Blanchardia

Blanchardia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Malvales
Family:	Malvaceae
Subfamily:	Malvoideae
Tribe:	Hibisceae
Genus:	Blanchardia M.M.Hanes & R.L.Barrett
Species:	B. clypeata
Binomial name
Blanchardia clypeata (L.) M.M.Hanes & R.L.Barrett
Synonyms [1]
Hibiscus clypeatusL. (1759) (species basionym) Munchusia tomentosaRaf.

Blanchardia clypeata flower

Blanchardia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Malvaceae. It includes a single species, Blanchardia clypeata, a shrub or tree which ranges from Texas through eastern Mexico to Guatemala and the Caribbean Islands. ^[1]

The species was first described as Hibiscus clypeatus by Carl Linnaeus in 1759. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that the large genus Hibiscus was polyphyletic, and in Margaret M. Hanes and Russell Lindsay Barrett placed the species in the newly described monotypic genus Blanchardia as Blanchardia clypeata. ^{[1] [2]}

Three subspecies are accepted. ^[1]

• Blanchardia clypeata subsp. clypeata – Texas, eastern Mexico, Guatemala, and Caribbean
• Blanchardia clypeata subsp. cryptocarpa(A.Rich.) M.M.Hanes & R.L.Barrett – Cuba
• Blanchardia clypeata subsp. membranacea(Cav.) M.M.Hanes & R.L.Barrett – Bahamas, Cuba, and Tortuga (Haiti)

References

1. "Blanchardia clypeata (L.) M.M.Hanes & R.L.Barrett". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 28 October 2025.
2. Margaret M. Hanes, Orland J. Blanchard Jr., Janice Valencia-D., Todd McLay, J. Richard Abbott, Stuart F. McDaniel, Russell L. Barrett, Sarah Mathews, and Kurt M. Neubig "Phylogenetic Relationships Within Tribe Hibisceae (Malvaceae) Reveal Complex Patterns of Polyphyly in Hibiscus and Pavonia," Systematic Botany 49(1), 77-116, (6 May 2024). https://doi.org/10.1600/036364424X17114831879189