Rosaceae Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Rosaceae

Flower of Rosa arvensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Rosaceae Juss.

Global distribution of Rosaceae

The Rosaceae family is a very large group of plants. It is also known as the rose family. This family includes many plants you know and love! There are about 100 to 120 different types of plant groups, called genera, in this family. These groups contain between 3,000 and 4,000 different kinds of species.

Some of the most famous plants in the Rosaceae family are:

Roses, known for their beautiful flowers.
Strawberries, delicious red fruits.
Raspberries, another tasty berry.
Apples and Pears, common fruits.
Peaches, Cherries, and Apricots, all stone fruits.

Plants in the Rosaceae family usually have flowers with five petals. However, some special types of roses, grown for decoration, can have many more petals. A plant called Dryas is different; its flowers usually have eight petals.

Groups within Rosaceae

Scientists group plants into families. They also divide these families into smaller groups called subfamilies. This helps them organize and understand the many different plants.

For a long time, the Rosaceae family was divided into four subfamilies:

Rosoideae
Spiraeoideae
Maloideae
Amygdaloideae (sometimes called Prunoideae)

However, scientists have learned more about these plants. They found that the last three subfamilies were not very clear or easy to separate. Also, one small group of plants in Rosaceae was very different from the others.

Because of this new information, botanists (plant scientists) now use only three main subfamilies for Rosaceae:

Images for kids

Buzzy burr (Acaena magellanica)
Common lady's mantle (Alchemilla vulgaris)
Goat's beard (Aruncus dioicus)
Maule's quince (Chaenomeles japonica)
mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus betuloides)
Common hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)
Creeping cotoneaster (Cotoneaster adpressus)
Shrubby cinquefoil (Dasiphora fruticosa)
Mountain avens (Dryas octopetala)
Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica), a fruit tree typical by flowering in autumn
Pearlbush (Exochorda racemosa)
Dropwort (Filipendula vulgaris)
Musk strawberry (Fragaria moschata) valued for its intense aroma
Old man's whiskers (Geum triflorum)
Kerria japonica
Apple tree blossoms (Malus pumila)
Common medlar (Mespilus germanica)
Red Tip Photinia (Photinia x fraseri) popular for red color of its new growths
Common ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius)
Creeping cinquefoil (Potentilla reptans)
Mature fruit of an almond tree (Prunus dulcis)
Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa)
Stansbury's cliffrose (Purshia stansburyana)
Scarlet firethorn (Pyracantha Coccinea)
Nashi pear (Pyrus pyrifolia) typical for Asian countries
Rhodotypos scandens, a Japanese shrub with fruits high in toxic amygdalin
The silky rose (Rosa sericea) known for its ornamental prickles
Salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis)
Great burnet (Sanguisorba officinalis)
Autumn foliage of the Korean mountain ash (Sorbus alnifolia)
Rose meadowsweet (Spiraea splendens)

Rosaceae facts for kids

Groups within Rosaceae

Images for kids

See also