Genera: 16 - 20
Species: 500 - 600
Distribution: Pantropical, with many species in tropical America,
NE Africa and Malaysia.
Economic
Uses: As a source of valuable timber
and as the source of the well known incense and perfume resins-
frankincense and myrrh.
Defining
Features of Interest: The family has
extensive resin canals and abundant resins, features it shares
with the Anacardiaceae.
Fossil Evidence: Fossils
in the Eocene.
