Sabiaceae

Sabiaceae is a family of flowering plants that were placed in the order Proteales according to the APG IV system. It comprises three genera, "Meliosma", "Ophiocaryon" and "Sabia", with 66 known species, native to tropical to warm temperate regions of southern Asia and the Americas. The family has also been called Meliosmaceae Endl., 1841, nom. rej.
Ecology.
The anthesis is extremely short. The anthers open within the bud, but enclosed in the staminodes. On maturing the bud opens explosively at the smallest touch releasing the pollen into the air.
Plants from this genus live in humid areas along rivers, in tropical forests or in warm temperatures.
Phytochemistry.
Cyanolipids absent. Pentacyclic triterpenoids, flavonols, proanthocyanidins and tannins present. The plants are not cyanogenetic.
Uses.
Some species of "Meliosma" have a limited use in gardening and horticulture.
Fossils.
The fossil genus "Insitiocarpus" has been found in deposits from the Cenomanian period, while the other extant genera "Sabia" and "Meliosma" have been found in European deposits from the Turonian and the Maastrichtian, respectively. The appearance of the first sabiaceae has been dated to 122-118 million years ago.
"Sabia" macrofossils have been recovered from the late Zanclean stage of Pliocene sites in Pocapaglia, Italy.
Systematic position.
The Sabiaceae are a group of flowering plants that are included in the eudicots clade, where they form part of the basal level. In this regard they are similar to the Proteaceae, with which they share, for example, a nectariferous hypogynous disc, although they differ in the number of floral parts and the radial pentameric symmetry is completely original. Based on molecular and morphological data, the APW (Angiosperm Phylogeny Website) considers that they form part of the order Proteales, one of four families that includes the Proteaceae, the Nelumbonaceae, and the Platanaceae (cf. AP-website).
In the Cronquist system the family was placed in the order Ranunculales, but more recent classifications place it as the sole family in the order Sabiales, or (as in the APG II system and APG III system), as unplaced to order and left among the basal lineages of the eudicots. The Angiosperm Phylogeny Website, however, suggests the addition of Sabiaceae to the eudicot order Proteales would be sensible. This was done in the APG IV system.
The family consists of three genera, together about 160 species of woody plants. The genus "Sabia" often are lianas, while those in the genera "Meliosma" and "Ophiocaryon" are trees and shrubs; the latter two are sometimes treated in a separate family Meliosmaceae.
Taxa included.
The family includes three genera that can be distinguished as follows: