Afrocanthium
Encyclopedia
Afrocanthium is a genus
of flowering plant
s in the family
Rubiaceae
. It consists of deciduous
, unarmed
, tree
s, and shrub
s. They are native
to East Africa
, from Sudan
and Ethiopia
to South Africa
.
in 1991, when it was named
as a subgenus
of Canthium
. It was described and compared to the other subgenera in 1992. In 2004, a molecular phylogenetic study of DNA sequence
s showed that Afrocanthium is monophyletic and not most closely related
to the other subgenera of Canthium. The authors of this study raised Afrocanthium, unaltered, to generic
status
. It is sister to Keetia
, a genus that was segregated
from Canthium in 1986.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
s in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Rubiaceae
Rubiaceae
The Rubiaceae is a family of flowering plants, variously called the coffee family, madder family, or bedstraw family. The group contains many commonly known plants, including the economically important coffee , quinine , and gambier , and the horticulturally valuable madder , west indian jasmine ,...
. It consists of deciduous
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
, unarmed
Thorns, spines, and prickles
In botanical morphology, thorns, spines, and prickles are hard structures with sharp, or at least pointed, ends. In spite of this common feature, they differ in their growth and development on the plant; they are modified versions of different plant organs, stems, stipules, leaf veins, or hairs...
, tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s, and shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s. They are native
Indigenous (ecology)
In biogeography, a species is defined as native to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention. Every natural organism has its own natural range of distribution in which it is regarded as native...
to East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
, from Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
and Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
Taxonomy
Afrocanthium was first recognized as a distinct groupTaxon
|thumb|270px|[[African elephants]] form a widely-accepted taxon, the [[genus]] LoxodontaA taxon is a group of organisms, which a taxonomist adjudges to be a unit. Usually a taxon is given a name and a rank, although neither is a requirement...
in 1991, when it was named
Botanical name
A botanical name is a formal scientific name conforming to the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature and, if it concerns a plant cultigen, the additional cultivar and/or Group epithets must conform to the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants...
as a subgenus
Subgenus
In biology, a subgenus is a taxonomic rank directly below genus.In zoology, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between the generic name and the specific epithet: e.g. the Tiger Cowry of the Indo-Pacific, Cypraea tigris Linnaeus, which...
of Canthium
Canthium
Canthium is a genus of flowering plants in the Rubiaceae family. They are shrubs and small trees. The leaves are deciduous and the stems are usually thorny.-Distribution:They are native to India, Sri Lanka, and tropical East Africa.-Taxonomy:...
. It was described and compared to the other subgenera in 1992. In 2004, a molecular phylogenetic study of DNA sequence
DNA sequence
The sequence or primary structure of a nucleic acid is the composition of atoms that make up the nucleic acid and the chemical bonds that bond those atoms. Because nucleic acids, such as DNA and RNA, are unbranched polymers, this specification is equivalent to specifying the sequence of...
s showed that Afrocanthium is monophyletic and not most closely related
Phylogenetic tree
A phylogenetic tree or evolutionary tree is a branching diagram or "tree" showing the inferred evolutionary relationships among various biological species or other entities based upon similarities and differences in their physical and/or genetic characteristics...
to the other subgenera of Canthium. The authors of this study raised Afrocanthium, unaltered, to generic
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
status
Taxonomic rank
In biological classification, rank is the level in a taxonomic hierarchy. Examples of taxonomic ranks are species, genus, family, and class. Each rank subsumes under it a number of less general categories...
. It is sister to Keetia
Keetia
Keetia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It consists of climbers or scrambling shrubs, rarely small trees.-Taxonomy:...
, a genus that was segregated
Segregate (taxonomy)
In taxonomy, a segregate, or a segregate taxon is created when a taxon is split off, from another taxon. This other taxon will be better known, usually bigger, and will continue to exist, even after the segregate taxon has been split off...
from Canthium in 1986.
Species
- Afrocanthium burttii (Bullock) Lantz
- Afrocanthium gilfillanii (N.E.Br.) Lantz
- Afrocanthium keniense (Bullock) Lantz
- Afrocanthium kilifiense (Bridson) Lantz
- Afrocanthium lactescens (HiernWilliam Philip HiernWilliam Philip Hiern was a British mathematician and botanist.Hiern attended St. John's College, Cambridge, from 1857 to 1861 and attained a "first class degree" in mathematics...
) Lantz - Afrocanthium mundianum (Cham.Adelbert von ChamissoAdelbert von Chamisso was a German poet and botanist.- Life :He was born Louis Charles Adélaïde de Chamissot at the château of Boncourt at Ante, in Champagne, France, the ancestral seat of his family...
& Schltdl.Diederich Franz Leonhard von SchlechtendalDiederich von Schlechtendal was a German botanist born in Xanten. He was Professor of Botany and Director of the Botanical Gardens at the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg from 1833 until his death in 1866, and Editor of the botanical journal Linnaea.His most important work was in...
) Lantz - Afrocanthium ngonii (Bridson) Lantz
- Afrocanthium parasiebenlistii (Bridson) Lantz
- Afrocanthium peteri (Bridson) Lantz
- Afrocanthium pseudorandii (Bridson) Lantz
- Afrocanthium pseudoverticillatum (S.MooreSpencer Le Marchant MooreSpencer Le Marchant Moore was an English botanist.Moore was born in Hampstead. He worked at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew from about 1870 to 1879, wrote a number of botanical papers, and then worked in an unofficial capacity at the Natural History Museum from 1896 until his death.Moore is...
) Lantz - Afrocanthium racemulosum (S.MooreSpencer Le Marchant MooreSpencer Le Marchant Moore was an English botanist.Moore was born in Hampstead. He worked at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew from about 1870 to 1879, wrote a number of botanical papers, and then worked in an unofficial capacity at the Natural History Museum from 1896 until his death.Moore is...
) Lantz - Afrocanthium rondoense (Bridson) Lantz
- Afrocanthium salubenii (Bridson) Lantz
- Afrocanthium shabanii (Bridson) Lantz
- Afrocanthium siebenlistii (K.Krause) Lantz
- Afrocanthium vollesenii (Bridson) Lantz