Gymnosiphon

Gymnosiphon
Gymnosiphon longistylus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
Order: Dioscoreales
Family: Burmanniaceae
Genus: Gymnosiphon
Blume
Synonyms[1]
  • Ptychomeria Benth.
  • Benitzia H.Karst.
  • Desmogymnosiphon Guinea

Gymnosiphon is a genus of monocotyledonous flowering plants from the yam order. As all of the other members of the family in which the plant is placed (Burmanniaceae) Gymnosiphon is entirely myco-heterotrophic genus that does not contain chlorophyll and respectively does not perform photosynthesis.[2]

Gymnosiphon is distributed across the moist, tropical regions of Asia, America and Africa.[1] The plant has very small size and thin stems. Leaves are rudimentary and with appearance like scales or bracts. Its flowers are white in color, pale and solitary or sometimes collected in tiny inflorescences of few depending on the species. They are also actinomorphic with three larger outer tepals and three more inner and smaller ones.[3]

Phylogenetically Gymnosiphon is placed in the clade of Burmanniaceae sensu stricto.

Species[1]
  1. Gymnosiphon affinis - New Guinea
  2. Gymnosiphon afro-orientalis - SC Africa
  3. Gymnosiphon aphyllus - Taiwan, SE Asia, New Guinea, Micronesia
  4. Gymnosiphon bekensis - C Africa
  5. Gymnosiphon brachycephalus - Panama, NW S America
  6. Gymnosiphon breviflorus - Costa Rica, Panama, N South America
  7. Gymnosiphon capitatus - Guyana, NW Brazil
  8. Gymnosiphon constrictus - Gabon
  9. Gymnosiphon cymosus - N South America
  10. Gymnosiphon danguyanus - Tanzania, Madagascar
  11. Gymnosiphon divaricatus - S Mexico, Trinidad, C + S America
  12. Gymnosiphon fimbriatus - N South America
  13. Gymnosiphon guianensis - Guyana, Suriname
  14. Gymnosiphon longistylus - C + W Africa
  15. Gymnosiphon marieae - Madagascar
  16. Gymnosiphon minahassae - Sulawesi
  17. Gymnosiphon minutus - Costa Rica, N South America
  18. Gymnosiphon neglectus - Java
  19. Gymnosiphon niveus - West Indies
  20. Gymnosiphon okamotoi - Palau in Micronesia
  21. Gymnosiphon oliganthus - NE Papua New Guinea
  22. Gymnosiphon panamensis - from Veracruz to Panama
  23. Gymnosiphon papuanus - New Guinea, Sulawesi, Palau
  24. Gymnosiphon pauciflorus - New Guinea
  25. Gymnosiphon recurvatus - Guyana
  26. Gymnosiphon samoritoureanus - Guinea, Liberia
  27. Gymnosiphon sphaerocarpus - Pernambuco, West Indies
  28. Gymnosiphon suaveolens - Mexico, C + S America
  29. Gymnosiphon tenellus - Jamaica, C America, NW S America
  30. Gymnosiphon usambaricus - Kenya, Tanzania

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. ↑ Govaerts, R., Wilkin, P. & Saunders, R.M.K. (2007). World Checklist of Dioscoreales. Yams and their allies: 1-65. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  3. ↑ "Gymnosiphon in Flora of China". Efloras.org. Retrieved 2012-07-13.