Olacaceae is the botanical name for a family of flowering plants. This family has been recognized universally by taxonomists, but circumscription has varied widely.

The APG II system, of 2003 (unchanged from the APG system, of 1998), also recognizes this family and assigns it to the order Santalales in the clade core eudicots. It consists of perhaps two dozen genera, totalling a few hundred species of tropical woody plants.

The AP-Website notes that this is not a good family and assumes that it will be split (again), with the plants sometimes treated in families Erythropalaceae and Octoknemaceae going to form a new family, and perhaps some further splits (see Schoepfiaceae). The taxa that will then remain in Olacaceae will all be parasitic plants.

External links

• Olacaceae, Erythropalaceae, Octoknemaceae in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval. Version: 2nd June 2006. http://delta-intkey.com

• Olacaceae in the strict sense, as it will be after the upcoming split
• NCBI Taxonomy Browser

Santalales | Plant families

Olacaceae | Olacaceae | Olacaceae