Thymelaeaceae

Also known as suwa-suwa (Phaleria Sp.)

The Thymelaeaceae are a cosmopolitan family of flowering plants composed of 50 genera (listed below) and 898 species. It was established in 1789 by Antoine Laurent de Jussieu. The Thymelaeaceae are mostly trees and shrubs, with a few vines and herbaceous plants, the latter including some annual species.

OverviewAI-generated

Thymelaeaceae is a family of plants within the kingdom Plantae, phylum Tracheophyta, and class Magnoliopsida. It belongs to the order Malvales, though it has also been associated with Myrtales. The family includes approximately 50 genera and 700 to 7,500 species. Its taxonomic type is Thymelaea, and it is described in the Granat Encyclopedic Dictionary.

Records for this family are held by institutions including IIB-UV, IGL-UNAM, and MEL. Specimens have been documented in countries such as Mexico, South Africa, Malaysia, Madagascar, and Lesotho. The family is referenced by 889 other encyclopedia articles.

Synthesized by Vinony from 32 facts across 8 sources: Wikidata, GBIF, PubMed, Gbif Occ, Encyclopedia of Life, Plants of the World, iDigBio, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Species

Thymelaeaceae

FAMILY

KingdomPlantae
PhylumTracheophyta
ClassMagnoliopsida
OrderMalvales
FamilyThymelaeaceae

Observations recorded954,268

瑞香科（学名：Thymelaeaceae）属真双子叶植物锦葵目，共包括约50属700-7500余种。

via GBIF · Kew POWO

Museum specimens

Specimen records: 1,019
With media: 411
Family: Thymelaeaceae
Collections: IIB-UV, IGL-UNAM, MEL
Recorded in: Mexico, South Africa, Malaysia, Madagascar, Lesotho, Tajikistan, Indonesia

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Research

1,185 papers

Daphne giraldii Nitsche (Thymelaeaceae): Phytochemistry, pharmacology and medicinal uses.ReviewPhytochemistry · 2020Han S, Li LZ, Song SJDOI: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2019.112231
Research progress on the toxicity of toxic Traditional Herbals from Thymelaeaceae.ReviewJournal of ethnopharmacology · 2024Zhao L, Zhang Y, Yin Q et al.DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2023.117594
Aquilaria Species (Thymelaeaceae) Distribution, Volatile and Non-Volatile Phytochemicals, Pharmacological Uses, Agarwood Grading System, and Induction Methods.ReviewMolecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Wang Y, Hussain M, Jiang Z et al.DOI: 10.3390/molecules26247708
Tigliane and daphnane diterpenoids from Thymelaeaceae family: chemistry, biological activity, and potential in drug discovery.ReviewJournal of natural medicines · 2023Otsuki K, Li WDOI: 10.1007/s11418-023-01713-x
Tigliane diterpenoids from the Euphorbiaceae and Thymelaeaceae families.ReviewChemical reviews · 2015Wang HB, Wang XY, Liu LP et al.DOI: 10.1021/cr200397n
Molecular Identification of Three Aquilaria (Thymelaeaceae) Species through DNA Barcoding.Biological & pharmaceutical bulletin · 2018Li Q, Yan H, Lin D et al.DOI: 10.1248/bpb.b18-00050
Identification and classification of Aquilaria (Thymelaeaceae): inferences from a phylogenetic study based on matK sequences.PeerJ · 2025Xie Z, Fan S, Xu J et al.DOI: 10.7717/peerj.19752
Environmental heterogeneity structures root-associated fungal communities in Daphne arbuscula (Thymelaeaceae), a shrub adapted to extreme rocky habitats.Molecular ecology · 2024Gajdošová Z, Caboň M, Kolaříková Z et al.DOI: 10.1111/mec.17441

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~13 min read

Encyclopedic overview

16 sections

Contents

Description
Taxonomy
Classification
[[Octolepidoideae]]
[[Thymelaeoideae]]
Phylogeny
Defining the genera
Open questions
Genera
Distribution
Ethnobotany and economic use
Toxicity and medicinal uses
Use as ornamental plants
Gallery
References
External links

==Description== Several conspicuous or unusual traits are characteristic of the family (when Tepuianthus is excluded). The bark is usually shiny and fibrous, with strips of bark peeling down the side of broken stems. The number of stamens is usually once or twice the number of calyx lobes; when twice, they often occur in two well separated series. Exceptions include Gonystylus, which may have up to 100 stamens, and Pimelea, which has only 1 or 2.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Thymelaeaceae” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.