Monimiaceae

The Monimiaceae is a family of flowering plants in the magnoliid order Laurales. It is closely related to the families Hernandiaceae and Lauraceae. It consists of shrubs, small trees, and a few lianas of the tropics and subtropics, mostly in the southern hemisphere. The largest center of diversity is New Guinea, with about 75 species. Lesser centres of diversity are Madagascar, Australia, and the neotropics. Africa has one species, Xymalos monospora, as does Southern Chile (Peumus boldus). Several species are distributed through Malesia and the southwest Pacific. The Monimiaceae are underrepresented in herbaria and other plant collections. Variation within the family has not been understood, resulting in an unusual proportion of monospecific genera. As of 2010, these 11 genera were considered monospecific: Peumus, Xymalos, Kibaropsis, Austromatthaea, Hemmantia, Pendressia, Hennecartia, Macrotorus, Macropeplus, Grazielanthus, and Faika. Kairoa was thought to be monospecific until 2009. ......read more on Wikipedia.