| Cissus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Cissus nodosa | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Vitales |
| Family: | Vitaceae |
| Subfamily: | Vitoideae |
| Genus: | Cissus L. [1] |
| Species | |
About 350, see text | |
Cissus is a genus of approximately 350 species of lianas (woody vines) in the grape family (Vitaceae). They have a cosmopolitan distribution, though the majority are to be found in the tropics.
Cissus quadrangularis has been evaluated for potential medical uses. As a source of carotenoids, triterpenoids and ascorbic acid the extracts may have potential for medical effects, including "gastroprotective activity" [2] and benefits in terms of "lipid metabolism and oxidative stress". [3] Cissus quinquangularis was used by the Maasai people of Kenya to relieve some of the symptoms of malaria. [4]
Cissus antarctica , Cissus alata and Cissus incisa are cultivated as garden plants, depending on area of the world. Succulent members of the genus such as Cissus quadrangularis are also found in the nursery trade but tend to be frost tender and are thus not widely cultivated.
Cissus species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Hypercompe eridanus and Hypercompe icasia . They are also consumed by chimpanzees. [5]
The generic name is derived from the Greek word κισσος (kissos), meaning "ivy". [6] In the 1980s the genus was split according to some details of the flower. The large caudiciform species were moved to the new genus Cyphostemma .
The genus name was established by Carl Linnaeus who used species epithets that are adjectives with feminine grammatical gender in Latin (e.g., C. trifoliata L.). This matches the pattern that names of trees ending in -us in Latin have feminine gender, although other plant names ending in -us are usually masculine. [7]
Plants of the World Online currently includes: [8]
Cyphostemma is a flowering plant genus in the family Vitaceae, with around 250 species distributed throughout the tropics and subtropics. These species are caudiciform and used to belong to the genus Cissus. The genus name comes from Greek kyphos, meaning hump, and stemma, meaning garland.
Tetrastigma is a genus of plants in the grape family, Vitaceae. The plants are lianas that climb with tendrils and have palmately compound leaves. Plants are dioecious, with separate male and female plants; female flowers are characterized by their four-lobed stigmas. The species are found in subtropical and tropical regions of Asia, Malaysia, and Australia, where they grow in primary rainforest, gallery forest and monsoon forest and moister woodland. Species of this genus are notable as being the sole hosts of parasitic plants in the family Rafflesiaceae, one of which, Rafflesia arnoldii, produces the largest single flower in the world. Tetrastigma is the donor species for horizontal gene transfer to Sapria and Rafflesia due to multiple gene theft events.
Leea is a genus of plants in the family Vitaceae, subfamily Leeoideae, that are native to parts of central Africa, tropical Asia, Australia and Melanesia. It was previously placed in its own family, Leeaceae, based on morphological differences between it and other Vitaceae genera. These differences include ovule number per locule, carpel number, and the absence or presence of a staminoidal tube and floral disc. Pollen structure has also been examined for taxonomic demarcation, though studies have concluded that the pollen of Leeaceae and Vitaceae suggests the families should remain separate while other studies conclude that Leea should be included in Vitaceae.
The genus Cayratia consists of species of vine plants, typical of the tribe Cayratieae. Some of them are useful, and they are found in tropical and subtropical areas of Asia, Africa, Australia, and islands of the Pacific Ocean.
Archidendron is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae. It includes 98 species which range from India through Indochina, southern China, Taiwan, Malesia, and Papuasia to Queensland and New South Wales.
Polyalthia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Annonaceae. There are approximately 90 species distributed from Africa to Asia and the Pacific.
Ampelocissus is a genus of Vitaceae having 90 or more species found variously in tropical Africa, Asia, Central America, and Oceania. The type species, A. latifolia, was originally treated under its basionym, Vitis latifolia, and was collected from the Indian subcontinent.
Connarus is a genus of plants in the family Connaraceae.
Globba is a genus of plants in the ginger family: with delicate flowers, sometimes called "dancing ladies" or "dancing girls ginger". Species are native to the Indian Subcontinent, China, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago and Queensland.
| Authority control databases: National |
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