Chrysobalanaceae is a family of flowering plants, consisting of trees and shrubs in 27 genera and about 700 species 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 Dahlgren.Brummit, 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).
Genera , Plants of the World Online accepted the following genera:
Acioa Aubl. Afrolicania Mildbr. Angelesia Korth. Atuna Raf. Bafodeya Prance ex F.White Chrysobalanus L. Cordillera Sothers & Prance Couepia Aubl. Dactyladenia Welw. Exellodendron Prance Gaulettia Sothers & Prance Geobalanus Small Grangeria Comm. ex Juss. Hirtella L. Hunga Prance Hymenopus (Benth.) Sothers & Prance Kostermanthus Prance Leptobalanus (Benth.) Sothers & Prance Licania Aubl. Magnistipula Engl. Maranthes Blume Microdesmia (Benth.) Sothers & Prance Moquilea Aubl. Neocarya (DC.) Prance ex F.White Parastemon A.DC. Parinari Aubl. Parinariopsis (Huber) Sothers & Prance
References
F. Carnevale Neto et al.: Chrysobalanaceae: secondary metabolites, ethnopharmacology and pharmacological potential, "Phytochemistry Reviews" (online), 2012, .