Commelinales is an order of flowering plants. It comprises five families: Commelinaceae, Haemodoraceae, Hanguanaceae, Philydraceae, and Pontederiaceae. All the families combined contain over 885 species in about 70 genera; the majority of species are in the Commelinaceae. Plants in the order share a number of synapomorphies that tie them together, such as a lack of mycorrhizal associations and tapetal raphides. Estimates differ as to when the Commelinales evolved, but most suggest an origin and diversification sometime during the mid- to late Cretaceous. Depending on the methods used, studies suggest a range of origin between 123 and 73 million years, with diversification occurring within the group 110 to 66 million years ago. The order's closest relatives are in the Zingiberales, which includes ginger, bananas, cardamom, and others.
The Rapateaceae are a family of flowering plants. The botanical name has been recognized by most taxonomists.
The hybrid elm cultivar Ulmus × hollandica 'Superba' is one of a number of intermediate forms arising from the crossing of the Wych Elm U. glabra with a variety of Field Elm U. minor. Boulger tentatively (1881) and Green more confidently (1964) equated it with a hybrid elm cultivated in the UK by Masters at Canterbury in the early 19th century, known as "Masters' Canterbury Seedling" or simply the Canterbury Elm. Loudon examined a specimen sent by Masters and considered it a hybrid, calling it U. montana glabra major.
Schoenocephalium teretifolium or Summertime Inírida flower is a monocot which is an endemic plant in the area between the Colombian rivers of Guainia and Inírida. Guacamaya superba, another plant in the Rapateaceae family, is also endemic to this region.
Steyermarkochloa is a genus of plants in the grass family. The only known species is Steyermarkochloa angustifolia(Spreng.) Judz., which is native to Colombia (Guainía), Venezuela (Amazonas), and Brazil (Amazonas).
Amphiphyllum is a group of plants in the family Rapateaceae described as a genus in 1931.
Duckea is a group of plants in the family Rapateaceae described as a genus in 1958.
Schoenocephalium is a group of plants in the family Rapateaceae described as a genus in 1845.
Spathanthus is a group of plants in the family Rapateaceae described as a genus in 1828.
Kunhardtia is a group of plants in the family Rapateaceae described as a genus in 1958.
Marahuacaea is a group of plants in the family Rapateaceae described as a genus in 1984.
Monotrema is a group of plants in the family Rapateaceae described as a genus in 1872.
Phelpsiella is a group of plants in the family Rapateaceae described as a genus in 1958.
Potarophytum is a group of plants in the family Rapateaceae described as a genus in 1939.
Stegolepis is a group of plants in the family Rapateaceae described as a genus in 1872.
Saxo-fridericia is a group of plants in the family Rapateaceae described as a genus in 1845.
The Negro–Branco moist forests (NT0143) is an ecoregion of tropical moist broadleaf forest to the east of the Andes in southern Venezuela, eastern Colombia and northern Brazil, in the Amazon biome. It lies on the watershed between the Orinoco and Rio Negro basins. It includes both blackwater and whitewater rivers, creating different types of seasonally flooded forest. The vegetation is more typical of the Guiana region than the Amazon.
The wych elm cultivar Ulmus glabraHuds. 'Superba', Blandford Elm, with unusually large leaves, was raised by Gill's of Blandford Forum, Dorset, in the early 1840s as Ulmus montana superba and was quickly distributed to other UK nurseries. It was confirmed as a form of wych, and first described, by Lindley in The Gardeners' Chronicle, 1845, later descriptions being added by Gill (1845) and Morren (1848), who called it U. montana var. superba. Morren had adopted the name 'Superba' from the Fulham nurseryman Osborne in 1844, who supplied him with the tree – presumably one of the nurseries supplied by Gill. Morren states that 'Superba', already in cultivation in England, was introduced to Belgium by Denis Henrard of Saint Walburge, Liège, that in 1848 it had been present in Belgium for only three years, and that this variety was the one described as 'Superba' by Osborne, whom Henrard had visited at his nursery in Fulham in September 1844. 'Blandford Elm', with leaves of the same dimensions, was soon for sale in the USA.
Paul Edward Berry is an American botanist and curator. He is Director of the Wisconsin State Herbarium.
