Astiella
Encyclopedia
Astiella is a monospecific
genus
of flowering plant
s in the Rubiaceae
family
. It was described by Jovet (1941) as a monospecific, herbaceous genus, endemic to Madagascar
. The only species
, Astiella delicatula, has several peculiar characters: it has only two calyx lobes, uni-ovulate locules, distinctly beaked fruits with a conspicuous boat-shape and pluri-aperturate pollen.
Monospecificity
In zoology, "monospecific" is an adjective describing a genus which contains only one known species. The term comes from the Greek prefix "μονο-" meaning "single" and Latin "species" meaning "kind" or "type". It is thus of hybrid origin....
genus
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 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 ,...
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...
. It was described by Jovet (1941) as a monospecific, herbaceous genus, endemic to Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
. The only species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
, Astiella delicatula, has several peculiar characters: it has only two calyx lobes, uni-ovulate locules, distinctly beaked fruits with a conspicuous boat-shape and pluri-aperturate pollen.