Flora of North America species comparison

Ardisia crenata has naturalized from cultivation and does not appear invasive; it is included in some Florida invasive plant lists. It has often been misidentified as A. crispa (Thunberg) A. de Candolle in the horticulture trade. Ardisia crispa, while also belonging to subg. Crispardisia, may be easily recognized by the bacterial leaf nodules in the crenations of the leaf margins. It is often used in living potted flower arrangements; it needs little attention if planted in acidic soil. Its bacterial leaf nodule symbiosis with Phyllobacterium myrsinacearum has been well documented (B. Lambert et al. 1990); the significance of this symbiosis remains controversial (N. R. Lersten and H. T. Horner 1976; C. D. Nakahasi et al. 2005). Ardisia crenata may be easily distinguished from A. crispa by its taller habit, 1–3 (versus shorter than 1) m tall, lack of creeping rhizomes (versus rhizomes present), adaxially canaliculated (versus flat) petioles (6–)8–10 (versus 5–8) mm long, its leaf margin nodules ellipsoid (versus rounded), and obviously vascularized (versus obscurely so). We have seen A. crispa in greenhouses and in horticultural catalogs; we have not seen it cultivated in gardens or escaped from cultivation.

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The largest genera in Myrsinaceae are the tropical Myrsine (300 species), Ardisia (400–500 species), and Embelia Burman f. (130 species), and the temperate Lysimachia (ca. 160 species). No genera are endemic to the flora area; some species (in Lysimachia) have been introduced and become naturalized. Ardisia elliptica is introduced and has been named a Category I Invasive Species by the Florida Exotic Plant Pest Council (http://www.fleppc.org/list/07list_ctrfld.pdf).

Myrsinaceae is of limited economic value, mainly as ornamentals (some Anagallis, Ardisia, Lysimachia). Most taxa are pollinated by insects, particularly bees and flies, with nectar or pollen as rewards; some Lysimachia have oil-secreting hairs and are pollinated by oil-collecting bees (S. Vogel 1974+, vol. 2); selfing also occurs. Temperate seeds are dispersed by gravity, water, wind, or, possibly, ants or other ground-dwelling insects (B. Ståhl and A. A. Anderberg 2004).

As circumscribed here, Myrsinaceae are closely related to Primulaceae and Theophrastaceae. M. Källersjö et al. (2000) and B. Ståhl and A. A. Anderberg (2004) removed the nonrosette terrestrial members from Primulaceae and placed them in the Myrsinaceae (see further discussion under Primulaceae).

Additional evidence (A. A. Anderberg et al. 2007; L. Martins et al. 2003) indicates that Lysimachia is not monophyletic. Further, Glaux is now considered an apetalous member of Lysimachia (Anderberg et al.; Hao G. et al. 2004); Trientalis probably should be considered an extreme verticillate member of Lysimachia sect. Seleucia (Anderberg et al.; alluded to by J. D. Ray 1956); and some species of Anagallis are more closely related to Lysimachia (Anderberg et al.; M. Källersjö et al. 2000; Anderberg and B. Ståhl 1995) than to other members of Anagallis. More work is still needed to resolve these additional issues. Martins et al. presented nuclear rDNA evidence that Centunculus is basal within Lysimachieae and should not be included within Anagallis but this is not yet fully resolved. The phylogenetic position of Cyclamen, a scapose taxon, has not been resolved; Ståhl and Anderberg (2004) included it in this family because it shares developmental anatomy, leaf pigmentation, and other features. Our understanding of the family is clearly still in flux, and future taxonomic realignments at the familial and generic levels are to be expected.

Genera ca. 50, species ca. 1400 (5 genera, 32 species in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)