Araceae

Araceae
Temporal range: Early Cretaceous - Recent
Inflorescence of Spathiphyllum cochlearispathum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Alismatales
Family: Araceae
Juss.
Subfamilies

The Araceae are a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants in which flowers are borne on a type of inflorescence called a spadix. The spadix is usually accompanied by, and sometimes partially enclosed in, a spathe (or leaf-like bract). Also known as the arum family, members are often colloquially known as aroids. This family of 114 genera and about 3,750 known species is most diverse in the New World tropics, although also distributed in the Old World tropics and northern temperate regions.