Cuviera

Cuviera
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Rubiaceae
Subfamily: Ixoroideae
Tribe: Vanguerieae
Genus: Cuviera
DC. 1807, conserved name, not Koeler 1802
Type species
Cuviera acutiflora
DC.

Cuviera is a genus of flowering plants in the Rubiaceae family native to tropical Africa. It was originally described by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle in 1807 and is named after the French naturalist Georges Cuvier.[1]

Description

The species form a homogeneous group that is well characterized by their striped petals, many-flowered inflorescences and usually ant holes in the twigs. The bracts are recaulescent, which means that the first node of the inflorescence is bare and the lowest bracts are inserted at the second node.[2]

Distribution and Habitat

The genus is found in the Guineo-Congolian rainforest zone. The centre of diversity is the Lower Guinean forests; two species occur in the Upper Guinean forests, and only C. angolensis extends into the Congolian forests.[2]

Most species are relatively light demanding, favouring secondary or riverine forest, but some are found in the understory as well. They often grow in clusters.

Taxonomy

At one time, the genus Globulostylis was considered as a subgenus of Cuviera,[3] but it has been re-established as an accepted genus.[2]

Species

Accepted species according to the latest revision.[2]

formerly included

The following species are excluded from Cuviera based on morphological and molecular data, some of which have not yet been formally transferred to other genera.[2]

References

  1. de Candolle AP (1807). "Mémoire sur le Cuviera". Annales du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle 9: 216–222.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Verstraete B, Lachenaud O, Smets E, Dessein S, Sonké B (2013). "Taxonomy and phylogeny of Cuviera (Rubiaceae-Vanguerieae) and reinstatement of the genus Globulostylis with the description of three new species". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 173 (3): 407–441. doi:10.1111/boj.12062.
  3. Verdcourt B (1987). "Notes on African Rubiaceae-Vanguerieae". Kew Bulletin 42: 123–199. doi:10.2307/4109900.

External links

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