A family of 55 genera and 900 species, cosmopolitan but not common in tropical and subtropical regions; 16 genera occur naturally in Australia.

Alphitonia - A genus of more than 20 species in Asia, Malesia, Australia and the Pacific islands; seven or eight species occur naturally in Australia. Blake (1954); Braid (1925); Suessenguth (1953); White (1933, 1939). We are indebted to K. Thiele for information on ways to distinguish species of Alphitonia.

Colubrina - A genus of about 23 species in tropical and subtropical America, East Africa, Mauritius, Asia, Malesia, Australia and the Pacific islands; one species occurs naturally in Australia. Suessenguth (1953).

Emmenosperma - A genus of two to four species in Australia and New Caledonia; two or three species occur naturally in Australia. Suessenguth (1953); White (1933).

Gouania - A genus of about 70 species, pantropic; two species occur naturally in Australia. Suessenguth (1953); Thiele & West (1994).

Pomaderris - A genus of about 40 species in Australia and New Zealand; about 40 species occur naturally in Australia. Stanley & Ross (1986); Suessenguth (1953); Ross (1990); Walsh & Coates (1997).

Rhamnella - A genus of about nine species in Asia, the Pacific, New Guinea and eastern Australia; one species occurs naturally in Australia. Smith (1985); Kellerman & Thiele (2008).

Rhamnus - A genus of about 160 species, cosmopolitan; one species occurs naturally in Australia and one species has become naturalised. Stanley & Ross (1986).

Sageretia - A genus of 35 species, pantropic; one species occurs naturally in Australia. Suessenguth (1953).

Schistocarpaea - A monotypic genus endemic to Australia. Bailey (1891); Mueller (1891); Suessenguth (1953); White (1933).

Ventilago - A genus of about 30-40 species in Africa, Madagascar, Asia, Malesia, Australia and the Pacific islands; three species occur naturally in Australia. Stanley & Ross (1986).

Ziziphus - A genus of 80-100 species, pantropic but extending into warm temperate regions; three or four species occur naturally in Australia and one species has become naturalised. Blake (1954); Suessenguth (1953).

Bailey, F.M. (1891). Contributions to the Queensland Flora. Queensland Department of Agriculture, Botany Bulletin No. 3:1-32.

Blake, S.T. (1954). Botanical contributions of the northern Australia regional survey. II. Studies on miscellaneous northern Australian plants. Australian Journal of Botany 2:99-140.

Braid. K.W. (1925). Revision of the genus Alphitonia. Kew Bulletin Miscellaneous Information 4:168-186.

Conn, B.J. (1983). Rhamnaceae. In Morley, B.D. & Toelken, H.R. (Eds) 'Flowering Plants in Australia.' (Rigby Publishers: Adelaide.), pp. 226-227.

Kellermann, J. & Thiele, K.R. (2008) Lectotypifications and nomenclatural notes on Rhamnaceae from northern Australia. Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens 22: 33-34

Mueller, F. (1891). Descriptions of new Australian plants, with occasional other annotations. The Victorian Naturalist 7:180-183.

Ross, E.M. (1990). Pomaderris Labill. (Rhamnaceae) in Queensland, 1. Austrobaileya 3:309-317.

Smith, A.C. (1985). Rhamnaceae. In 'Flora Vitiensis Nova.' Vol. 3, (Pacific Tropical Botanical Garden: Hawaii.), pp. 687-705.

Stanley, T.D. & Ross, E.M. (1986). Rhamnaceae. In 'Flora of south-eastern Queensland.' Vol. 2, (Queensland Department of Primary Industries: Brisbane.), pp. 40-51.

Suessenguth, K. (1953). Rhamnaceae. In Engler, A. & Prantl, K. 'Die Naturlichen Pflanzenfamilien.' 2nd Edn, Eds H. Melchior & E. Werdermann, Vol. 20d, (Duncker & Humblot: Berlin.), pp. 7-173.

Thiele, K.R. & West, J.G. (1994). Gouania exilis (Rhamnaceae), a new species from northern Australia and Papua New Guinea, with notes on the identity of Gouania hillii F.Muell. Austrobaileya 4:411-416.

Walsh, N.G. & Coates, F. (1997). New taxa, new combinations and an infrageneric classification in Pomaderris (Rhamnaceae). Muelleria 10:27-56.

White, C.T. (1933). Ligneous plants collected for the Arnold Arboretum in North Queensland by S.F. Kajewski in 1929. Contributions from the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University 4:1-113.

White, C.T. (1939). Contributions to the Queensland Flora, No. 6. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland 50:66-87.