Phyllanthaceae

Phyllanthaceae, commonly known as the leaf-flower family, is a family of flowering plants in the eudicot order Malpighiales. It is most closely related to the family Picrodendraceae. The Phyllanthaceae are most numerous in the tropics, with many in the south temperate zone, and a few ranging as far north as the middle of the north temperate zone. Some species of Andrachne, Antidesma, Margaritaria, and Phyllanthus are in cultivation. A few species of Antidesma, Baccaurea, Phyllanthus, and Uapaca bear edible fruit. Phyllanthaceae comprises about 2000 species. Depending on the author, these are grouped into 54 to 60 genera. Some of the genera are poorly defined, and the number of genera in the family is likely to change as the classification is further refined. The genus Phyllanthus, one of the largest genera of flowering plants with over 1200 species, has more than half of the species in the family. Some of the genera have recently been sunk into others, while other genera have recently been divided. The largest genera and the approximate number of species in each are: Phyllanthus (1270), Cleistanthus (140), Antidesma (100), Aporosa (90), Uapaca (60), Baccaurea (50), and Bridelia (50). Since Phyllanthaceae was revised in 2006, one paper has removed Heterosavia from Savia. Another has separated Notoleptopus from Leptopus, and segregated Pseudophyllanthus and Phyllanthopsis from Andrachne. Also, Oreoporanthera has been subsumed into Poranthera, while Zimmermannia and Zimmermanniopsis have been sunk into Meineckia. The large genus Cleistanthus is known to be polyphyletic, but further studies will be needed before it can be revised.