[5] As of September 2024[update], Plants of the World Online accepted these genera:[6] The tribe Macarisieae is characterized by a few plesiomorphies unknown in the rest of the family, such as superior ovary position, the presence of a seed appendage, and the absence of aerial roots.

[7] Among Rhizophoreae, there are three distinctive characters known as the adaptive features to the mangrove habitats: viviparous embryogenesis, high salt tolerance and aerial roots.

[8] Although vivipary is found in other unrelated mangrove taxa such as Avicennia (Acanthaceae), Nypa (Arecaceae), and Pelliciera (Tetrameristaceae), they only break the seed coat but not the fruit wall before they split open.

[8] Vivipary in Rhizophoreae include several embryological characteristics:[8] (1) the active growth of a hypocotyl meristem in the cotyledonary body, with endosperm overflow from the embryo sac.

[10] The surface of aerial roots carry numerous gas exchange pores called lenticels, through which oxygen could diffuse into the underground tissues with air-filled spaces.

[10] The divergence happened to occur in the time frame with in the extreme global warming event, the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM).

[10] During this time period, there is a shift from a terrestrial to a marine, potentially anoxic, sedimentary depositional environment, suggesting a sea level rise.

[10] During the PETM global warming period, the terrestrial ancestors of Rhizophoraceae living close to the shore were forced into the intertidal zone because of a large-scale sea-level rise.

[10] This sea level change exerted some selective pressure on the ancestors of Rhizophoraceae and those that were successfully adapted to the intertidal zone diverged from their terrestrial relatives and colonized this new habitat.