Cephalanthus

Cephalanthus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. There are about six species that are commonly known as buttonbush.[1][2]

Cephalanthus
Cephalanthus occidentalis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Rubiaceae
Subfamily: Cinchonoideae
Tribe: Naucleeae
Genus: Cephalanthus
L.
Type species
Cephalanthus occidentalis
Synonyms

Description

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.

Distribution and habitat

Cephalanthus occidentalis is native to the eastern United States and Canada. The others occur in tropical regions of the Americas, Africa and Asia.[3] Two species are known in cultivation.[4]

Systematics

Cephalanthus was named by Linnaeus in Species Plantarum in 1753.[5] The generic name is derived from the Ancient Greek words κέφαλη (kephale), meaning "head", and ἄνθος (anthos), meaning "flower".[6]

Taxonomy

Cephalanthus is the most basal genus in the tribe Naucleeae.[7] Some authors have segregated it into its own monotypic tribe.[8] The type species is Cephalanthus occidentalis.[9]

Species

Fossil record

16 fossil mericarps of †Chephalanthus pusillus have been described from middle Miocene strata of the Fasterholt area near Silkeborg in Central Jutland, Denmark.[10]

References
  1. The Plant List, Cephalanthus
  2. Flora of China, Cephalanthus
  3. Mabberley DJ (2008). Mabberley's Plant Book (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-82071-4.
  4. Huxley AJ et al. (eds.) The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. The Macmillan Press Limited, London; The Stockton Press, New York. 1992. ISBN 978-0-333-47494-5
  5. Linnaeus, C. Cephalanthus. Species Plantarum. 1753. 1: 95
  6. Quattrocchi, U. (2000). CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names. 1. Boca Raton, New York, Washington DC, London: CRC Press. p. 476. ISBN 978-0-8493-2675-2.
  7. Manns, U. and B. 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
  8. Ridsdale CE (1976). "A revision of the tribe Cephalantheae (Rubiaceae)". Blumea. 23 (1): 177–88.
  9. Cephalanthus. Index Nominum Genericorum. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
  10. Angiosperm Fruits and Seeds from the Middle Miocene of Jutland (Denmark) by Else Marie Friis, The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters 24:3, 1985
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