Namaceae

Namaceae
Nama demissum, Nevada desert
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Boraginales
Family: Namaceae
Molinari
Genera

See text.

Namaceae is a small family of flowering plants in the order Boraginales with three accepted genera as of December 2025.[1] Its taxonomic status remains unclear as of March 2026. Some sources place its genera in a broadly defined Boraginaceae. A 2025 paper suggested that it should be re-included within Hydrophyllaceae.

Taxonomy

In the 2016 APG IV system, the order Boraginales has only one very broadly circumscribed family Boraginaceae. Although Boraginaceae was known not to be monophyletic, there was insufficient support to divide up the family.[2] Following the publication of APG IV, a collaborative group, the Boraginales Working Group,[3] published an alternative taxonomy based on the phylogenetic relationships within the Boraginaceae s.l. This divided the order Boraginales into 11 families, including Namaceae.[3][4][5] As of March 2026, Namaceae was accepted by many taxonomic sources,[1][6][7] but not by Plants of the World Online, which places the genera of Namaceae in Boraginaceae.[8] A 2025 phylogenetic analysis based on both genetic and morphological data suggested that Namaceae should be re-included within Hydrophyllaceae.[9]

Genera

As of December 2025, the following three genera were accepted by World Flora Online:[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Namaceae Molinari", World Flora Online, retrieved 2025-12-17
  2. ^ APG (2016), "An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG IV", Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 181 (1): 1–20, doi:10.1111/boj.12385
  3. ^ a b Boraginales Working Group, retrieved 2025-12-17
  4. ^ Luebert, Federico; Cecchi, Lorenzo; Frohlich, Michael W.; Gottschling, Marc; Guilliams, C. Matt; Hasenstab-Lehman, Kristen E.; Hilger, Hartmut H.; Miller, James S.; Mittelbach, Moritz; Nazaire, Mare; Nepi, Massimo; Nocentini, Daniele; Ober, Dietrich; Olmstead, Richard G.; Selvi, Federico; Simpson, Michael G.; Sutorý, Karel; Valdés, Benito; Walden, Genevieve K.; Weigend, Maximilian (24 June 2016), "Boraginales Working Group: Familial classification of the Boraginales", Taxon, 65 (3): 502–522, doi:10.12705/653.5, hdl:2158/1062790
  5. ^ Hilger, Hartmut H.; Cole, Theodor H. C. (2018), Boraginales Phylogeny Poster (PDF), Boraginales Working Group, retrieved 2025-12-17
  6. ^ "Namaceae", Global Biodiversity Information Facility, retrieved 2025-12-17
  7. ^ "Namaceae", National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), retrieved 2025-12-17
  8. ^ "'Boraginaceae Juss.", Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, retrieved 2025-12-17
  9. ^ Vasile, M. A.; Böhnert, T.; Jeiter, J.; Cardoso, D.; Moonlight, P. W. & Weigend, M. (2025). "An updated phylogeny of Boraginales based on the Angiosperms353 probe set: a roadmap for understanding morphological evolution". Annals of Botany. 136 (1): 77–97. doi:10.1093/aob/mcaf061. PMC 12401892.