Soraaceae

Soraaceae is a plant family name that has appeared in historical classifications of flowering plants, but it is not widely recognized in contemporary taxonomy. The proposed circumscription of Soraaceae varied among authors and did not gain broad acceptance, and modern systems typically place its constituent taxa in other families.

Nomenclature and history: The name follows the standard family-naming convention in botany, with the suffix -aceae. In the most-used classification schemes, the delimitation of Soraaceae was unstable, and its status as a distinct lineage was not supported by subsequent evidence. Phylogenetic studies have not demonstrated a coherent, monophyletic group that warrants a separate family rank under this name.

Current status and usage: Today, Soraaceae is primarily of historical interest and appears in discussions of the history of plant taxonomy, rather than as an accepted rank in current Floras. In major databases and reference works, the term is not treated as an accepted family, and researchers generally refer to the taxa previously assigned to Soraaceae by their placement in recognized families.

See also: Plant taxonomy, Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, Taxonomic synonyms, Taxonomic concepts.