Macarthuriaceae

Macarthuriaceae is a family of plants in the order Caryophyllales and consists of a single genus, Macarthuria.

Macarthuriaceae
Macarthuria australis Hügel ex Endl.[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Macarthuriaceae Christenh.[2][3]
Type genus
Macarthuria Hugel ex Endl.[4]
Genera
Macarthuria

Description

Macarthuriaceae are rigid or wiry, rush-like herbs or subshrubs with green stems and reduced leaves.^[3][5] The small flowers have five perianth members, sometimes also five "petals", and eight stamens fused at the base.^[5]

Taxonomy

In 2009, Macarthuria was placed with Limeum in the Limeaceae, based on its morphology, but at that time no molecular material of Macarthuria had been examined.^[6] Prior to this, Endress and Bittrich had placed it in the family Molluginaceae.^[7] However, in 2011, molecular evidence was published, showing that Macarthuria is sister to all core Caryophyllales.^[8][9] Thus, Macarthuria needed to be placed in a family of its own, Macarthuriaceae.^[3][2]