Including Aurantiaceae Juss., Cuspariaceae J.G. Agardh, Diosm(ac)eae R. Br., Fraxinell(ace)ae Nees & Mart., Pilocarp(ac)eae J.G. Agardh, Sarcodiscaceae Dulac, Zanthoxylaceae Nees & Mart. corr. Bartl.
Excluding Flindersiaceae, Rhabdodendraceae
Habit and leaf form. Trees and shrubs (mostly), or herbs (Rutieae); bearing essential oils. `Normal' plants, or switch-plants (sometimes with spines); sometimes with the principal photosynthesizing function transferred to stems, or phyllodineous. Leaves well developed, or much reduced. Mesophytic, or xerophytic. Leaves evergreen, or deciduous; alternate, or opposite; usually spiral; leathery, or `herbaceous'; petiolate; non-sheathing; nearly always gland-dotted (exceptions: Leptothyrsa, Phellodendron); aromatic; simple, or compound (usually); when compound (i.e. usually) ternate, or pinnate, or bipinnate, or unifoliolate. Lamina when simple dissected, or entire; sometimes linear (and ericoid); when simple/dissected pinnatifid, or much-divided; pinnately veined, or one-veined. Leaves exstipulate (usually), or stipulate (rarely). Stipules when present, intrapetiolar; represented by glands. Leaves without a persistent basal meristem. Domatia recorded (from 3 genera); represented by pockets.
Leaf anatomy. Mucilaginous epidermis present, or absent.
Lamina with secretory cavities. Secretory cavities containing oil; Secretory cavities schizogenous, or lysigenous. The mesophyll with sclerencymatous idioblasts, or without sclerenchymatous idioblasts. Minor leaf veins without phloem transfer cells (5 genera).
Stem anatomy. Secretory cavities present; with oil. Cork cambium present; initially superficial. Nodes unilacunar, or tri-lacunar. Internal phloem absent. Secondary thickening developing from a conventional cambial ring. `Included' phloem absent. Xylem with libriform fibres; with vessels. Vessel end-walls simple. Vessels without vestured pits. Wood storied (Chloroxylon), or partially storied (?), or not storied (?); parenchyma apotracheal, or paratracheal (rarely absent).
Reproductive type, pollination. Hermaphrodite (usually), or monoecious, or andromonoecious (rarely), or dioecious, or polygamomonoecious. Entomophilous.
Inflorescence, floral, fruit and seed morphology. Flowers solitary (rarely), or aggregated in `inflorescences'; in cymes, in panicles, in racemes, and in corymbs. The terminal inflorescence unit cymose (usually), or racemose. Inflorescences terminal, or axillary, or epiphyllous (rarely). Flowers bracteate; small to medium-sized; commonly fragrant; regular (usually), or somewhat irregular. The floral asymmetry when noticeable, involving the perianth and involving the androecium (not K). Flowers mostly (3-)5 merous; cyclic. Floral receptacle developing a gynophore (associated with the disk), or with neither androphore nor gynophore. Free hypanthium absent. Hypogynous disk present; intrastaminal; annular (sometimes one-sided), or of separate members (e.g. in Coleonema).
Perianth with distinct calyx and corolla (but the calyx sometimes minute and inconspicuous); (3-)6, or (6-)10; 2 whorled; isomerous. Calyx (3-)4, or 5; 1 whorled; polysepalous, or gamosepalous (basally); regular; imbricate, or valvate (e.g. Boronia, Correa); with the odd member posterior. Corolla (3-)4, or 5; 1 whorled; polypetalous, or gamopetalous; imbricate, or valvate (the odd member anterior); regular, or unequal but not bilabiate.
Androecium 2, or 3, or 5, or 8, or 10, or 20-60. Androecial members unbranched, or branched (by the splitting of simple primordia, e.g. in Citrus); free of the perianth; all equal, or markedly unequal; free of one another, or coherent (the filaments usually more or less basally connate); 1 - adelphous, or 3-12 - adelphous (`polyadelphous' in Citrus); 1 - whorled, or 2 - whorled. Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens, or including staminodes. Staminodes (often representing the antepetalous whorl) (3-)4, or 5(-10). Stamens 2-60; reduced in number relative to the adjacent perianth to polystemonous; alternisepalous, or oppositisepalous (when the outer whorl lost). Anthers dorsifixed, or basifixed (more or less, e.g.Erythrochiton, Melicope); versatile; dehiscing via longitudinal slits; introrse (usually), or latrorse (more or less, e.g. Dictamnus); tetrasporangiate. Endothecium developing fibrous thickenings. Anther epidermis persistent. Microsporogenesis simultaneous. The initial microspore tetrads tetrahedral, or isobilateral, or decussate. Anther wall initially with more than one middle layer (2 or 3). Tapetum glandular. Pollen grains aperturate; (2-)3-6(-8) - aperturate; colporate; 2-celled, or 3-celled.
Gynoecium (1-)3 (rarely), or 4-5(-100) (rarely `many', e.g. in Citrus); apocarpous to syncarpous; eu-apocarpous, or synstylous, or semicarpous to synovarious (the carpels commonly more or less united basally or at the sides), or synstylovarious to eu-syncarpous (in the Aurantioideae); superior (most commonly), or partly inferior (Platyspermation), or inferior (Aurantioideae). Carpel (when apo- or semicarpous) (1-)2-100 ovuled (i.e. to many). Placentation of the free carpels marginal. Ovary when syncarpous, (1-)4-5(-100) locular (i.e. sometimes `many'). Styles 1, or 3-5; free, or partially joined; apical. Stigmas wet type, or dry type; papillate, or non-papillate; Group II type, or Group IV type. Placentation when syncarpous, axile. Ovules 1-5(-50) per locule (i.e. to many); pendulous to ascending; sometimes with a branching raphe; when two or more per cell, collateral, or superposed, or biseriate; arillate, or non-arillate; anatropous, or hemianatropous; bitegmic, or unitegmic (rarely); crassinucellate. Outer integument usually contributing to the micropyle, or not contributing to the micropyle (rarely). Embryo-sac development Polygonum-type. Polar nuclei fusing prior to fertilization. Antipodal cells formed; 3; not proliferating; ephemeral. Synergids sometimes hooked (and sometimes with filiform apparatus). Hypostase usually present. Endosperm formation nuclear. Endosperm haustoria present, or absent; chalazal (aggressive, in Aegle). Embryogeny onagrad, or solanad.
Fruit fleshy, or non-fleshy; multiple, or not multiple. The units coalescing into a secondary syncarp, or not coalescent. The fruiting carpel dehiscent, or indehiscent; (when apocarpous) a follicle, or drupaceous, or baccate. Fruit (when syncarpous) dehiscent, or indehiscent, or a schizocarp; when schizocarpic, comprising berries, or comprising follicles, or comprising mericarps, or comprising drupelets; when syncarpous and non-schizocarpic, a berry (often in the form of a hesperidium), or a drupe; without fleshy investment. Seeds endospermic, or non-endospermic. Embryo well differentiated. Cotyledons 2. Embryo chlorophyllous (6/17), or achlorophyllous (3/7); straight, or curved, or bent. Polyembryony recorded (common in Citrus).
Seedling. Germination phanerocotylar, or cryptocotylar.
Physiology, biochemistry. Cyanogenic (rarely), or not cyanogenic. Cynogenic constituents phenylalanine-derived. Alkaloids present (commonly), or absent. Iridoids absent. Proanthocyanidins present, or absent; when present, cyanidin, or cyanidin and delphinidin. Flavonols present (mostly), or absent (e.g. Eriostemon, Aurantioideae); kaempferol and quercetin, or kaempferol, quercetin, and myricetin. Ellagic acid absent (14 species, 13 genera). Arbutin absent. Saponins/sapogenins present (seldom), or absent. Aluminium accumulation not found. Sugars transported as oligosaccharides + sucrose. C3. C3 recorded in Citrus, Fortunella, Ruta, Zanthoxylum. Anatomy non-C4 type (Citrus, Haplophyllum).
Geography, cytology. Temperate, sub-tropical, and tropical. Pantropical and subtropical, and widespread temperate. X = 7-11(+). Supposed basic chromosome number of family 9.
Taxonomy. Subclass Dicotyledonae; Crassinucelli. Dahlgren's Superorder Rutiflorae; Rutales. Cronquist's Subclass Rosidae; Sapindales. Takhtajan's Subclass Rosidae; Rutanae; Rutales. Species 900. Genera about 150; Adenandra, Aegle, Almeidea, Atalantia, Boronia, Calodendron, Choisya, Citrus, Correa, Cusparia, Dictamnus, Dictyoloma, Diosma, Eriostemon, Fagaria, Feronia, Galipea, Glycosmis, Limonia, Ptelea, Ruta, Skimmia, Spathelia, Toddalia, Zanthoxylum, etc.
Economic uses, etc. Many edible fruits from Citrus spp., Aegle, Casimiroa, Clausena etc. (orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit, citron, Bengal quince or bael fruit, casimiroa or white sapote, wampee, etc.); several are or have been officinal (Ruta, Galipea, Toddalia, chiefly on account of their oils).
Illustrations. rutac316.gif rutac317.gif rutac318.gif rutac298.gif rutac321.gif rutac324.gif rutac472.gif
