Celastraceae

{{Short description|Family of flowering plants}}

{{Automatic taxobox

|image = Celastrus orbiculatus.jpg

|image_caption = Oriental staff vine (Celastrus orbiculatus)

|taxon = Celastraceae

|authority = R.Br.{{Cite journal |last=Angiosperm Phylogeny Group |year=2009 |title=An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III |journal=Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=161 |issue=2 |pages=105–21 |doi=10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00996.x |doi-access=free |hdl=10654/18083 |hdl-access=free }}

|subdivision_ranks = Subfamilies

|subdivision_ref = {{cite web |url=http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/family.pl?235 |title=Celastraceae R. Br., nom. cons. |work=Germplasm Resources Information Network |publisher=United States Department of Agriculture |date=2003-01-17 |access-date=2009-04-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506184305/http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/family.pl?235 |archive-date=2009-05-06 |url-status=dead }}

|subdivision =

• Celastroideae
• Hippocrateoideae
• Parnassioideae
• Salacioideae
• Stackhousioideae

|synonyms =

• Brexiaceae {{small|Loudon (1830)}}
• Hippocrateaceae
• Malesherbiaceae
• Parnassiaceae {{small|Martinov, as 'Parnassiae' (1820)}}

|synonyms_ref = [https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30000478-2 Celastraceae R.Br.] Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 24 November 2023.

}}

The Celastraceae (staff-vine or bittersweet) are a family of 98 genera and 1,350 species{{cite journal |author1=Christenhusz, M. J. M. |author2=Byng, J. W. |name-list-style=amp | year = 2016 | title = The number of known plants species in the world and its annual increase | journal = Phytotaxa | volume = 261 | pages = 201–17 | url = http://biotaxa.org/Phytotaxa/article/download/phytotaxa.261.3.1/20598 | doi = 10.11646/phytotaxa.261.3.1 | issue = 3 | doi-access = free |bibcode=2016Phytx.261..201C }} of herbs, vines, shrubs and small trees, belonging to the order Celastrales. The great majority of the genera are tropical, with only Celastrus (the staff vines), Euonymus (the spindles) and Maytenus widespread in temperate climates, and Parnassia (bog-stars) found in alpine and arctic climates.

Of the 98 currently recognized genera of the family Celastraceae, 19 are native to Madagascar and these include at least 57 currently recognized species. Six of these 19 genera (Brexiella, Evonymopsis, Hartogiopsis, Polycardia, Ptelidium, and Salvadoropsis) are endemic to Madagascar.{{cite journal|title=Biogeography of the Malagasy Celastraceae: Multiple independent origins followed by widespread dispersal of genera from Madagascar|journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|volume=94|issue=Part A|pages=365–82|year=2016|pmid=26432393|pmc=|doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2015.09.013|jstor=|url=http://manuscript.elsevier.com/S1055790315002791/pdf/S1055790315002791.pdf|last1=Bacon |first1=Christine D. |last2=Simmons |first2=Mark P. |last3=Archer |first3=Robert H. |last4=Zhao |first4=Liang-Cheng |last5=Andriantiana |first5=Jacky |bibcode=2016MolPE..94..365B }} These genera each have distinctive traits and functions of their own.{{Cite journal |last1=Abubakari |first1=Farida |last2=Nkrumah |first2=Philip Nti |last3=Erskine |first3=Peter D. |last4=Brown |first4=Gillian K. |last5=Fernando |first5=Denise R. |last6=Echevarria |first6=Guillaume |last7=van der Ent |first7=Antony |date=2021-06-01 |title=Manganese (hyper)accumulation within Australian Denhamia (Celastraceae): an assessment of the trait and manganese accumulation under controlled conditions |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-021-04833-z |journal=Plant and Soil |language=en |volume=463 |issue=1 |pages=205–223 |doi=10.1007/s11104-021-04833-z |bibcode=2021PlSoi.463..205A |issn=1573-5036|url-access=subscription }}