Lasianthus | |
---|---|
Lasianthus fordii | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Gentianales |
Family: | Rubiaceae |
Subfamily: | Rubioideae |
Tribe: | Lasiantheae |
Genus: | Lasianthus Jack 1823 |
Type species | |
Lasianthus cyanocarpus Jack | |
Species | |
About 260 species. See text. | |
Synonyms [1] | |
Lasianthus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. They are tropical subshrubs, shrubs, or rarely, small trees. They inhabit the understory of primary forests.
Lasianthus has about 180 species. The type species for the genus is Lasianthus cyanocarpus . [2] In 2012, a revision of Lasianthus in Malesia described 131 species. [3] Another 30 or so species grow elsewhere in tropical Asia. [4] Most of these are described in Flora of China [5] or in A Revised Handbook to the Flora of Ceylon . [6] 14 or 15 species are native to the Western Ghats of southwestern India, including the endemic Lasianthus agasthyamalayanus . [7] Fifteen species [8] or perhaps as many as 20 species [9] are known from tropical Africa. Two species (Lasianthus panamensis and Lasianthus lanceolatus), [10] or possibly three, are native to the neotropics. [8] Lasianthus strigosus, from Queensland, is the only species known from Australia. The Australian Ixora baileyana had at one time been placed in Lasianthus as Lasianthus graciliflorus. [11]
Dried specimens of Lasianthus often shed their flowers and fruit. For this reason, misidentification is common, even in herbaria.
The name Lasianthus has been misapplied to Lisianthius (also spelled as "Lisianthus" or "Lisyanthus" [12] ), a genus in Gentianaceae. Lasianthus alatus Aublet is a misspelling of Lisyanthus alatus Aublet, a species now placed in Chelonanthus .
As of March 2023 [update] , Plants of the World Online accepted the following species: [1]
Subshrubs, shrubs, or rarely, small trees. - Leaves opposite, distichous. Stipules interpetiolar, usually persistent. - Inflorescences axillary, usually sessile. Flowers small, white. - Calyx with 3 to 6 teeth or lobes; persistent. Corolla with 4 to 6 lobes; throat usually villous. - Stamens 4 to 6, inserted on corolla throat. Anthers dorsifixed. - Stigma with lanceolate or linear lobes. Ovary multilocular. - Ovules basal, erect, 1 per locule. - Fruit a small drupe, usually blue. Pyrenes with thick walls.
The generic name Lasianthus is derived from the Greek lasios, "shaggy, velvety, hairy", and anthos, "flower". [13] The genus was named by William Jack in 1823. [14] [15]
Some authors have recognized Dressleriopsis and Litosanthes as genera separate from Lasianthus. Dressleriopsis was sunk into Lasianthus in 1982. [10]
Litosanthes was erected by Carl Ludwig Blume in 1823. It was synonymized under Lasianthus in 1992. [16] DNA sequence analysis has not resolved the question of whether Litosanthes is nested within Lasianthus or separate from it.
Lasianthus, Saldinia , and Trichostachys form the tribe Lasiantheae in the subfamily Rubioideae. Perama is related to this group and might be included within it. [17] Lasiantheae was formerly thought to be close to Psychotria , but is now known to be a basal clade in Rubioideae. It is sister to the large clade containing Coussarea , Psychotria, Spermacoce , and many other genera. [18]
Saprosma and Amaracarpus were traditionally thought to be close to Lasianthus. Saprosma is polyphyletic, with only part of it related to Lasianthus. [17] Amaracarpus is close to Psychotria. The African genera Batopedina and Dirichletia have also been suggested as relatives of Lasianthus.
Only one molecular phylogenetic study has sampled more than a few species from the tribe Lasiantheae. In that study, 11 species of Lasianthus were sampled, but few relationships were resolved. [17]
In 2012, a revision of the Malesian species divided Lasianthus into 3 sections, based on the following type species: L. section Stipulares ( Lasianthus stipularis ), L. section Lasianthus ( Lasianthus cyanocarpus ), and L. section Nudiflorae ( Lasianthus blumeanus ). [3] They did not recognize L. section Pedunculatae ( Lasianthus biermanii ), which some previous authors had recognized. They considered it to be indistinguishable from L. section Lasianthus.
Mitrephora is a genus of flowering plants in the family Annonaceae, that are native to an area that extends from China in the north to Queensland. Plants in the genus Mitrephora are also found in southern India and Southeast Asia.
Canthium is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. They are shrubs and small trees. The leaves are deciduous and the stems are usually thorny.
Polyalthia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Annonaceae. There are approximately 90 species distributed from Africa to Asia and the Pacific.
Prismatomeris is a genus of plant in the family Rubiaceae. It includes 17 species native to the Indian subcontinent, Indochina, southern China, and western Malesia.
Psydrax is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It consists of trees, shrubs, and a few lianas in the paleotropics.
Saprosma is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. There are about 40 species distributed from south China to tropical Asia.
Urophyllum is a genus of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae, native to from south China to Tropical Asia. The genus was established by Nathaniel Wallich in 1824.
Salacia is a genus of plants in the family Celastraceae. They are woody climbers naturally found in tropical regions.
Argostemma is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It can be found in (sub)tropical Asia and western and west-central tropical Africa.
Hedyotis (starviolet) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. Many species of this genus such as Hedyotis biflora, H. corymbosa and H. diffusa are well known medicinal plants. Hedyotis is native to tropical and subtropical Asia and to islands of the northwest Pacific. It comprises about 115 species. The type species for the genus is Hedyotis fruticosa.
Mycetia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It includes 54 species, ranging from the Indian subcontinent through Indochina, southern China, and Malesia to New Guinea.
Mussaenda is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. They are native to the African and Asian tropics and subtropics. Several species are cultivated as ornamental plants.
Macrosolen is a genus of plants in the family Loranthaceae. It includes about 83 species all over the world with ca. 40 species widely distributed in tropical South and Southeast Asia. Some species were described by de Loureiro, Lecomte, Danser (1938) and Hô (2003).
Ridsdalea is an Asian genus of plants in the family Rubiaceae; it was named after Dr. Colin Ernest Ridsdale (1944–2017), who was an English botanist and specialist in tropical plants and the Rubiaceae family. The type species is Ridsdalea grandis(Korth.) J.T.Pereira, which was renamed from the basionym Gardenia grandis. Several other species have been reassigned from other genera: notably Rothmannia, which is now reserved for African species. Its native range is southern China, Indo-China, Malesia and New Guinea.
Monoon is a genus of plants in the family Annonaceae and the tribe Miliuseae. Species have been recorded from the Indian subcontinent, Indo-China, Malesia, New Guinea and Australia, with introductions in West Africa. A number of species have been moved here from the genus Polyalthia.
Hypobathrum is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Rubiaceae.