The Zygophyllaceae is a family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 of flowering plant

Flowering plant

The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...

s that contains the bean-caper

Zygophyllum fabago

Zygophyllum fabago is a species of plant known by the common name Syrian bean-caper. It is considered a noxious weed of economic importance in many of the western United States. It is native to Asia and the Middle East.-Growth:...

 and caltrop

Tribulus terrestris

Tribulus terrestris is a flowering plant in the family Zygophyllaceae, native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Old World in southern Europe, southern Asia, throughout Africa, and Australia. It can thrive even in desert climates and poor soil...

. It includes around 285 species in 22 genera.

In the APG III system

APG III system

The APG III system of flowering plant classification is the third version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy...

 of classification

Plant taxonomy

Plant taxonomy is the science that finds, describes, classifies, identifies, and names plants. It thus is one of the main branches of taxonomy.Plant taxonomy is closely allied to plant systematics, and there is no sharp boundary between the two...

, the families Zygophyllaceae and Krameriaceae compose the order Zygophyllales

Zygophyllales

The Zygophyllales are an order of dicotyledon plants, comprising the following two families:* Family Zygophyllaceae* Family KrameriaceaeAccording to the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group both families are unplaced to order, but nevertheless included in the Eurosids I. The APG III system of 2009, however,...

. In the previous version of their classification system

Systematics

Biological systematics is the study of the diversification of terrestrial life, both past and present, and the relationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as evolutionary trees...

, the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group

Angiosperm Phylogeny Group

The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, or APG, refers to an informal international group of systematic botanists who came together to try to establish a consensus on the taxonomy of flowering plants that would reflect new knowledge about plant relationships discovered through phylogenetic studies., three...

 had included the option of placing Krameria within Zygophyllaceae.

Zygophyllaceae is divided into five subfamilies

Taxonomic rank

In biological classification, rank is the level in a taxonomic hierarchy. Examples of taxonomic ranks are species, genus, family, and class. Each rank subsumes under it a number of less general categories...

. 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 2000. Phylogenies of groups within the family have also been published. A phylogeny of the southern African species of Zygophyllum

Zygophyllum

Zygophyllum is the type genus of the flowering plant family Zygophyllaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek words ζυγόν , meaning "yoke," and φυλλον , meaning "leaf." It refers to the leaves, each of which have two leaflets...

was published in 2008.

Peganum

Peganum

Peganum L. is a genus under the recently separated family Nitrariaceae . Formerly it used to be included in the family Zygophyllaceae....

was in Zygophyllaceae before being moved to the newly created family Nitrariaceae

Nitrariaceae

Nitrariaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Sapindales. It comprises three genera, Nitraria, Peganum and Tetradiclis, totalling 16 species....

.

King Clone

King Clone

King Clone is thought to be the oldest Creosote bush ring in the Mojave Desert is estimated to be 11,700 years old. It is considered one of the oldest living organisms on Earth...

, a Creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, is believed to be the oldest living organism.

Genera

Subfamily Larreoideae Larreoideae Larreoideae is a subfamily of the flowering plant family Zygophyllaceae.-Genera:* Bulnesia Gay* Guaiacum L.* Larrea Cav.* Pintoa Gay* Porlieria Ruiz & Pav.... Bulnesia Bulnesia Bulnesia is a genus of flowering plants in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae. The wood of some – particularly B. arborea and B. sarmientoi – is traded as verawood or "lignum vitae"... Gay Claude Gay Claude Gay, real name : Claudio Gay Mouret , was a French botanist, naturalist and illustrator.The Cordillera de Claudio Gay in the Atacama Region of Chile is named after him.... Guaiacum Guaiacum Guaiacum, sometimes spelled Guajacum, is a genus of flowering plants in the caltrop family Zygophyllaceae. It contains five species of slow-growing shrubs and trees, reaching a height of approximately but are usually less than half of that... L. Larrea Larrea Larrea is a genus of flowering plants in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae. It contains five species of evergreen shrubs that are native to the Americas. The generic name honours Spanish scientist J.A. de Larrea. South American members of this genus are known as jarillas and are so closely related... Cav. Antonio José Cavanilles Antonio José Cavanilles was a leading Spanish taxonomic botanist of the 18th century. He named many plants, particularly from Oceania, his name is abbreviated as Cav... Pintoa Gay Porlieria Porlieria Porlieria s a genus of flowering plants in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae. Species within this genus are shrubs or small trees of dry subtropical regions. The generic name honours Spanish ambassador Don Antonio Porlier de Baxamar.-Selected species:... Ruiz & Pav. Ruiz y Pavón -Ruiz et Pavón:Ruiz y Pavón Spanish form of the combination Ruiz et Pavón, as used as authority in plant species.-Joseph Pavón:Jose Antonio Pavón y Jimenez Spanish botanist, with Hipólito Ruiz López and the French specialist Dombey visited between 1779 and 1788 Chile, Peru and other South American... Subfamily Morkillioideae Morkillia Rose & J.H.Painter

Sericodes A.Gray Viscainoa Greene Subfamily Seetzenioideae Seetzenia R.Br. ex Decne. Subfamily Tribuloideae Tribuloideae Tribuloideae is a subfamily of the flowering plant family Zygophyllaceae.-Genera:* Balanites Delile* Kallstroemia Scop.* Kelleronia Schinz* Neoluederitzia Schinz* Sisyndite E.Mey. ex Sond.* Tribulopsis R.Br.* Tribulus L.... Balanites Balanites Balanites is a genus of flowering plants in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae.-Selected species:* Balanites aegyptiaca Delile* Balanites maughamii Sprague* Balanites roxburghii Planch.-External links:... Delile Kallstroemia Kallstroemia Kallstroemia is a genus of flowering plants in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae. The approximately 17 species it contains are native to tropical and warm temperate regions of the Americas. The flower and fruit morphology is similar to Tribulus. The convex fruits separate into about 10 nutlets... Scop. Kelleronia Schinz

Neoluederitzia Neoluederitzia Neoluederitzia is a genus of flowering plants in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae.... Schinz Sisyndite E.Mey. ex Sond. Tribulopis R.Br. Tribulus Tribulus Tribulus is a genus of plants found in many warm regions. The best-known member is T. terrestris , a widespread weed and also the source of a dietary supplement.... L. Subfamily Zygophylloideae Augea Thunb. Fagonia Fagonia Fagonia is a genus of flowering plants in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae. The roughly 18 species it contains are commonly known as fagonbushes. Their distribution includes parts of Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, and parts of the Americas.... L. Halimiphyllum (Engl.) Boriss.

Melocarpum (Engl.) Beier & Thulin Roepera A.Juss. Tetraena Maxim. Zygophyllum Zygophyllum Zygophyllum is the type genus of the flowering plant family Zygophyllaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek words ζυγόν , meaning "yoke," and φυλλον , meaning "leaf." It refers to the leaves, each of which have two leaflets... L. Unplaced Izozogia G.Navarro Metharme Phil. ex Engl. Plectrocarpa Gillies ex Hook. & Arn.

External links

• Zygophyllaceae in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval.
• Family Zygophyllaceae Flowers in Israel
• Chilean Zygophyllaceae Chileflora