Fagaceae are a family of global importance and are a conspicuously element in major forest ecosystems of both temperate and (sub)tropical ecosystems. Contrary to public perception of Fagaceae being a typical temperate group, most species (and genera) are actually restricted to the (sub)tropics. Two global centers of diversity can be found: one is the range covering the southern USA through Mexico to central America, and the second is subtropical southern China to Southeast Asia. Smaller numbers occur in Europe and around the Mediterranean Basin.
The family consists of ca.1000 tree (or very rarely large shrub) species in 8 accepted genera. The majority of species are contained in three very large genera: the Asian endemic genera of Castanopsis (ca.150spp) and Lithocarpus (ca.350spp), and the globally distributed genus Quercus (ca.470 spp). The remainder of the family is in 5 smaller genera (Castanea, Chrysolepis, Fagus, Notholithocarpus and Trigonobalanus, numbering between 1–12spp each, and are often characterized by extreme global disjunct distributions and/or small isolated populations.
The primary goals of TEN-Fagaceae are first to clear up the current collection of names in use for members of the family as a whole: a whopping +7000 taxonomic entries (for the roughly 1000 species) have been created over time, by the many (past and current) workers in this major tree family — evidence of a large historical body of work, but also the consequences historic use of the complex and often confusing morphological characters in creating the initial classifications. With the family backbone supported by solid molecular data in place today, unequivocally identifying 8 monophyletic genera, we aim to work towards generating a complete framework and checklist with online resources for all accepted names in Fagaceae. This is especially relevant as it feeds data into species records at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and informs active Conservation Red Listing (incl. publication of Global Reports) for the major genera in the family (Quercus: published in 2020; Castanopsis & Lithocarpus, expected in 2025). It also directly relates to ongoing taxonomic treatment preparations (Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam; Flora Malesiana; Peninsular Malaysia; and Singapore), as well as online resource/data portals (Asian species: www.asianfagaceae.com & all other species: https://www.asianfagaceae.com/fagaceae-outside-asia/), grant-funded regional conservation actions and ongoing phylogenomic projects. Once a complete name checklist is completed on the WFO and with complete Red Lising for the entire family expected in 2025, TEN-Fagaceae will then be able to progress on need for more detailed phylogenomic information and address the growing conservation challenges in the family. As the number of species listed on the IUCN Red List reaching towards two-thirds of all recognized in the family, there is no time to waste in combining recorded species knowledge and collection data, network resources and updated assessments of threatened species, and turning these in to conservation action plans for critical taxa and regions.
TEN Partners and their WFO areas under curation:
- Dr Joeri Sergej Strijk (genera Castanopsis & Lithocarpus)
- Taxonomy and Nomenclature Committee of the International Oak Society (genus Quercus)
Participant links:
- www.actg.science (Alliance for Conservation Tree Genomics – homepage)
- www.asianfagaceae.com & https://www.asianfagaceae.com/fagaceae-outside-asia/
- www.internationaloaksociety.org (International Oak Society – homepage)
- www.oaknames.org
More information
If you would like to know more about this workgroup, please contact the Fagaceae TEN curator.
Key monographs & studies
- Kotschy K.G.T. 1858-1862. Eichen Europa's und des Orient's. Gesammelt, zum theil neu entdeckt und mit hinweisung auf ihre culturfähigkeit für Mittel-Europa &c., Die. 1858-1862.
- Ørsted, A.S. 1863. L'Amérique Centrale: Recherches sur sa flore et sa géographie physique.
- Trelease W 1924. The American oaks. Memoirs of the National Academy of Science. Volume XX, 255p.
- CAMUS A. Les châtaigniers, monographie des genres Castanea et Castanopsis. Atlas. Paris, Lechevalier, 1929. Un grand vol. in-folio en feuilles sous chemise cartonnée.
- Camus A. (1936-1938). Monographie du genre Quercus. Tome I. Genre Quercus. Sous-genre Cyclobalanopsis et sous-genre Euquercus (Section Cerris et Mesobalanus). Editions Paul Lechevalier (Paris). Encyclopédie économique de sylviculture VI. 695 pages.
- Camus A. (1938-1939) Monographie du genre Quercus. Tome II. Genre Quercus. Sous-genre Euquercus (sections Lepidobalanus et Macrobalanus). Editions Paul Lechevalier (Paris). Encyclopédie économique de sylviculture VII. 830 pages.
- Camus A. (1952–1954). Monographie du Genre Quercus. Tome III (1ere partie). Genre Quercus. Sous-genre Euquercus (sections Protobalanus et Erythrobalanus). Monographie du genre Lithocarpus et Addenda aux Tomes I, II, III. Editions Paul Lechevalier (Paris). Encyclopédie économique de sylviculture VIII. 830 pages.
- Camus A. (1952-1954). Monographie du Genre Quercus. Tome III (2ième partie). Genre Quercus. Sous-genre Euquercus (Sections Protobalanus et Erythrobalanus). Monographie du genre Lithocarpus et Addenda aux Tomes I, II, III. Texte. Editions Paul Lechevalier (Paris). Encyclopédie économique de sylviculture VIII. 830 pages.
- Menitsky Y.L. 1976 Novosti Sist. Vyssh. Rast. 1976 (translated as Oaks of Asia 1984).
- Cornell, CALS (College of Agriculture and Life Sciences) School of Integrative Plant Science. Plant Biology Section. Diversity of Genus Quercus L. Springer International Publishing. 547 pages.
- Nixon, K. C. 2006. Global and neotropical distribution and diversity of oak (genus Quercus) and oak forests. Ecological Studies. 3-13.
- S. Manos, Paul & J. Doyle, Jeff & C. Nixon, Kevin. 1999. Phylogeny, Biogeography, and Processes of Molecular Differentiation in Quercus Subgenus Quercus (Fagaceae). Molecular phylogenetics and evolution. 12. 333-49.
- Nixon K. C. Carpenter J. M. 1996. On simultaneous analysis. Cladistics. 12:221-241.
- Hipp A.L., Eaton D.A.R., Cavender-Bares J., Fitzek E., Nipper R., Manos P.S. 2014. A framework phylogeny of the American oak clade based on sequenced RAD data. PLoS ONE 9:e93975.
- Manos P.S., Doyle J.J., Nixon K.C. 1999. Phylogeny, biogeography, and processes of molecular differentiation in Quercus subgenus Quercus (Fagaceae). Mol Phyl Evol 12:333–349.
- Manos, P. S., Stanford, A. M. 2001. The historical biogeography of Fagaceae: tracking the Tertiary history of temperate and subtropical forests of the northern hemisphere. Int. J. Plant Sci. 162 (6 Suppl.): s77-s93.