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| Nyssaceae | ||||||||||
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 Davidia flowers
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Nyssa - tupelo |
The Nyssaceae is a small family of flowering plants related to and often included within the dogwood family (Cornaceae). As most commonly circumscribed, the Nyssaceae includes three genera of trees, while a fourth genus has recently been transferred to the family (Averyanov & Hiep 2002):
- Nyssa, the tupelos: about 7-10 species in eastern North America and east to southeast Asia
- Camptotheca, the happy trees: two species in China
- Davidia, the dove tree, handkerchief tree, or ghost tree: one species in central China
- Diplopanax: two species in southern China and Vietnam
At least one other extinct genus Mastixicarpum, very similar to Diplopanax, is known from fossil evidence.
In some treatments, Davidia is split off into its own family, the Davidiaceae, but this treatment is not widely followed.
References
- Nyssaceae in China - draft Flora of China page
- Averyanov, L. V. & Hiep, N. T. (2002). Diplopanax vietnamensis, a New Species of Nyssaceae from Vietnam – One More Living Representative of the Tertiary Flora of Eurasia. Novon 12: 433-436. Available online (pdf)
