The Simaroubaceae is a small, mostly tropical, family in the order Sapindales

Sapindales

Sapindales is a botanical name for an order of flowering plants. Well-known members of Sapindales include citrus; maples, horse-chestnuts, lychees and rambutans; mangos and cashews; frankincense and myrrh; mahogany and neem....

. In recent decades it has been subject to much taxonomic debate, with several small families being split off. A molecular phylogeny

Molecular phylogeny

Molecular phylogenetics is the analysis of hereditary molecular differences, mainly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. The result of a molecular phylogenetic analysis is expressed in a phylogenetic tree...

 of the family was published in 2007, greatly clarifying relationships within the family.

The best-known species is the temperate Chinese

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 Tree-of-heaven Ailanthus altissima, which has become a cosmopolitan

Cosmopolitan distribution

In biogeography, a taxon is said to have a cosmopolitan distribution if its range extends across all or most of the world in appropriate habitats. For instance, the killer whale has a cosmopolitan distribution, extending over most of the world's oceans. Other examples include humans, the lichen...

 urban weed

Weed

A weed in a general sense is a plant that is considered by the user of the term to be a nuisance, and normally applied to unwanted plants in human-controlled settings, especially farm fields and gardens, but also lawns, parks, woods, and other areas. More specifically, the term is often used to...

 tree.

Well-known genera in the family include the tropical Quassia

Quassia

Quassia is a flora genus in the family Simaroubaceae. Its size is disputed; some botanists treat it as consisting of only one species, Quassia amara from tropical South America, while others treat it in a wide circumscription as a pantropical genus containing up to 40 species of trees and shrubs....

and Simarouba

Simarouba

Simarouba is a genus of trees and shrubs in the Simaroubaceae family, native to the neotropics. It has been grouped in the subtribe Simaroubina along with the Simaba and Quassia genera. They have compound leaves, with between 1 and 12 pairs of alternate pinnate leaflets. Their flowers are...

.

Genera

Ailanthus Ailanthus Ailanthus is a genus of trees belonging to the family Simaroubaceae, in the order Sapindales . The genus is native from east Asia south to northern Australasia.... Desf. Amaroria A.Gray Brucea J.F.Mill. Castela Castela Castela is a genus of thorny shrubs and small trees in the family Simaroubaceae. Members of the genus are native to the Americas, especially the tropical regions. The generic name honours the French naturalist René Richard Louis Castel.-Selected species:... Turpin Eurycoma Eurycoma Eurycoma is a small genus of three or four species of flowering plants in the family Simaroubaceae, native to tropical southeastern Asia. They are small evergreen trees with spirally arranged pinnate leaves... Jack Gymnostemon Gymnostemon Gymnostemon is a genus of plant in family Simaroubaceae. It contains the following species :* Gymnostemon zaizou, Aubrev. & Pellegrin... Aubrév. & Pellegr. Hannoa Hannoa Hannoa is a genus of plant in family Simaroubaceae. It contains the following species :* Hannoa kitombetombe, Gilbert... Planch.

Iridosma Aubrév. & Pellegr. Laumoniera Noot. Leitneria Leitneria Leitneria floridana , the sole species in the genus Leitneria, is a deciduous dioecious shrub or small tree, found only in the southeastern United States states of Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Missouri and Texas.... Chapm. Nothospondias Nothospondias Nothospondias is a genus of plant in family Simaroubaceae. It contains the following species :* Nothospondias staudtii, Engl.... Engl. Odyendea Pierre ex Engl. Perriera Courchet Picrasma Picrasma Picrasma is a genus of flowering plants in the family Simaroubaceae, comprising six to nine species native to temperate to tropical regions of Asia, and tropical regions of the Americas. The species are shrubs and trees growing up to 20 m tall.... Blume

Picrolemma Hook.f. Pierreodendron Pierreodendron Pierreodendron is a genus of plant in family Simaroubaceae. It contains the following species :* Pierreodendron kerstingii, Little... Engl. Quassia Quassia Quassia is a flora genus in the family Simaroubaceae. Its size is disputed; some botanists treat it as consisting of only one species, Quassia amara from tropical South America, while others treat it in a wide circumscription as a pantropical genus containing up to 40 species of trees and shrubs.... L. Samadera Gaertn. Simaba Aubl. Simarouba Simarouba Simarouba is a genus of trees and shrubs in the Simaroubaceae family, native to the neotropics. It has been grouped in the subtribe Simaroubina along with the Simaba and Quassia genera. They have compound leaves, with between 1 and 12 pairs of alternate pinnate leaflets. Their flowers are... Aubl. Soulamea Soulamea Soulamea is a genus of plant in family Simaroubaceae. It contains the following species :* Soulamea terminalioides, Baker... Lam.

Excluded genera

Allantospermum Allantospermum Allantospermum is a genus of trees up to 90 m tall in family Ixonanthaceae . Formerly it has been included in families Simaroubaceae and Irvingiaceae. It contains the following two species:* Allantospermum borneense - Malesia... Forman → Ixonanthaceae Ixonanthaceae Ixonanthaceae is a family of woody flowering plants up to 90 m tall , consisting of about 30 species in 4 or 5 genera.... Alvaradoa Alvaradoa Alvaradoa is a genus of plant in family Simaroubaceae.It contains the following species :* Alvaradoa jamaicensis, Benth.* Alvaradoa amorphoides Liebm.... Liebm. → Picramniaceae Picramniaceae The Picramniales are a small, mainly neotropical order of plants containing one family, the Picramniaceae, and three genera Alvaradoa, Nothotalisia and Picramnia. Members of the order were formerly placed in the family Simaroubaceae or misidentified as species in the family Sapindaceae, in the... Desbordesia Pierre ex Tiegh. → Irvingiaceae Irvingiaceae Irvingiaceae is a family of flowering plants, consisting of 20 species in 3 genera.The family is named for the Scottish naval surgeon, Edward George Irving.... Harrisonia R.Br. ex A.Juss. → Rutaceae Rutaceae Rutaceae, commonly known as the rue or citrus family, is a family of flowering plants, usually placed in the order Sapindales.Species of the family generally have flowers that divide into four or five parts, usually with strong scents... Irvingia Irvingia Irvingia is a genus of African and Southeast Asian trees in the family Irvingiaceae, sometimes known by the common names wild mango, African mango, or bush mango... Hook.f. → Irvingiaceae

Kirkia Kirkia Kirkia is a genus of plant in family Kirkiaceae. It was previously placed in family Simaroubaceae, but was transferred into Kirkiaceae, together with Pleiokirkia, because these genera produce neither quassinoids nor limonoids.... Oliv. → Kirkiaceae Kirkiaceae Kirkiaceae is a family of flowering plant in the order Sapindales. It comprises two genera, Kirkia and Pleikirkia, totalling six species... Klainedoxa Pierre ex Engl. → Irvingiaceae Picramnia Picramnia Picramnia is a genus of plant considered to be in the family Picramniaceae, but sometimes placed in Simaroubaceae. The name is conserved against the genera Pseudo-brasilium Adans., and Tariri Aubl., both which have been rejected .-Selected species:* P. acreana Ule* P. andrade-limae... Sw. → Picramniaceae Pleiokirkia Capuron → Kirkiaceae Recchia Recchia Recchia is a genus of plant in family Surianaceae. It contains the following species :* Recchia simplicifolia, Wendt & Lott... Sessé & Moc. ex DC. → Surianaceae Surianaceae Surianaceae is a family of plants in the order Fabales. It has an unusual distribution: the genus Recchia is native to Mexico, and the sole member of Suriana, S. maritima, is a coastal plant with a pantropical distribution; and the remaining three genera are endemic to Australia.They range in...