Cheilotheca

Cheilotheca
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Subfamily: Monotropoideae
Genus: Cheilotheca
Hook. f.

Cheilotheca is a small genus of myco-heterotrophic plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). As currently circumscribed the group includes three species.[1]

Etymology

The genus was named by Joseph Dalton Hooker in 1876.[2] The name is derived from the Greek word "cheilos", meaning a lip or an edge. The "theca" is a Latin term, meaning covering or sheath. Together they essentially mean "lipped sheath".

Taxonomy

Based on morphological analyses, Cheilotheca has been placed in the Ericaceae subfamily Monotropoideae.<ref name=Kron>Kron, K.A., Judd, W.S., Stevens, P.F., Crayn, D.M., Anderberg, A.A., Gadek, P.A., Quinn, C.J., Luteyn, J.L. 2002. Phylogenetic classification of Ericaceae: molecular and morphological evidence. Botanical Review 68: 335-423.</ref> The exact placement of Cheilotheca within the Monotropoideae is still unknown, but morphologically the genus most closely resembles Monotropa and Monotropastrum.

List of Species

  1. Cheilotheca khasiana Hook.f.
  2. Cheilotheca malayana Scort. ex Hook.f.
  3. Cheilotheca sleumerana H.Keng

References

  1. The Plant List. Cheilotheca. Searched November 2011. http://www.theplantlist.org/browse/A/Ericaceae/Cheilotheca/
  2. Bentham, G., Hooker, J.D. (1876) Genera Plantarum Vol. 2. Reeve & Co., London.

External links

Wikispecies has information related to: Cheilotheca