Mellissia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| St Helena boxwood | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservation status | ||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Species | ||||||||||||
|
See text |
Mellissia (St Helena boxwood) is an endemic genus from the island of St Helena in the family Solanaceae. It was named by Joseph Dalton Hooker in honour of John Charles Melliss, a 19th century engineer and amateur naturalist who worked on St Helena.
It is notable for the subcampanulate calyx which encloses the white corolla, and is strongly accrescent in fruit, somewhat like the "Chinese lantern" genus, Physalis. However, it is in fact closely related to the genus Withania.
- Species
There is a single species
- Mellissia begoniifolia (St Helena boxwood)
The St Helena boxwood was long thought to be extinct but a small population has been discovered recently.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
[edit] References
- Cronk, Q.C.B. (1995) The endemic Flora of St Helena. Anthony Nelson Ltd, Oswestry.
 |
This Solanales article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
