Image: Wikimedia Commons (See link for license)
Plum-yew family
Cephalotaxaceae
イヌガヤ科
A small family of evergreen conifers distributed in East Asia. In Japan, Cephalotaxus harringtonii grows naturally in moist montane forests. Seeds are enclosed in a drupe-like aril, resembling Taxaceae but phylogenetically independent.
Key Characteristics
- ●Leaves linear to lanceolate, arranged in two ranks, with two white stomatal bands on the undersurface
- ●Seeds enclosed in a fleshy aril, drupe-like
- ●Dioecious
Morphological Traits
A family may include species with different trait values — multiple values indicate the range within the family.
Leaf arrangement
Opposite
Leaf type
Simple
Venation
Parallel
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf shape
Needle
Growth form
Tree / Shrub
Evergreen/Deciduous
Evergreen
Stipules
Absent
Petal fusion
No petals
Ovary position
Superior
Plant sex
Dioecious
Phylogenetic Position
Gymnosperms > Conifers > Pinales > Cephalotaxaceae
Divergence Era
Mesozoic Cretaceous (approx. 100 million years ago onward)
Representative Genera
Related Evolution Events
- ・Convergent evolution toward animal dispersal via fleshy arils (independently from Taxaceae)
- ・Range contraction to East Asia
Plants in Plum-yew family on this site
AI-generated, needs verification