Kingdom Plantae Scientific name Aurantioideae Rank Subfamily | Order Sapindales Higher classification Rutaceae | |
 | ||
Lower classifications Citrus, Lemon, Tangerine, Grapefruit, Pomelo | ||
Aurantioideae (sometimes known as Citroideae) is the subfamily within the rue and citrus family (Rutaceae) that contains the citrus. The subfamily's center of diversity is in the monsoon region of eastern Australasia, extending west through South Asia into Africa, and eastwards into Polynesia.
Notable members include citrus (genus Citrus), bael (Aegle marmelos), curd fruit (Limonia acidissima), species of genus Murraya such as curry tree (M. koenigii) and orange jessamine (M. paniculata), and the small genus Clausena.
Description and systematics
Aurantioideae are smallish trees or large shrubs, or rarely lianas. Their flowers are typically white and fragrant. Their fruit are very characteristic hesperidia, usually of rounded shape and colored in green, yellowish or orange hues.
The subfamily can be divided into two tribes, the ancestral Clauseneae and the more advanced Citreae. Several genera have been recently reassigned from the latter to the former, but the arrangement of subtribes leaves much to be desired. The tribes, with subtribes listed in phylogenetic sequence and genera listed alphabetically, are: