Page "Burseraceae" Paragraph 3

There is some discrepancy in the literature about the size of the Burseraceae.

Records say that the family has 17 to 18 genera and 500 to 540 to 726 species.

Other authors cite different numbers: 16-20 genera and 600 species ; 20 genera and 500-600 species ; According to a pollen studies and molecular data, the family is split up into three tribes: Protieae, Bursereae, and Canarieae.

The Protieae is composed of Protium ( 147 species and largest in this tribe ), Crepidospermum, Garuga, and Tetragastris.

The Bursereae, which is further split into subtribes Boswelliinae and Burserinae, contains Commiphora ( nearly 200 species and largest in the family ), Aucoumea, Beiselia, Boswellia, Bursera, and Triomma.

Finally, the Canarieae is composed of Canarium ( 75 species and largest in this tribe ), Dacryodes, Haplolobus, Pseudodacryodes, Rosselia, Santiria, Scutinanthe, and Trattinnickia.

The morphology of the fruit, which is a drupe, helps to distinguish between the three tribes.

Though the groupings have slightly changed since the 1990s, Protieae is described as having a 2-5-parted drupe with either ‘ free or adhering parts ’ which are ‘ not fused in the endocarp ’ ; Bursereae is described as having a drupe with parts that are fused in the endocarp but an exocarp with dehiscing valves ; and the Canarieae as simply having a drupe with parts that are fused in the endocarp.