Psydrax

Psydrax
Psydrax odorata
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Rubiaceae
Subfamily: Dialypetalanthoideae
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.

Taxonomy

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]

Species

References

  1. ^ Gaertner J (1788). De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum. Vol. 1. p. 125.
  2. ^ Quattrocchi U (2000). CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names (3 ed.). Baton Rouge, New York, London, Washington DC.: CRC Press. ISBN 978-0-8493-2673-8.
  3. ^ Bridson DM (1985). "The reinstatement of Psydrax (Rubiaceae, subfam. Cinchonoideae tribe Vanguerieae) and a revision of the African species". Kew Bulletin. 40 (4): 687–725. Bibcode:1985KewBu..40..687B. doi:10.2307/4109853. JSTOR 4109853.
  4. ^ Govaerts, Rafaël. "World Checklist of Selected Plant Families". Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  5. ^ a b Lantz H, Bremer B (2004). "Phylogeny inferred from morphology and DNA data: characterizing well-supported groups in Vanguerieae (Rubiaceae)". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 146 (3): 257–283. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2004.00338.x.
  6. ^ Bridson DM (1986). "The reinstatement of the African genus Keetia (Rubiaceae subfam. Cinchonoideae tribe Vanguerieae)". Kew Bulletin. 41 (4): 965–994. Bibcode:1986KewBu..41..965B. doi:10.2307/4102996. JSTOR 4102996.