Schaefferia is a 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

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...

 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 and small 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 in the staff vine

Staff vine

The staff vines, also known as staff trees or bittersweet, genus Celastrus, comprise about 30 species of shrubs and vines. They have a wide distribution in East Asia, Australasia, Africa and the Americas....

 family, Celastraceae

Celastraceae

The Celastraceae , is a family of about 90-100 genera and 1,300 species of vines, shrubs and small trees, belonging to the order Celastrales...

. The generic name honours German mycologist and clergyman Jacob Christian Schäffer

Jacob Christian Schäffer

Jakob or Jacob Christian Gottlieb Schäffer or Schäffern was a German dean, professor, botanist, mycologist, entomologist, ornithologist and inventor.-Biography:...

 (1718–1790). Members of the genus are found in the Neotropics. The plants are dioecious

Dioecious

Dioecy is the property of a group of biological organisms that have males and females, but not members that have organs of both sexes at the same time. I.e., those whose individual members can usually produce only one type of gamete; each individual organism is thus distinctly female or male...

, with flower

Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...

s that are unisexual

Gonochorism

In biology, gonochorism or unisexualism describes sexually reproducing species in which individuals have just one of at least two distinct sexes. The term is most often used with animals . The sex of an individual may change during its lifetime, this can for example be found in parrotfish...

 by abortion

Abortion

Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...

. The flowers are usually clustered in the leaf axil, although they are solitary in some species. The calyx

Sepal

A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...

 of the flowers has four lobes, and the corolla consists of four petal

Petal

Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They often are brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. Together, all of the petals of a flower are called a corolla. Petals are usually accompanied by another set of special leaves called sepals lying...

s. The ovary

Ovary (plants)

In the flowering plants, an ovary is a part of the female reproductive organ of the flower or gynoecium. Specifically, it is the part of the pistil which holds the ovule and is located above or below or at the point of connection with the base of the petals and sepals...

 consists of two locules; each locule has a single ovule

Ovule

Ovule means "small egg". In seed plants, the ovule is the structure that gives rise to and contains the female reproductive cells. It consists of three parts: The integument forming its outer layer, the nucellus , and the megaspore-derived female gametophyte in its center...

 which develops into a single seed

Seed

A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...

. The fruit

Fruit

In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...

 is a drupe

Drupe

In botany, a drupe is a fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a shell of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. These fruits develop from a single carpel, and mostly from flowers with superior ovaries...

.

Species

Acevedo-Rodríguez reports 16 species in the genus. Missouri Botanical Garden

Missouri Botanical Garden

The Missouri Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located in St. Louis, Missouri. It is also known informally as Shaw's Garden for founder Henry Shaw, a botanist and philanthropist.-History:...

's TROPICOS database lists the following species:

Schaefferia albiflora Sessé Martín Sessé y Lacasta Martín Sessé y Lacasta was a Spanish botanist, who relocated to New Spain during the 18th century to study and classify the flora of the territory.-Background:...  & Moc. José Mariano Mociño José Mariano Mociño Suárez Lozano , or simply José Mariano Mociño, was a naturalist from New Spain.After having studied philosophy and medicine, he conducted early research on the ecology , geology, and anthropology of his country and other parts of North America.- Biography :He was born in... Schaefferia angustifolia Urb. Ignatz Urban Ignatz Urban was a German botanist. He is known for his contributions to the flora of the Caribbean and Brazil, and for his work as curator of the Berlin Botanical Garden. Born the son of a brewer, Urban showed an interest in botany as an undergraduate...  & Ekman Erik Leonard Ekman Erik Leonard Ekman was a Swedish botanist and explorer .- Biography :Erik Leonard Ekman was born into a low-income household with five children on October 14, 1883. Due to economic difficulties, the family moved to the central-Swedish town of Jönköping when he was eleven... Schaefferia argentinensis Speg. Schaefferia cuneifolia A.Gray Asa Gray -References:*Asa Gray. Dictionary of American Biography. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928–1936.*Asa Gray. Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed. 17 Vols. Gale Research, 1998.*Asa Gray. Plant Sciences. 4 vols. Macmillan Reference USA, 2001.... – Desert Yaupon Schaefferia elliptica Lundell Schaefferia ephedroides Urb. Schaefferia frutescens Schaefferia frutescens Schaefferia frutescens is a species of flowering plant in the staff vine family, Celastraceae, that is native to tropical regions of the Americas, from southern Florida in the United States, south through the Caribbean to Central America and northwestern South America , and also Veracruz in Mexico... Jacq. Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin Nikolaus Joseph Freiherr von Jacquin or Baron Nikolaus von Jacquin. was a scientist who studied medicine, chemistry and botany.... – Florida Boxwood Schaefferia lanceifolia Lundell

Schaefferia lottiae Lundell Schaefferia oaxacana Standl. Paul Carpenter Standley Paul Carpenter Standley was an American botanist.Standley was born in Avalon, Missouri... Schaefferia ovatifolia Lundell Schaefferia pilosa Standl. Schaefferia serrata Loes. Ludwig Eduard Theodor Loesener Ludwig Eduard Theodor Loesener was a German botanist.Collection of specimens in Europe: Amrum Islands , Alps, Black Forest, Bavaria, Tyrol, Rugen. Herbarium 14 Aquifoliaceae & cult. Ilex spp.-Abbreviation:... Schaefferia shrevei Lundell Schaefferia stenophylla Standl. Schaefferia viridescens DC.

Formerly placed here

• Drypetes lateriflora (Sw.) Krug & Urb. (as S. lateriflora Sw.)