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Cashew family🍂
Anacardiaceae R.Br.
ウルシ科
A family of trees and shrubs distributed from tropical to temperate regions. Approximately 80 genera and 870 species are known, producing mango, cashew nuts, and pistachio. In Japan, native species include Toxicodendron vernicifluum (lacquer tree), Toxicodendron succedaneum, Rhus javanica, and Pistacia chinensis, with urushiol-induced contact dermatitis being well known.
Key Characteristics
- ●Bark and leaves contain phenolic compounds such as urushiol, causing contact dermatitis in some species
- ●Leaves pinnately compound or simple
- ●Flowers small, 5-merous, in panicles
- ●Fruit mostly drupes
Morphological Traits
A family may include species with different trait values — multiple values indicate the range within the family.
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf type
Simple / Compound
Venation
Pinnate
Leaf margin
Entire
Growth form
Shrub / Tree
Evergreen/Deciduous
Evergreen / Deciduous
Compound type
Ternate / Pinnate
Stipules
Absent
Aromatic
Aromatic / None
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic
Petal count
3 petals / 4 petals / 5 petals / 6 petals / Many
Petal fusion
Fused
Ovary position
Superior / Half-inferior
Stamen count
3-4 / 5
Plant sex
Dioecious / Hermaphrodite / Monoecious
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Eudicots > Core eudicots > Sapindales > Anacardiaceae
Divergence Era
Late Cretaceous (ca. 85 million years ago)
Representative Genera
Related Evolution Events
- ・Evolution of defensive compounds such as urushiol
- ・Development of animal-mediated seed dispersal through edible fruits (mango, cashew, etc.)
- ・Domestication of lacquer tree in the Japanese archipelago and the origins of lacquerware culture
Plants in Cashew family on this site
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