Cephalanthus

Cephalanthus
Cephalanthus occidentalis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Rubiaceae
Subfamily: Cinchonoideae
Tribe: Naucleeae[1]
Genus: Cephalanthus
L.
Type species
Cephalanthus occidentalis
L.
Species

See text
Synonyms

Acrodryon Spreng.
Axolus Raf.
Eresimus Raf.[2]

Cephalanthus is a genus of flowering plants in the madder family, Rubiaceae. Different authorities accept between six and 15 species,[3] which are commonly known as Buttonbushes. Cephalanthus occidentalis is native to the southeastern United States. The others occur in tropical regions of the Americas, Africa and Asia.[4] Two species are known in cultivation.[5]

They are shrubs or small trees growing to 5–15 m (16–49 ft) tall. The leaves are simple, arranged in opposite pairs or whorls of three. The flowers form a dense globular inflorescence.

Cephalanthus was named by Linnaeus in Species Plantarum in 1753.[6][7] The generic name is derived from the Ancient Greek words κέφαλος (kephalos), meaning "head", and ἄνθος (anthos), meaning "flower."[8]

Cephalanthus is the most basal genus in the tribe Naucleeae.[9] Some authors have segregated it into its own monotypic tribe.[10] The type species for Cephalanthus is Cephalanthus occidentalis.[11]

Contents

Species

The following six species are those recognized in a revision of Cephalanthus in 1976.[10]

Formerly placed here

References

  1. ^ "Genus Cephalanthus (buttonbushes)". Taxonomy. UniProt. http://www.uniprot.org/taxonomy/43460. Retrieved 2009-09-14. 
  2. ^ "Genus: Cephalanthus L.". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/genus.pl?2262. Retrieved 2010-09-17. 
  3. ^ Cephalanthus At: World Checklist of Rubiaceae At: Kew Gardens Website. (see External links below).
  4. ^ David J. Mabberley. 2008. Mabberley's Plant-Book third edition (2008). Cambridge University Press: UK. ISBN 978-0-521-82071-4
  5. ^ Anthony J. Huxley, Mark Griffiths, and Margot Levy (editors). 1992. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. The Macmillan Press Limited, London; The Stockton Press, New York. ISBN 978-0-333-47494-5 (set)
  6. ^ Cephalanthus At: Plant Names At: International Plant Names Index. (see External links below).
  7. ^ Carolus Linnaeus. 1753. Species Plantarum (Species plantarum : exhibentes plantas rite cognitas ad genera relatas, cum diferentiis specificis, nominibus trivialibus, synonymis selectis, locis natalibus, secundum systema sexuale digestas / Caroli Linnæe.): 1:95. Holmiae: Impensis Laurentii Salvii: Stockholm, Sweden. (see External links below).
  8. ^ Quattrocchi, Umberto (2000). CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names. I: A-C. CRC Press. p. 476. ISBN 978-0-8493-2675-2. http://books.google.com/books?id=esMPU5DHEGgC&. 
  9. ^ Ulrika Manns and Birgitta Bremer. 2010. "Towards a better understanding of intertribal relationships and stable tribal delimitations within Cinchonoideae s.s. (Rubiaceae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 56(1):21-39. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2010.04.002
  10. ^ a b Colin E. Ridsdale. 1976. "A revision of the tribe Cephalantheae (Rubiaceae)". Blumea 23(1):177-188.
  11. ^ Cephalanthus In: Index Nominum Genericorum. In: Regnum Vegetabile (see External links below).
  12. ^ "GRIN Species Records of Cephalanthus". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/splist.pl?2262. Retrieved 2010-09-17. 

External links