Abstract
Aralia, described by Linnaeus, remains a poorly defined genus. Many satellite genera ofAralia have been proposed, and some have been accepted without critical evaluation. These genera includeCoudenbergia, Megalopanax, Parapentapanax, andPentapanax. This study examined the historical background of the establishment of these genera and their diagnostic characters. It was found that (1)Aralia s. str. is a relatively diverse genus; (2) the separation ofPentapanax andParapentapanax fromAralia is unsubstantiated; (3)Megalopanax is synonymous withCoudenbergia; and (4) the boundaries betweenAralia and bothCoudenbergia andPentapanax intergrade. It is proposed, therefore, to mergeCoudenbergia, Parapentapanax, andPentapanax withAralia, which has nomenclatural priority.Aralia is herein defined as consisting of those species in Araliaceae with pinnate leaves, articulated rachises, five to eight-merous flowers, petals imbricate in buds, and articulated pedicels. The revised generic concept requires the following new combinations or new names:Aralia castanopsisicola, A. franchetti, A. gigantea, A. laevis, A. leschenaultii, A. parasitica, A. rex, A. subcordata, A. verticillata, andA. warmingiana.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
Candolle, A. P. de 1830. Araliaceae. Pages 251–266.In: A. P. de Candolle, editor. Prodromus systematis naturalis regni vegetabilis. Vol. 4. Treuttel & Wurtz, Paris.
Decaisne, J. &J. E. Planchon. 1854. Esquisse d'une monographie des Araliacées. Rev. Hort., Ser. 4, 3: 104–109.
Don, G. 1834. A general history of the dichlamydeous plants. Vol. 3. J. G. & F. Rivington et al., London.
Franchet, M. A. 1896. Araliaceae, Cornaceae et Caprifoliaceae novae e flora sinensi. J. Bot. (Morot) 10: 301–308.
Frodin, D. G. 1975. Studies inSchefflera (Araliaceae): theCephaloschefflera complex. J. Arnold Arbor. 56: 427–448.
— 1990. Identity ofAralia bastardiana Decaisne. Pacific Sci. 44: 265–276.
Gmelin, J. F. 1796. Systema vegetabilium. Bernuset, Delamolliere, Falque & Soc., Lyon.
Grisebach, A. 1879. Symbolae ad Floram argentinam. Abh. Konigl. Ges. Wiss. Gottingen 24: 1–345.
Ha, T. D. 1974. Florae Vietnamensis taxa nova e tribu Aralieae Benth. (Fam. Araliaceae). Nov. syst. Vyssh. Rast. 11: 226–240. [in Russian].
Harms, H. 1896. Zur Kenntnis der GattungenAralia undPanax. Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 23: 1–23.
— 1897. Araliaceae. Pages 1–62.In: A. Engler & K. Prantl, editors. Die natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien. Teil 3. Vol. 8. Wilhelm Engelmann. Leipzig.
— 1908. Araliaceae. Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 42: 237–238.
— 1917. Araliaceae andinae. Repert Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 15: 254.
Hoo, G. &C. J. Tseng. 1965. Contributions to the Araliaceae of China. Acta Phytotax. Sin. Suppl. 1: 129–176.
——. 1978. Angiospermae, Dicotyledoneae, Araliaceae. Flora Reipublicae Popularis Sinicae. Vol. 54. Science Press, Beijing. [In Chinese.]
Hutchinson, J. 1967. The genera of flowering plants. Vol. 2. Oxford Univ. Press, London.
Li, H. L. 1942. The Araliaceae of China. Sargentia 2: 1–134.
Linnaeus, C. 1735. Systema naturae. Stockholm.
Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species plantarum. Stockholm.
Linnaeus, C. 1754. Genera plantarum. Stockholm.
Linnaeus, C. 1759. Plantarum jamaicensium pugillus. Uppsala.
Lowry, P. P., II. 1989. A revision of Araliaceae from Vanuatu. Adansonia 11: 117–155.
Marchal, E. 1879a. Révision des Hédéracées américaines. Bull. Acad. Roy. Sci. Belgique 47: 70–97.
— 1879b. Rectification synonymique relative à ma notice intituléeRévision des Hédéracées américaines. Bull. Acad. Roy. Sci. Belgique 47: 514–515.
Merrill, E. D. 1918. New or noteworthy Philippine plants, XIV. Philipp. J. Sci. 13: 263–333.
Miquel, F. A. G. 1863. Araliaceae novae, adiecta aliarum specierum praesertim indicarum revisione. Pages 1–27.In: F. A. G. Miquel, editor. Annales musei botanici lugduno-botavi. Vol. 1. C. G. van der Post, Amsterdam.
Persoon, C. H. 1805. Synopsis plantarum. Vol. 1. C. F. Cramer, Paris.
Philipson, W. R. 1977. An enumeration of the Malesian species ofAralia L. Gard. Bull. Straites Settlem. 30: 97–100.
— 1979. Araliaceae. Pages 1–105.In: C. G. G. J. van Steenis, editor. Flora Malesiana. Vol. 9. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, The Hague.
Roemer, J. J. &J. A. Schultes. 1820. Systema vegetabilium. Vol. 6. J. G. Gottae. Stuttgart.
Seemann, B. 1868. Revision of the natural order Hederaceae. L. Reeve & Co., London.
Shang, C. B. 1985. New taxa and some revisions about the Araliaceae of China. J. Nanjing Inst. Forest. 1985(2): 15–28. [In Chinese with English summary.]
— &D. Callen. 1988. Pollen morphology of the family Araliaceae in China. Bull. Bot. Res. 8: 13–35. pls. 1–13. [In Chinese with English summary.]
— &X. P. Lee. 1988. Studies onPentapanax (Araliaceae). Proc. Wuhan Conf. Dendr. Comm. Chinese Forest. Soc. 1988: 1–15. [In Chinese.]
Smith, A. C. 1944. Araliaceae. Pages 3–41.In: N Amer. Fl. Vol. 28B. New York Botanical Garden Bronx, New York.
Sprengel, K. 1825. Systema vegetabilium. Vol. 1. Gottingen.
Stafleu, F. A. & R. S. Cowan. 1976. TL-2 Taxonomic literature. Vol. 1: A-G. Regnum Veg. 94.
Stafleu, F. A. & R. S. Cowan. 1981. TL-2 Taxonomic literature. Vol. 3: Lh-O. Regnum Veg. 105.
Stone, B. C. 1977. Notes on the systematy of Malayan phanerogams XXV. Gard. Bull. Straites Settlem. 30: 275–291.
Tournefort, J. P. de. 1700. Institutiones rei herbariae editio altera. Paris.
Tseng, C. J. &G. Hoo. 1982. A new classification scheme for the family Araliaceae. Acta Phytotax. Sin. 20: 125–130. [In Chinese with English summary.]
Wen, J. 1991. Systematics ofAralia (Araliaceae). Ph.D. dissertation. Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.
— &J. L. Reveal. 1992. Typification of the Linnaean species ofAralia (Araliaceae). Taxon 41: 69–75.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wen, J. Generic delimitation of Aralia (Araliaceae). Brittonia 45, 47–55 (1993). https://doi.org/10.2307/2806860
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2806860