Geissoloma

Geissoloma marginatum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Crossosomatales
Family:	Geissolomataceae A.DC.[1]
Genus:	Geissoloma Lindl. ex Kunth
Species:	G. marginatum
Binomial name
Geissoloma marginatum (L.) Juss.

Geissoloma is a genus of flowering plants in the monotypic family Geissolomataceae, native to the Cape Province of South Africa.^[2] The plants are xerophytic evergreen shrubs and are known to accumulate aluminum.

Description

Geissoloma marginatum is a low evergreen shrub of ½-1¼ m high, covered in overlapping large, leathery, simple, scale-like, opposite leaves in four rows along the stems. It has very small stipules on the petioles. Flowers are bisexual, subtended by bracts, and have four red to pinkish petaloid sepals, four petals partially united, 8 sepals, and 4 carpels. Fruit is a capsule with four seeds.^[3]

Geissoloma marginatum is the only species in the family.^[4]

Phylogeny

Recent phylogenetic analysis resulted in the following tree.^[5]

	Geissoloma family Strasburgeriaceae Ixerba Strasburgeria

References

1. Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2009). "An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III" (PDF). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 161 (2): 105–121. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00996.x. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
2. Andrew Millington; Mark Blumler; Udo Schickhoff (2011-09-22). The SAGE Handbook of Biogeography. SAGE Publications. pp. 143–. ISBN 978-1-4462-5445-5. Retrieved 2013-08-07. The Cape Floristic Region in South Africa is comparatively rich in endemic flowering-plant families. Five families of angiosperms (Penaeaceae, Roridulaceae, Geissolomataceae, Grubbiaceae, and Lanariaceae) are endemic to that region ...
3. Forest, F. (2007), "Geissolomataceae", in Klaus Kubitski, Flowering Plants·Eudicots·Berberidopsiales, Buxiales, Cossosomatales, Fabiales p.p., Geraniales, Gunnerales, Myrtales p.p., Proteales, Saxifragales, Vitales, Zygophyllalaes, Clusiaceae Alliance, Passifloraceae Alliance, Dilleniaceae, Huaceae, Picraminiaceae, Sabiaceae, The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants 9, ISBN 3540322191
4. Clemens Bayer; P. F. Stevens (2007-04-24). Flowering Plants. Eudicots: Berberidopsidales, Buxales, Crossosomatales, Fabales p.p., Geraniales, Gunnerales, Myrtales p.p., Proteales, Saxifragales, Vitales, Zygophyllales, Clusiaceae Alliance, Passifloraceae Alliance, Dilleniaceae, Huaceae, Picramniaceae, Sabiaceae. Springer. pp. 155–. ISBN 978-3-540-32219-1. Retrieved 2013-08-07. Geissolomataceae Endl., Ench. Bot. ... A single genus and species, Geissoloma marginatum (L.) A. Juss., restricted to the southern Langeberg mountains in the Cape of South Africa from the Swellendam to Riversdale divisions, on moist ...
5. Oh, S.H. (2010). "Phylogeny and systematics of Crossosomatales as inferred from chloroplast atpB, matK, and rbcL sequences". Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy 40 (4): 208–217.