Blepharidium
Encyclopedia
Blepharidium is a genus
of flowering plant
s in the family
Rubiaceae
. It is endemic to Central America
. Some authors recognize only one species
in Blepharidium, but others recognize two. The type species
for the genus is Blepharidium guatemalense.
Blepharidium was named
by Paul Standley
in i918 in Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences. The name
is derived
from the Ancient Greek
words blepharitis or blepharidos, meaning "on an eyelid". The similar term, blepharis means "an eyelash".
A cladistic analysis of morphological
characters found Blepharidium to be closely related
to Cosmibuena, Balmea
, and Hillia
, but a molecular phylogenetic studiy
placed it closer to Rondeletia
.
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 is endemic to Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
. Some authors recognize only one species
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....
in Blepharidium, but others recognize two. The type species
Type species
In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...
for the genus is Blepharidium guatemalense.
Blepharidium 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...
by Paul Standley
Paul Carpenter Standley
Paul Carpenter Standley was an American botanist.Standley was born in Avalon, Missouri...
in i918 in Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences. The name
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...
is derived
Etymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
from the Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
words blepharitis or blepharidos, meaning "on an eyelid". The similar term, blepharis means "an eyelash".
A cladistic analysis of morphological
Plant morphology
Plant morphology or phytomorphology is the study of the physical form and external structure of plants. This is usually considered distinct from plant anatomy, which is the study of the internal structure of plants, especially at the microscopic level...
characters found Blepharidium to be 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 Cosmibuena, Balmea
Balmea
Balmea is a monospecific genus of flowering plants in the Rubiaceae family. The genus contains only one species, i.e. Balmea stormae, which is found in El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico. It is locally known as ayuque. The plant is picked for its scarlet flowers, and the whole plant is sold on...
, and Hillia
Hillia
Hillia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It has 24 species. All are indigenous to tropical America.Most of the species are slightly succulent epiphytes or small trees. A few are subshrubs or lianas. Hillia rivalis is a rheophyte. The tissues of all the species contain...
, but a molecular phylogenetic studiy
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
placed it closer to Rondeletia
Rondeletia
Rondeletia is a genus name. It can refer to:* Rondeletia, the redmouth whalefishs* Rondeletia , flowering plants in the madder family...
.
External links
- Blepharidium At: Search Page At: World Checklist of Rubiaceae At: Index by Team At: Projects At: Science Directory At: Scientific Research and Data At: Kew Gardens
- Blepharidium At:Index Nominum Genericorum At: References At: NMNH Department of Botany At: Research and Collections At: Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
- http://www.ipni.org/ipni/advPlantNameSearch.do?find_family=&find_genus=Blepharidium+&find_species=&find_infrafamily=&find_infragenus=&find_infraspecies=&find_authorAbbrev=&find_includePublicationAuthors=on&find_includePublicationAuthors=off&find_includeBasionymAuthors=on&find_includeBasionymAuthors=off&find_publicationTitle=&find_isAPNIRecord=on&find_isAPNIRecord=false&find_isGCIRecord=on&find_isGCIRecord=false&find_isIKRecord=on&find_isIKRecord=false&find_rankToReturn=all&output_format=normal&find_sortByFamily=on&find_sortByFamily=off&query_type=by_query&back_page=plantsearchBlepharidium] At: Plant Names At: IPNI
- Blepharidium In: volume 8 Of: Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences At: Titles At: Biodiversity Heritage Library
- CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names: A-C At: Botany & Plant Science At: Life Science At: CRC Press