Lauraceae, or the laurels, is a plant family that includes the true laurel and its closest relatives. This family comprises about 2850 known species in about 45 genera worldwide. They are dicotyledons, and occur mainly in warm temperate and tropical regions, especially Southeast Asia and South America. Many are aromatic evergreen trees or shrubs, but some, such as Sassafras, are deciduous, or include both deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs, especially in tropical and temperate climates. The genus Cassytha is unique in the Lauraceae in that its members are parasitic vines. Most laurels are highly poisonous.
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispecific" or "monospecific" is sometimes preferred. In botanical nomenclature, a monotypic genus is a genus in the special case where a genus and a single species are simultaneously described. In contrast, an oligotypic taxon contains more than one but only a very few subordinate taxa.
Zingiber is a genus of flowering plants in the family Zingiberaceae. It is native to Southeast Asia, especially in Thailand, China, the Indian Subcontinent, and New Guinea. It contains the true gingers, plants grown the world over for their culinary value. The most well known species are Z. officinale and Z. mioga, two garden gingers.
Curcuma is a genus of plants in the family Zingiberaceae that contains such species as turmeric and Siam tulip. They are native to Southeast Asia, southern China, the Indian Subcontinent, New Guinea and northern Australia. Some species are reportedly naturalized in other warm parts of the world such as tropical Africa, Central America, Florida, and various islands of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans. Generally, most curcuma grows well in loose and sandy soil in shaded areas.
Machilus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lauraceae. It is found in temperate, subtropical, and tropical forest, occurring in China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Indochina, the Indian subcontinent, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. It is sometimes included in the genus Persea, and currently includes about 100 species.
Phoebe is a genus of evergreen trees and shrubs belonging to the Laurel family, Lauraceae. There are 75 accepted species in the genus, distributed in tropical and subtropical Asia and New Guinea. 35 species occur in China, of which 27 are endemic. The first description of the genus was of the type species P. lanceolata made in 1836 by Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck in Systema Laurinarum, p. 98.
Musella lasiocarpa, commonly known as Chinese dwarf banana, golden lotus banana or Chinese yellow banana, is the sole species in the genus Musella. It is thus a close relative of bananas, and also a member of the family Musaceae.
Ericabatrachus is a genus of frogs in the family Petropedetidae endemic to the Bale Mountains in Ethiopia. It is monotypic, being represented by the single species Ericabatrachus baleensis, commonly known as the Bale Mountains frog.
Alseodaphnopsis hainanensis is a species of plant in the family Lauraceae. It is found in Hainan and northern Vietnam. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Alseodaphnopsis rugosa is a species of plant in the family Lauraceae. It is native to southeastern Yunnan province of China and northern Vietnam. It grows in mixed forests in valleys. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Beilschmiedia is a genus of trees and shrubs in family Lauraceae. Most of its species grow in tropical climates, but a few of them are native to temperate regions, and they are widespread in tropical Asia, Africa, Madagascar, Australia, New Zealand, North America, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America. The best-known species to gardeners in temperate areas are B. berteroana and B. miersii because of their frost tolerance. Seeds of B. bancroftii were used as a source of food by Australian Aborigines. Timbers of some species are very valuable.
Hexapora is a monotypic genus in the family Lauraceae. It has the single species Hexapora curtisii. The genus is named for the anther pores of the tree's six stamens. The species is named for the English botanist Charles Curtis, who collected samples of the species for Joseph Dalton Hooker.
Vincetoxicum auritum is a species of liana in the family Apocynaceae. It is endemic to the island of Hainan in southern China.
Apollonias barbujana , the Canary laurel or barbusano, is perhaps the only species of flowering plants belonging to the genus Apollonias of the laurel family, Lauraceae. It is endemic to the Macaronesian islands of Madeira and the Canary Islands. Molecular phylogenies have found that the species is nested within the genus Persea, closely related to Persea americana (avocado).
Syndiclis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lauraceae. It contains ten species, which are native to China, Vietnam and Hainan, and Bhutan.
Yasunia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lauraceae, found in Ecuador and Peru. Yasunia appears to be nested within Beilschmiedia.
Wuacanthus microdontus is a species of flowering plant belonging to the family Acanthaceae. It is a shrub native to Yunnan and southern Sichuan in south-central China. It is the sole species in genus Wuacanthus.
Alseodaphnopsis is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Lauraceae.
Samuelssonia is a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Acanthaceae. It has only one known species, Samuelssonia verrucosa, a small tree which grows to 5 meters tall which is native to the Massif de la Hotte in Haiti.
Muehlbergella is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Campanulaceae. It contains a single species, Muehlbergella oweriniana. It is critically endangered
