Thespesia
Encyclopedia
Thespesia is a genus
of 18 flowering
shrub
s and tree
s in the Hibiscus
family, Malvaceae
, although within the family they are more closely related to cotton plants (Gossypium
). The genus is distributed from the South Pacific
through Asia
, Africa
, and the Caribbean
.
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 18 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 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 Hibiscus
Hibiscus
Hibiscus is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is quite large, containing several hundred species that are native to warm-temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world...
family, Malvaceae
Malvaceae
Malvaceae, or the mallow family, is a family of flowering plants containing over 200 genera with close to 2,300 species. Judd & al. Well known members of this family include okra, jute and cacao...
, although within the family they are more closely related to cotton plants (Gossypium
Gossypium
Gossypium is the cotton genus. It belongs to the tribe Gossypieae, in the mallow family, Malvaceae, native to the tropical and subtropical regions from both the Old and New World. The genus Gossypium comprises around 50 species , making it the largest in species number in the tribe Gosssypioieae....
). The genus is distributed from the South Pacific
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
through Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, and the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
.
Selected species
- Thespesia beatensis (Urb.) Fryxell (Beata IslandBeata IslandBeata Island is a small island on the Caribbean Sea, located 7 km southwest from cape Beata, the southernmost point of the island Hispaniola. Some 12 km SW of it lies the smaller Alto Velo Island...
, Dominican RepublicDominican RepublicThe Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
) - Thespesia cubensis (Britton & P.Wilson) J.B.Hutch. (CubaCubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
) - Thespesia danis Oliv. (eastern Africa)
- Thespesia garckeanaThespesia garckeanaThespesia garckeana is a tree in the family Malvaceae, found throughout the warmer parts of Southern Africa in wooded grasslands, open woodland and thickets. It grows naturally over a range of altitudes from 1000 to 2000 m above sea level, from semi-arid areas to areas of higher rainfall. T...
F.Hoffm. (Southern AfricaAfricaAfrica is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
) - Thespesia grandifloraThespesia grandifloraFlor de Maga is the official national flower of Puerto Rico. The tree from which it originates, the Maga tree is widely distributed throughout the island...
DC. - Maga (Puerto RicoPuerto RicoPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
) - Thespesia lampas (Cav.) Dalzell
- Thespesiopsis mossambicensisThespesiopsis mossambicensisThespesia mossambicensis is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family, Malvaceae, that is endemic to Mozambique.-References:* Bandeira, S. 1998. . Downloaded on 23 August 2007....
Exell & Hillcoat (MozambiqueMozambiqueMozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
) - Thespesia populnea (L.) Sol.Daniel SolanderDaniel Carlsson Solander or Daniel Charles Solander was a Swedish naturalist and an apostle of Carl Linnaeus. Solander was the first university educated scientist to set foot on Australian soil.-Biography:...
ex Corrêa - Portia Tree (PantropicalPantropicalIn biogeography, a pantropical distribution one which covers tropical regions of all of the major continents, i.e. in Africa, in Asia and in the Americas. Examples include the plant genera Acacia and Bacopa....
) - Thespesia thespesioides (R.Br. ex Benth.) Fryxell
External links
- Thespesia populnea at Australian native hibiscus and hibiscus like species.