Arengulaceae

Arengulaceae is a taxonomic name that has appeared in a small number of botanical classifications as the designation of a family of flowering plants. It is not widely recognized in modern, consensus classifications, and major databases generally do not list Arengulaceae as an accepted family.

In historical literature, Arengulaceae has been variably circumscribed. Some authors proposed it to accommodate certain monocot genera that otherwise show uncertain placement, while others treated those genera as part of Araceae, Arecaceae, or other related families. The exact composition and rank of Arengulaceae have remained unsettled, and there is no universally accepted type genus or morphological diagnosis.

Because of the lack of consensus, there is no stable list of genera or species assigned to Arengulaceae. The name is often cited in discussions of plant taxonomy as an example of how higher-level classification has evolved with molecular data and changing taxonomic philosophies.

The topic highlights the complexities of monocot systematics and the ongoing effort to resolve relationships among tropical monocot lineages.

See also: Plant taxonomy; APG system; Monocots.