuccessful.

Species

FAMILY

  1. KingdomPlantae
  2. PhylumTracheophyta
  3. ClassMagnoliopsida
  4. OrderSaxifragales
  5. FamilyPeridiscaceae
Observations recorded2,138

via GBIF · Kew POWO

Wikidata facts

Image
Peridiscus lucidus (Hooker).png
Show 4 more facts
taxon name
Peridiscaceae
Commons category
Peridiscaceae
taxon common name
围盘树科
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Article

5 sections
Contents
  • Description
  • History
  • Phylogeny
  • References
  • Bibliography

Peridiscaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Saxifragales. Four genera comprise this family: Medusandra, Soyauxia, Peridiscus, and Whittonia., with a total of 12 known species. It has a disjunct distribution, with Peridiscus occurring in Venezuela and northern Brazil, Whittonia in Guyana, Medusandra in Cameroon, and Soyauxia in tropical West Africa. Whittonia is possibly extinct, being known from only one specimen collected below Kaieteur Falls in Guyana. In 2006, archeologists attempted to rediscover it, however, it proved unsuccessful.

The largest genus is Soyauxia, with about seven species. Medusandra has two species. Peridiscus and Whittonia each contain one species. The Peridiscaceae are small trees or erect shrubs of wet tropical forests.

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