2024 Edition • Get the App • Cite this Page
X

Colors

Data mode

Account

Login
Sign up

Collapse this

Support the Flora of the Southeastern US

2024 has been a banner year for making the best flora we can imagine. We've created:
With financial support from people like you, we are aiming even higher in 2025. Together we can accomplish all this: Vote on our 2025 priorities
  • Add Global Conservation Ranks (GRanks) vote
  • Professional graphic keys (polyclaves) to individual families/genera vote
  • 2 new FloraQuest apps: Florida & Mid-South vote
  • Image overlays highlighting diagnostic characters with arrows vote
  • iNaturalist integration in FloraQuest vote
Write-in vote: vote
We've set a goal of recruiting 200 ongoing supporters to donate $15 or more each month in 2025. Please help us reach this goal and make next year's flora even better:
Donate $15 per month
(0.1¢/species)
Donate $30 per month
(0.3¢/species)
Donate $50 per month
(amazing!)
Donate another
or one-time amount
Copy permalink to share

Ruscaceae M. Roemer. Ruscus Family.

Key to Ruscaceae

As here circumscribed, a family of about 28 genera and 500 species, of North America, Central America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Following the "breakup of the Liliaceae", Ruscaceae was often defined very narrowly to include a few genera with cladodes. In APG I (1998), it was recognized more broadly as Convallariaceae. In APG II (2003), Ruscaceae was listed as an "acceptable, monophyletic alternative to the broader circumscription favoured here". In APG III (2009) and APG IV (2016), Ruscaceae was simply merged into a very broad Asparagaceae. We favor and here use a 'middle ground' that recognizes at family rank major clades (in our region: Asparagaceae s.s., Ruscaceae, Agavaceae, Themidaceae, and Hyacinthaceae) in Asparagaceae sensu APG III and APG IV.

Ref: APG IV (2016); Bogler & Simpson (1995); Bogler In Kubitzki (1998a); Conran & Tamura In Kubitzki (1998a); Yamashita & Tamura (2000); Yeo In Kubitzki (1998a). Show full citations.

Show in key(s)

Show genera in Ruscaceae

Show all taxa in Ruscaceae

Your browser does not support SVGs

Hover over a shape, letter, icon, or arrow on the map for definition or see the legend. Data for arrows not developed for genera and families which may have species only occurring outside the flora area.

image of plant© Gary P. Fleming | Maianthemum stellatum | Original Image ⭷
image of plant© Bruce A. Sorrie | Polygonatum | Original Image ⭷
image of plant© Alan Weakley | Liriope source | Original Image ⭷
image of plant© Alan Weakley | Nolina source | Original Image ⭷
image of plant© J.W. Hardin | Danae | Original Image ⭷
image of plant© Caleb Catto, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Caleb Catto | Aspidistra elatior source | Original Image ⭷
image of plant© Sam Kieschnick, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Sam Kieschnick | Dasylirion texanum source | Original Image ⭷

Feedback

See something wrong or missing on about Ruscaceae? Let us know here: (Please include your name and email if at all complicated so we can clarify if needed.) We greatly appreciate feedback, and will include updates from you in our next webapp update, which can take a few months.


« show previous | back to original search ↑ | show next »