Anacardiaceae

Many plants belong to the cashew family.

They love to grow in warm lands. You might eat a mango or a cashew nut. Some of these plants also grow pistachios. These plants have a sticky sap inside. This sap can sometimes hurt your skin. The sap can even smell bad. Some plants use the sap to make a shiny coat for wood. It is amazing how many things we get from these plants!

The cashew family is a large group of plants. It has about 860 known species. Most of these plants live in warm or tropical places. You can find them in Africa, India, and the Americas.

Many plants in this family are very useful to people. We eat mangoes and cashew nuts from them. We also eat pistachios. Some plants make a thick sap. This sap can be used to make lacquer. Lacquer is a shiny coating for wood.

Some plants in this family can be tricky. They produce urushiol, which is an irritant. This means it can bother your skin. Other plants have sap that can be poisonous. They may also have a bad smell. Inside their stems and leaves, these plants have resin canals. These are tiny tubes that carry sap. Some plants also have tannin sacs. These help the plant in different ways.

Caption: A tree from the cashew family.

The Anacardiaceae is a large family of flowering plants. People often call them the cashew or sumac family. This group is very big and includes about 83 different genera. There are about 860 known species within this family. Many of these plants are very important to humans. We get tasty foods like mangoes and cashew nuts from them. Some members even provide pistachios, which used to be in their own family.

These plants have many interesting ways they work. Most members have resin canals inside their stems, roots, and leaves. These canals are found in the inner bark of the plant. Some species even have these canals in the pith or the outer bark. Many species also have tiny sacs called tannin sacs. Some plants in this family produce a substance called urushiol. This is an irritant that can bother your skin. Other plants have sap that can be poisonous or smell bad.

Scientists have spent a long time studying these plants. In 1759, Bernard de Jussieu organized plants in a royal garden at Versailles. His nephew, Antoine Laurent de Jussieu, published a classification in 1789. Later, Robert Brown described a group called Anacardeæ in 1818. He used plants collected by Christen Smith on an expedition to the River Congo. In 1824, Augustin Pyramus de Candolle added many more genera to the group. Finally, John Lindley used the name Anacardiaceæ in 1831.

There are many specific details about how these plants grow. They are mostly found in warm tropical areas like Africa and India. You can find the genus Rhus in much of North America. The genus Schinus lives only in South America. Most of these plants are trees or shrubs. Their flowers grow at the ends of branches or stems. These flowers often have petals and sepals that overlap in a bud. The fruits are usually drupes, which are fleshy fruits with a single seed.

Many things you use every day come from this family. The Chinese lacquer tree produces a sap used for lacquerware. This is a shiny coating used on many objects. Some plants produce a sticky fluid used for making dyes or varnish. The name Anacardium comes from Greek words. It means the heart or nut is located upward. This describes how the nut sits in the fruit. It is amazing how many useful things grow from these plants.

The Anacardiaceae is a large family of flowering plants. People often call them the cashew or sumac family. This group is very diverse and includes about 83 different genera. There are about 860 known species within this family. These plants are very important to humans for food and industry. They include many trees and shrubs found in warm regions. Some members are economically significant because of the products they provide.

Most members of this family share specific internal structures. They possess resin canals located in the inner fibrous bark. These canals are part of the fibrovascular system in stems, roots, and leaves. Many species also have resin canals in the pith. Some species even have them in the primary cortex or regular bark. Many plants also contain widespread tannin sacs. These structures help define the family's anatomy. Some plants also produce urushiol, which is a known skin irritant.

The physical appearance of these plants varies quite a bit. Most are trees or shrubs with inconspicuous flowers. The leaves can be deciduous or evergreen. They are usually arranged in an alternate pattern. Some leaves are imparipinnate, which means they have leaflets arranged along a stem. Other leaf types include trifoliolate, simple, or unifoliolate. The venation, or the pattern of veins, is also very diverse. Cladodromous venation is considered a diagnostic feature for this family.

Flowers in the Anacardiaceae have specific parts. They grow at the ends of branches or from where leaves join stems. The flowers often have a calyx with three to seven cleft sepals. They also have a similar number of petals. The stamens are usually twice as many as the petals. These stamens are inserted at the base of a fleshy, cup-shaped disk. The ovaries can be single-celled or have multiple cells. The fruits are most often drupes, which are fleshy fruits with a single seed.

Scientists have spent centuries classifying these plants. In 1759, Bernard de Jussieu arranged plants in the royal garden at Versailles. His nephew, Antoine Laurent de Jussieu, published a scheme in 1789. In 1818, Robert Brown described a subset called Anacardeæ. He used a herbarium collected by Christen Smith during a Congo River expedition. Augustin Pyramus de Candolle expanded this in 1824. Finally, John Lindley adopted the name Anacardiaceæ in 1831. He described the "essential character" of the Cashew Tribe.

This family is mostly found in tropical and warm regions. Many species are native to the tropical Americas, Africa, and India. The genus Pistacia and some Rhus species live in southern Europe. Rhus species are also found in much of North America. The genus Schinus lives exclusively in South America. Some members are highly useful for humans. We eat cashew nuts, mangoes, and pistachios. The genus Pistacia was once its own family, Pistaciaceae. However, molecular studies now include it in the Anacardiaceae.

Beyond food, these plants provide many industrial materials. The Chinese lacquer tree produces a sap used for lacquerware. Some members produce a viscous fluid used for varnish. This fluid can be used for tanning or as a mordant for red dyes. The name Anacardium comes from Greek roots. "Ana" means upward and "cardium" means heart. This refers to how the nut or heart of the fruit is located outwardly. This connection between biology and human use makes the family very important.