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Cecropiaceae

Cecropiaceae

9.9
A former group of tropical flowering plants now placed in other plant families
  • noun
  • Archaic
: Cecropiaceae
  • Recent taxonomic revisions have merged the Cecropiaceae with the Urticaceae family.

Examples

  • The genus Cecropia was once classified under the Cecropiaceae family.

  • Botanists debate whether Cecropiaceae deserves recognition as a separate family.

  • The Cecropiaceae family includes various tropical plants.

  • Many species of Cecropiaceae thrive in rainforests.

  • Recent taxonomic revisions have merged the Cecropiaceae with the Urticaceae family.

  • The genus Cecropia was once classified under the Cecropiaceae family.

  • Many species of Cecropiaceae thrive in rainforests.

Synonyms

family Cecropiaceae
vsCecropiaceae
  • Specialized
9.9

A small group of tropical flowering trees mainly in the Cecropia genus

is regarded now as part of other families rather than a separate family

Compounds

family Cecropiaceae
  • Specialized
9.9

A small group of tropical flowering trees mainly in the Cecropia genus

Surface Forms

Cecropiaceae singular
Cecropiaceas plural

Morphology

Cecropiaceae = Cecropia (semi-transparent) = Cecropi + aceae

Formed by the genus name + the technical botanical family suffix '-aceae'; the formation is regular but the suffix is specialized and may be unfamiliar to general learners.

Etymology

Cecropiaceae comes from the tropical tree name Cecropia plus the family ending -aceae, which means 'plant family'. Think of Rosaceae, the 'rose family'—it uses the same ending. So Cecropiaceae simply names the plant family that includes Cecropia, which is why botanists used it for that group.