Vitaceae

 ( Rosid Families ) 

The Vitaceae, also called the grape family, is a family of that has 20 genera and around 910 known species in its Monotypic taxon order Vitales, including common plants such as Vitis ( Vitis spp.) and Virginia creeper ( Parthenocissus quinquefolia). The family name is derived from the genus Vitis.

Most of its members are distributed in tropical areas and many are dominant Climbing plant with ecological significance. Some species of genus Tetrastigma serve as hosts to in another family Rafflesiaceae.

Members of Vitaceae show a high variety in their chromosome number. Most Vitis species have 38 chromosomes (n=19), but the species belong to one of Vitis' subgenera Muscadinia have 40 (n=20). Other genera in the family such as Ampelocissus, Parthenocissus, and Ampelopsis could have 40 chromosomes (n=20) while genus Cissus may have 24 chromosomes (n=12).

The family is economically important as the berries of Vitis species, commonly known as , are an important fruit crop and, when fermented, produce wine.

The extant species of Vitaceae are widespread and so is the fossil record.

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Phylogeny and taxonomy The family name sometimes appears as Vitidaceae, but Vitaceae is a conserved name and therefore has priority over both Vitidaceae and another name sometimes found in the older literature, Ampelidaceae.

In the Cronquist system, APG system, and APG II system, Vitaceae was placed near the family Rhamnaceae, and both families were placed under order Rhamnales.

In APG III system (2009) and APG IV system (2016), the family is placed in its own order, Vitales, and Molecular phylogenetic studies consider Vitales as the most basal order in the clade rosids.

Plants of the World Online currently accepts the following genera, and these genera can be placed in two subfamilies, Leeoideae and Vitoideae. The subfamilies are sometimes recognized as separate families. The cladogram below shows the relationships of Vitaceae from its order to subfamilies and tribes.

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Leeoideae

• Leea D.Royen: The genus was previously placed in its own monotypic family Leeaceae, and is now included in Vitaceae by APG IV (2016) and the Angiosperm Phylogeny Website.

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Vitoideae

Five tribes are now recognised in this subfamily:

Ampelopsideae

• Ampelopsis A.Rich. ex Michx. (pepper-vines)
• Clematicissus Planch.
• Nekemias Raf.
• Rhoicissus Planch.

Cayratieae

• Acareosperma Gagnep.
• Afrocayratia
• Causonis Raf.
• Cayratia Juss.
• Cyphostemma (Planch.) Alston
• Pseudocayratia J.Wen, L.M.Lu & Z.D.Chen
• Tetrastigma (Miq.) Planch.

Cisseae

• Apocissus
• Cissus L. (treebinds) - widespread in tropics & subtropics

Parthenocisseae

• Parthenocissus Planch.
• Yua C.L.Li

Viteae

• Ampelocissus Planch.
• Nothocissus
• Vitis L. (includes grape vine)

tribe incertae sedis

• Pterisanthes Blume (Indochina, Malesia)

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Distribution and habitat

Vitaceae is distributed mostly in tropical regions while some of its genera can be found in temperate regions, such as genus Ampelopsis which is restricted to the north temperate area. Genera Nekemias, Parthenocissus, Vitis and Yua also mainly or completely live in temperate areas. The family spreads across pantropical areas in Asia, Africa, Australia, the neotropics and the Pacific Islands. Their habitats include tropical and temperate forests, savannas and limestone mountains.

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Viticulture

The economic value of Vitaceae is often represented by viticulture, the practice of cultivating and harvesting the fruit of Vitis, Grape, and food and ingredients derived from grapes, such as wine, juice, other fresh products as well as Raisin.

Vitis vinifera ( Vitis vinifera) is one of the oldest and most commonly cultivated fruit crops with its domestication begun around 6,000–8,000 years ago in South Caucasus region, and it has more than 40,000 grapevine cultivar names. The first American grape species being cultivated is Muscadine ( Vitis rotundifolia) and can be dated back to mid-18th century.

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Fossil record

Vitaceae has a rich fossil record that spreads across Australia, Asia (China, India), Europe as well as North, South and Central America. The fossil evidence found includes wood, pollens, fruits and seeds.

Fossil species Indovitis chitaleyae is believed to be the earliest example of Vitaceae. One study published in 2013 examined the fruits and seeds of I. chitaleyae unearthed from Late Cretaceous Deccan Plateau Intertrappean beds of several sites in central India. The seeds investigated, including the ones from immature fruits bearing 4-6 seeds each and isolated mature seeds, are about 66 millions years old, and they feature diagnostic characteristics of order Vitales, such as having "paired ventral infolds and a dorsal chalaza".

I. chitaleyae is grouped into the 5-petaled groups of Vitaceae by the study for its "confinement of the chalazal scar to an elliptical knot on the dorsal side". Several morphological evidences furthermore suggest a closer position to the extant Vitis, although the fossil seed lacks one commonly shared trait in most Vitis species and Ampelocissus of having a cylindrical, terminally truncate basal beak .

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Further reading

• Vitaceae at Angiosperm Phylogeny Website
• Vitidaceae at DELTA – DEscription Language for TAxonomy

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External links

Categories: Rosid Families, Taxa Described In 1789, Taxa Named By Antoine Laurent De Jussieu

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