Investigating the taxonomic scope of Meliolales species–host relationships and geographic trend

This article provides a comprehensive overview of the global distribution and taxonomy of the order Meliolales. The order is represented by two families, Armatellaceae and Meliolaceae, encompassing nine genera. Armatellaceae comprises a single genus, Armatella, while Meliolaceae encompasses eight genera, namely Amazonia, Appendiculella, Asteridiella, Cryptomeliola, Endomeliola, Irenopsis, Meliola, and Setameliola. The study is structured with detailed tables listing these genera and their currently accepted names, host plants, geographical distributions, and cited sources. A distinctive aspect of this study is a comprehensive table that systematically organises host plants by their families. According to our study, nine genera of Meliolales were recorded from 210 plant families, and Fabaceae is the most species-rich family, encompassing 268 host species. Geographically, India leads in biodiversity with 728 species. In addition, this paper presents extensive quantitative data on the number of species and their host ranges to highlight the ecological versatility and taxonomic diversity of Meliolales.