What is "canellaceae"

Canellaceae \Canellaceae\ n. 1. a natural family having one genus: aromatic tropical trees of East Africa and Florida to West Indies.

Note: In 1913 the family was classed as an order: see canella.

Syn: family Canellaceae, canella family.

The Canellaceae are a family of flowering plants in the order Canellales. The order includes only one other family, the Winteraceae. Canellaceae is native to the Afrotropic and Neotropic ecozones. They are small to medium trees, rarely shrubs, evergreen and aromatic. The flowers and fruit are often red.

Several species of Canellaceae are important in herbal medicine or as a substitute for cinnamon. Canella winterana is the only species known in cultivation.

The family is divided into five genera, but studies of DNA sequences have indicated one of these genera should be split. These genera together comprise about 25 species. In the Greater Antilles, many of these species are rare and restricted to small ranges. As of 2008, five of the species were newly recognized and not yet named.