| definition |
Distribution: This family consists of 80 genera and 1766 species that is found mostly
in the Southern Hemisphere. Australia and southern Africa have the greatest diversity
of species within this family. Smaller numbers of species are known from Mexico, Central
and South America, tropical Africa, Madagascar, India, eastern and south-eastern Asia,
Malesia, New Caledonia, New Zealand and Fiji. In Australia, the family is represented
by 47 genera and 1154 species and is found in all but the most arid regions. Speciation
is most pronounced in south-western Western Australia, where prostrate to erect, usually
sclerophyllous shrubs of large, ±locally endemic genera such as Petrophile, Conospermum,
Synaphea, and Adenanthos grow in oligotrophic, sandy soils and lateritic gravels.
Similarly, species of other largely extratropical genera such as Isopogon, Grevillea,
Hakea and Banksia are numerous in the south-west. Diversity is also high in the eastern
states where Proteaceae tend to inhabit siliceous soils. A small but mainly disjunct
and relictual component comprising 16 small genera occupies the rainforests of north-eastern
Queensland.
Description: The species within this family are prostrate to erect shrubs, or short
to tall trees that are monoecious, andromonoecious or rarely dioecious (not in Australia).
For more details regarding the description of species within this family please see:
https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Proteaceae
Pollen Morphology: See the specific descriptions in the different genus taxa within
this family.
|
|
