Oleaceae, also known as the olive family, is a taxonomic family of flowering shrubs, trees, and a few lianas in the order Lamiales, It presently comprises 28 genera, one of which is recently extinct. The extant genera include Cartrema, which was resurrected in 2012. The number of species in the Oleaceae is variously estimated in a wide range around 700. The flowers are often numerous and highly odoriferous. The family has a subcosmopolitan distribution, ranging from the subarctic to the southernmost parts of Africa, Australia, and South America. Notable members include olive, ash, jasmine, and several popular ornamental plants including privet, forsythia, fringetrees, and lilac.
In botany a capsule is a type of simple, dry, though rarely fleshy dehiscent fruit produced by many species of angiosperms.
The Sapindaceae are a family of flowering plants in the order Sapindales known as the soapberry family. It contains 138 genera and 1858 accepted species. Examples include horse chestnut, maples, ackee and lychee.
Jacaranda is a genus of 49 species of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Commelina is a genus of approximately 170 species commonly called dayflowers due to the short lives of their flowers. They are less often known as widow's tears. It is by far the largest genus of its family, Commelinaceae. The Swedish taxonomist Carl Linnaeus of the 18th century named the genus after the two Dutch botanists Jan Commelijn and his nephew Caspar, each representing one of the showy petals of Commelina communis.
Diospyros virginiana is a persimmon species commonly called the American persimmon, common persimmon, eastern persimmon, simmon, possumwood, possum apples, or sugar plum. It ranges from southern Connecticut to Florida, and west to Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Iowa. The tree grows wild but has been cultivated for its fruit and wood since prehistoric times by Native Americans.
The scarlet gourds are a genus with 25 species. It is distributed in sub-Saharan Africa and with one species, C. grandis also in South and South-east Asia, and it is also introduced into the New World. Incidentally, C. grandis is also a cultivated crop and it is used for culinary and medical purposes.
Flindersia is a genus of 17 species of small to large trees in the family Rutaceae. They have simple or pinnate leaves, flowers arranged in panicles at or near the ends of branchlets and fruit that is a woody capsule containing winged seeds. They grow naturally in Australia, the Moluccas, New Guinea and New Caledonia.
Wahlenbergia is a genus of around 260 species of flowering plants in the family Campanulaceae. Plants in this genus are perennial or annual herbs with simple leaves and blue to purple bell-shaped flowers, usually with five petals lobes. Species of Wahlenbergia are found on all continents except North America, and on some isolated islands, but the greatest diversity occurs in the Southern Hemisphere.
Tetrachondra is a plant genus and a member of the family Tetrachondraceae. It comprises two species of creeping succulent, perennial, aquatic or semi-aquatic herbaceous plants. Its distribution range is disjunct: one species is endemic to New Zealand while the other one is endemic to southern Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. These plants bear essential oils.
Anthodon is a genus of flowering plants in the family Celastraceae. It comprises two species of large woody vines native to Central America and northern and Amazonian South America. They are scattered throughout most of the Neotropics, but are not common in any part of their range. They grow in wet forests from 100 m to 900 m in elevation. There is no known use of these vines by humans.
Pappea capensis is a South African tree in the family Sapindaceae. It is the only species in the genus Pappea.
Microloma is a small genus of Ceropegia-like twiners and twiggy bushes occurring in mainly arid or fynbos regions in South Africa. They are generally nondescript when not in bloom, but the flowers of most species are incongruously decorative.
The plant genus Stilbe was described in 1767, originally as being in the Verbenaceae, but the genus now is placed in the family Stilbaceae. The entire genus is endemic to the Cape Province region of South Africa.
Orphium is a plant genus in the Gentian family (Gentianaceae), endemic to South Africa. The name derives from the legendary Greek musician Orpheus. The genus contains a single accepted species, Orphium frutescens, commonly known as the sea rose. Orphium arenarium C.Presl has been proposed as another species, but data suggest that it is synonymous with Chironia arenaria E.Mey.
Monopsis is a genus of small, Lobelia-like herbaceous plants indigenous to Africa. A few species are annuals, but most are perennials. Common names are not well established, but often refer to more familiar plants, as in "wild violet" for Monopsis unidentata, "yellow lobelia" for Monopsis lutea or "pansy lobelia" for Monopsis debilis.
The Micrantha is a wild citrus from the papeda group, native to southern Philippines, particularly islands of Cebu and Bohol. Two varieties are recognized: small-flowered papeda, locally known as biasong, and small-fruited papeda or samuyao.
The Solanaceae, or nightshades, are a family of flowering plants that ranges from annual and perennial herbs to vines, lianas, epiphytes, shrubs, and trees, and includes a number of agricultural crops, medicinal plants, spices, weeds, and ornamentals. Many members of the family contain potent alkaloids, and some are highly toxic, but many—including tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, bell and chili peppers—are used as food. The family belongs to the order Solanales, in the asterid group and class Magnoliopsida (dicotyledons). The Solanaceae consists of about 98 genera and some 2,700 species, with a great diversity of habitats, morphology and ecology.
Aizoanthemum hispanicum, or Spanish aizoon, is a species of plant in the family Aizoaceae. It is native to northern Africa, the Mediterranean region and the Middle East where it grows on arid sandy plains, saline areas and in semi-arid habitats. It was first described as Aizoon hispanicum by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1753 and was in 2002 placed in the genus Aizoanthemum by the German botanist Heidrun Hartmann.
Wahlenbergia capensis, commonly known as the Cape bluebell, is a plant in the family Campanulaceae and is native to Cape Province but has been introduced to Australia. It is an annual herb with up to four greenish blue, bell-shaped flowers with spreading petal lobes.
