王冠草科也叫离柱花科，只有一属—王冠草属，约27种，都是仅仅生长在南美洲秘鲁、智利和阿根廷的沙漠干旱地带的特有品种。

以前的分类法一般将本科植物分入西番莲科，1981年的克朗奎斯特分类法单独列出一科，放在堇菜目下面，1998年根据基因亲缘关系分类的APG 分类法将其列入金虎尾目，2003年经过修订的APG II 分类法认为本科仍然可以选择性地和西番莲科合并。

维基共享资源中相关的多媒体资源：王冠草科

Malesherbia is a genus of flowering plants consisting of about 27 species in the Passifloraceae. This is a xerophytic group endemic to the Peruvian and Chilean deserts and adjacent Argentina. The genus is currently recognized by the APG III system of classification in the Passifloraceae family, but was formerly recognized as the sole genus of the family Malesherbiaceae.