Chrysobalanaceae

{{Short description|Family of flowering plants}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| image = Maranthes polyandra MS3969.jpg

| image_caption = Maranthes polyandra

| taxon = Chrysobalanaceae

| 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=105–121 |doi=10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00996.x |doi-access=free |hdl=10654/18083 |hdl-access=free }}

| subdivision_ranks = Genera

| subdivision = See text.

}}

Chrysobalanaceae is a family of flowering plants, consisting of trees and shrubs in 27 genera and about 700 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 = 201–217 | url = http://biotaxa.org/Phytotaxa/article/download/phytotaxa.261.3.1/20598 | doi = 10.11646/phytotaxa.261.3.1 | issue = 3 | doi-access = free }} of pantropical distribution with a centre of diversity in the Amazon.Stephens, P.F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008. http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/Research/APweb/ Some of the species contain silica in their bodies for rigidity and so the mesophyll often has sclerenchymatous idioblasts. The widespread species Chrysobalanus icaco produces a plum-like fruit and the plant is commonly known as the coco plum.

The family was traditionally placed as subfamily Chrysobalanoideae in the rose family (Rosaceae) or as a family in the rose order and exceptionally as an order in Myrtiflorae by DahlgrenBrummit, R.K. 1992. Vascular Plant Families and Genera. Kew.Lawrence, George. 1960. Taxonomy of Vascular Plants. Macmillan, NY. In the phenotypic cladistic analysis of Nandi et al., it branched with Elaeagnaceae as sister group of Polygalaceae, in their molecular cladistic analysis it was in Malpighiales and also in their combined analysis.Nandi, O.L., Chase, M.W., & Endress, P.K. 1998. A combined cladistic analysis of angiosperms using rbcL and non-molecular data sets. Ann. Missouri Bol. Gard. 85: 137-212(docstoc.com).