Maleae
Encyclopedia
The Maleae are the apple tribe in the rose family, Rosaceae
. The group includes a number of plants bearing commercially important fruit
s, such as apple
s and pear
s, while others are cultivated as ornamentals. Older taxonomies separated some of this group as tribe Crataegeae, as the Cydonia Group (a tentative placement), or some genera were placed in family Quillajaceae.
The tribe consists exclusively of shrub
s and small tree
s. Most have pome
s, a type of accessory fruit
that does not occur in other Rosaceae. All except Vauquelinia
(with 15 chromosomes) have a basal haploid chromosome
count of 17, instead of 7, 8, or 9 as in the other Rosaceae.
There are approximately 28 genera with approximately 1100 species worldwide, with most species occurring in the temperate Northern Hemisphere.
(article 19), for any group at the tribal level that includes the genus Malus, but not either of the genera Rosa or Amygdalus.
intergeneric hybrids:
and graft hybrids:
+Pyrocydonia (Pirocydonia)
intergeneric (including inter-tribal) hybrids:
and the graft hybrid:
It is not yet clear whether this group is monophyletic. Molecular data indicate a close relationship between Cydonia and Pseudocydonia. Multiple ovules per carpel also occur in Kageneckia, a non-pome-bearing genus. Chloroplast
DNA analysis, but not nuclear DNA, shows a tight relationship between Cydonia and Dichotomanthes, a non-pome-bearing genus.
Rosaceae
Rosaceae are a medium-sized family of flowering plants, including about 2830 species in 95 genera. The name is derived from the type genus Rosa. Among the largest genera are Alchemilla , Sorbus , Crataegus , Cotoneaster , and Rubus...
. The group includes a number of plants bearing commercially important fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
s, such as apple
Apple
The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
s and pear
Pear
The pear is any of several tree species of genus Pyrus and also the name of the pomaceous fruit of these trees. Several species of pear are valued by humans for their edible fruit, but the fruit of other species is small, hard, and astringent....
s, while others are cultivated as ornamentals. Older taxonomies separated some of this group as tribe Crataegeae, as the Cydonia Group (a tentative placement), or some genera were placed in family Quillajaceae.
The tribe consists exclusively of shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s and small tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s. Most have pome
Pome
In botany, a pome is a type of fruit produced by flowering plants in the subfamily Maloideae of the family Rosaceae.A pome is an accessory fruit composed of one or more carpels surrounded by accessory tissue...
s, a type of accessory fruit
Accessory fruit
An accessory fruit is a fruit in which some of the flesh is derived not from the ovary but from some adjacent tissue exterior to the carpel. Examples of accessory tissue are the receptacle of strawberries, figs, or mulberries, and the calyx of Gaultheria procumbens or Syzygium jambos...
that does not occur in other Rosaceae. All except Vauquelinia
Vauquelinia
Vauquelinia, commonly known as the rosewoods, is a genus of the rose family Rosaceae. It consists of two species of shrubs found in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico.V...
(with 15 chromosomes) have a basal haploid chromosome
Chromosome
A chromosome is an organized structure of DNA and protein found in cells. It is a single piece of coiled DNA containing many genes, regulatory elements and other nucleotide sequences. Chromosomes also contain DNA-bound proteins, which serve to package the DNA and control its functions.Chromosomes...
count of 17, instead of 7, 8, or 9 as in the other Rosaceae.
There are approximately 28 genera with approximately 1100 species worldwide, with most species occurring in the temperate Northern Hemisphere.
Nomenclature
The name Maleae is required by the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plantsInternational Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants
The International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants is the set of rules and recommendations dealing with the formal botanical names that are given to plants, fungi and a few other groups of organisms, all those "traditionally treated as plants"., Preamble, para...
(article 19), for any group at the tribal level that includes the genus Malus, but not either of the genera Rosa or Amygdalus.
Taxonomy
A traditional circumscription of Maleae includes the following genera:- Amelanchier - serviceberry, juneberry
- Aria (see SorbusSorbusSorbus is a genus of about 100–200 species of trees and shrubs in the subfamily Maloideae of the Rose family Rosaceae. Species of Sorbus are commonly known as whitebeam, rowan, service tree, and mountain ash...
) - Aronia - chokeberry
- ChaenomelesChaenomelesChaenomeles is a genus of three species of deciduous spiny shrubs, usually 1–3 m tall, in the family Rosaceae. They are native to eastern Asia in Japan, China and Korea...
- Japanese quince - ChamaemelesChamaemelesChamaemeles is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rosaceae. It includes two species....
- Chamaemespilus (see Sorbus chamaemespilus)
- Cormus (see SorbusSorbusSorbus is a genus of about 100–200 species of trees and shrubs in the subfamily Maloideae of the Rose family Rosaceae. Species of Sorbus are commonly known as whitebeam, rowan, service tree, and mountain ash...
) - Cydonia - quince
- DichotomanthesDichotomanthesDichotomanthes is a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Rosaceae. The flower is perigynous the ovary is superior. The fruit of the plant is a dry achene....
- DocyniaDocyniaDocynia is a genus of flowering trees, evergreen or semi-evergreen, in the family Rosaceae. Their leaves are simple, alternate, and stipulate, with flowers shortly stalked, 2–5-fascicled, and precocious or synantherous. Docynia reproduce following pollination by insect interaction and possess both...
- Docyniopsis
- EriobotryaEriobotryaEriobotrya is a genus of about ten species of large evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosaceae, native to east and southeast Asia.-Species:By far the best known species is the Loquat, E...
-loquat - EriolobusEriolobusEriolobus is a genus of plants in the family Rosaceae....
- Hesperomeles
- Heteromeles - toyon
- MalacomelesMalacomelesMalacomeles is a genus of flowering plants in the Rosaceae. It is most closely related to Amelanchier, Peraphyllum, Crataegus, and Mespilus.-Species:*Malacomeles denticulata*Malacomeles nervosa*Malacomeles paniculata...
- MalusMalusMalus , the apples, are a genus of about 30–35 species of small deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rosaceae. Other studies go as far as 55 species including the domesticated Orchard Apple, or Table apple as it was formerly called...
- apple, crabapple - OsteomelesOsteomelesOsteomeles is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae. They are native to several areas around the Pacific Rim. The fruits of all species in this genus are edible.- Selected species :...
- Peraphyllum
- PhotiniaPhotiniaPhotinia is a genus of about 40-60 species of small trees and large shrubs in the Rosaceae family. As interpreted here, they are restricted to warm temperate Asia, from the Himalaya east to Japan and south to India and Thailand, but some botanists also include the closely related North American...
- PseudocydoniaPseudocydoniaPseudocydonia sinensis , the only species in the genus Pseudocydonia, is a deciduous or semi-evergreen tree in the family Rosaceae, native to eastern Asia in China. It is closely related to the east Asian genus Chaenomeles, and is sometimes placed in Chaenomeles as C...
- Chinese quince - PyrusPearThe pear is any of several tree species of genus Pyrus and also the name of the pomaceous fruit of these trees. Several species of pear are valued by humans for their edible fruit, but the fruit of other species is small, hard, and astringent....
- pear - RhaphiolepisRhaphiolepisRhaphiolepis syn. Raphiolepis Lindl.) is a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosaceae, native to warm temperate and subtropical eastern and southeastern Asia, from southern Japan, southern Korea and southern China south to Thailand and Vietnam. The genus is...
- hawthorn - SorbusSorbusSorbus is a genus of about 100–200 species of trees and shrubs in the subfamily Maloideae of the Rose family Rosaceae. Species of Sorbus are commonly known as whitebeam, rowan, service tree, and mountain ash...
- rowanRowanThe rowans or mountain-ashes are shrubs or small trees in genus Sorbus of family Rosaceae. They are native throughout the cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with the highest species diversity in the mountains of western China and the Himalaya, where numerous apomictic microspecies...
, whitebeamWhitebeamThe whitebeams are members of the Rosaceae family, comprising subgenus Aria of genus Sorbus, and hybrids involving species of this subgenus and members of subgenera Sorbus, Torminaria and Chamaemespilus. They are deciduous trees with simple or lobed leaves, arranged alternately...
, service tree - StranvaesiaStranvaesiaStranvaesia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rosaceae. Its morphology is so similar to Photinia that it has sometimes been included within that genus, but recent molecular data indicate that the two genera are not related.-Species:...
- Torminalis (see Sorbus torminalis)
intergeneric hybrids:
- ×Amelasorbus
- ×Malosorbus
- ×Sorbopyrus×Sorbopyrus×Sorbopyrus is an intergeneric hybrid of Sorbus and Pyrus....
and graft hybrids:
+Pyrocydonia (Pirocydonia)
Tribe Crataegeae
A recent taxonomic treatment includes the genera that were earlier separated as tribe Crataegeae (or as inter-tribe hybrids):- CotoneasterCotoneasterCotoneaster is a genus of woody plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, native to the Palaearctic region , with a strong concentration of diversity in the genus in the mountains of southwestern China and the Himalayas...
- cotoneasterCotoneasterCotoneaster is a genus of woody plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, native to the Palaearctic region , with a strong concentration of diversity in the genus in the mountains of southwestern China and the Himalayas... - CrataegusCrataegusCrataegus , commonly called hawthorn or thornapple, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the rose family, Rosaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in Europe, Asia and North America. The name hawthorn was originally applied to the species native to northern Europe,...
- hawthorn - Mespilus - medlarMedlarMespilus, commonly called Medlar, is a genus of two species of flowering plants in the subfamily Maloideae of the family Rosaceae...
- PyracanthaPyracanthaPyracantha is a genus of thorny evergreen large shrubs in the family Rosaceae, with common names Firethorn or Pyracantha. They are native to an area extending from Southeast Europe east to Southeast Asia, resemble and are related to Cotoneaster, but have serrated leaf margins and numerous thorns...
- firethorn
intergeneric (including inter-tribal) hybrids:
- ×Crataemespilus
- ×Crataegosorbus
- ×Sorbocotoneaster
and the graft hybrid:
- +Crataegomespilus+Crataegomespilus+Crataegomespilus is the generic name applied to graft-chimeras between the genera Crataegus and Mespilus. It is not to be confused with ×Crataemespilus, which is applied to sexual hybrids between those genera, nor with Chamaemespilus which is a segregate genus or subgenus of Sorbus....
Former members of family Quillajaceae
The following genera were previously placed in tribe Quillajaceae in Rosaceae, or in family Quillajaceae. Their fruit are dry capsules, not pomes.- KageneckiaKageneckiaKageneckia is a genus of flowering plant in family Rosaceae.Species include:* Kageneckia angustifolia, D. Don* Kageneckia lanceolata, Ruiz & Pav.* Kageneckia oblonga, Ruiz & Pav....
- VauqueliniaVauqueliniaVauquelinia, commonly known as the rosewoods, is a genus of the rose family Rosaceae. It consists of two species of shrubs found in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico.V...
- LindleyaLindleyaLindleya is a genus of Mexican evergreen trees of the family Rosaceae. The sole species, L. mespiloides, grows to a height of and bears solitary white fragrant flowers in summer....
The Cydonia Group
The Cydonia Group within the Maloid Rosaceae was a tentative grouping of pome-fruited genera with many ovules (rather than just two) per carpel. The genera involved were:- CydoniaCydoniaCydonia may refer to:* Cydonia , the goddess of heroic endeavour in Greek mythology* 1106 Cydonia, a main belt asteroid* Cydonia, Crete* Cydonia , a 2001 album by The Orb...
- ChaenomelesChaenomelesChaenomeles is a genus of three species of deciduous spiny shrubs, usually 1–3 m tall, in the family Rosaceae. They are native to eastern Asia in Japan, China and Korea...
- DocyniaDocyniaDocynia is a genus of flowering trees, evergreen or semi-evergreen, in the family Rosaceae. Their leaves are simple, alternate, and stipulate, with flowers shortly stalked, 2–5-fascicled, and precocious or synantherous. Docynia reproduce following pollination by insect interaction and possess both...
- PseudocydoniaPseudocydoniaPseudocydonia sinensis , the only species in the genus Pseudocydonia, is a deciduous or semi-evergreen tree in the family Rosaceae, native to eastern Asia in China. It is closely related to the east Asian genus Chaenomeles, and is sometimes placed in Chaenomeles as C...
It is not yet clear whether this group is monophyletic. Molecular data indicate a close relationship between Cydonia and Pseudocydonia. Multiple ovules per carpel also occur in Kageneckia, a non-pome-bearing genus. Chloroplast
Chloroplast
Chloroplasts are organelles found in plant cells and other eukaryotic organisms that conduct photosynthesis. Chloroplasts capture light energy to conserve free energy in the form of ATP and reduce NADP to NADPH through a complex set of processes called photosynthesis.Chloroplasts are green...
DNA analysis, but not nuclear DNA, shows a tight relationship between Cydonia and Dichotomanthes, a non-pome-bearing genus.