| Psydrax | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Psydrax odorata | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Gentianales |
| Family: | Rubiaceae |
| Subfamily: | Ixoroideae |
| Tribe: | Vanguerieae |
| Genus: | Psydrax Gaertn. |
| Type species | |
| Psydrax dicoccos | |
| Synonyms | |
Psydrax is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It consists of trees, shrubs, and a few lianas in the paleotropics.
The genus was named by Joseph Gaertner in 1788 in his book, De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum . [1] Psydrax is a Greek word meaning a blister or bump. Gaertner may have chosen this name to refer to the warty fruit or the pimply seeds of some species. [2] The name was hardly ever used after Gaertner proposed it because most authors placed these species in Canthium . Psydrax was reinstated in 1985 and 37 African species were transferred to it from Canthium . [3] The monospecific genus Mesoptera was also sunk into Psydrax. [4] Psydrax was shown to be monophyletic in a molecular phylogenetic study. [5] It is closely related to Afrocanthium , Cyclophyllum and Keetia , genera that have been segregated from Canthium . [5] [6]
Joseph Gaertner was a German botanist, best known for his work on seeds, De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum (1788-1792).
Cephalanthus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. There are about six species that are commonly known as buttonbush.
Bertiera is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It comprises 57 species with most known from tropical Africa, five known from various Indian Ocean islands and five found in the tropics of the Americas.
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.
Pavetta is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It comprises about 360 species of trees, evergreen shrubs and sub-shrubs. It is found in woodlands, grasslands and thickets in sub-tropical and tropical Africa and Asia. The plants are cultivated for their simple but variable leaves, usually opposite but also occur in triple whorls. The leaves are often membranous with dark bacterial nodules. Pavetta has small, white, tubular flowers, sometimes salviform or funnel-shaped with 4 spreading petal lobes. The flowers are carried on terminal corymbs or cymes.
Polysphaeria is a genus of plants in the family Rubiaceae, and its native range is Madagascar and Tropical Africa. It contains the following 22 species according to Plants of the World Online:
Pyrostria is a genus of dioecious flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. Most of the species are endemic to Madagascar, others occur on islands in the western Indian Ocean, a few are found in continental Africa, and only six species occur in tropical Southeast Asia. The formerly recognized genus Leroya, containing two species endemic to Madagascar, L. madagascariensis and L. richardiae, was sunk into synonymy with Pyrostria.
Rytigynia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It is found in tropical and southern Africa. The genera Rytigynia and Fadogia form a strongly supported clade but neither of these genera is monophyletic.
Tricalysia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. The genus is found in tropical and southern Africa and on the islands in the Western Indian Ocean.
Vanguerieae is a tribe of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae and contains about 655 species in 30 genera. It is one of the most species-rich groups within the family and it is distributed across the Paleotropics.
Afrocanthium is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It consists of deciduous, unarmed trees, and shrubs. They are native to East Africa, from Sudan and Ethiopia to South Africa.
Cyclophyllum is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It is found from New Guinea, Australia and on islands in many parts of the Pacific.
Hymenodictyon is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It has about 30 species. All are native to the Old World. The wood of Hymenodictyon orixense is soft and has limited use, mostly for boxes. The type species for Hymenodictyon is Hymenodictyon orixense.
Psydrax oleifolia, commonly known as wild lemon or brush myrtle, is a species of shrub or small tree in the family Rubiaceae. It is endemic to eastern and inland Australia,.
Coptosperma is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It contains 19 species native to Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and various islands of the Indian Ocean.
Ixoroideae is a subfamily of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae and contains about 4000 species in 27 tribes.
Diane Mary Bridson is a British botanist.