Clethra

Clethra
Clethra arborea flowers
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Clethraceae
Genus: Clethra
L.
Type species
Clethra alnifolia
Synonyms[1]
Clethra alnifolia 'Ruby spice'

Clethra is a genus of flowering shrubs or small trees described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753.[5][6]

Clethra is one of two genera in the family Clethraceae (the other being Purdiaea). The species may be evergreen or deciduous, and all bear flowers in clusters (inflorescences).

Distribution

Clethra species are native to a variety of habitats, including swamps, woodland, and rocky sites[7] from temperate to tropical climates in eastern and southeastern Asia, Malesia, North and South America, and one species (C. arborea) on the island of Madeira.[1]

Species

The number of species accepted varies between different authorities depending on taxonomic interpretation, but with a recent trend to reduce the number recognised as distinct. The recent Flora of China[8] has cut the number accepted for China from 35 to 7 species, and the US Department of Agriculture[9] recognises only two in the United States, synonymising C. tomentosa with C. alnifolia. The following accepted by Kew Botanical Garden in London:[1]

  1. Clethra acuminata – mountain pepper bush; S Appalachians (AL to PA)
  2. Clethra alcoceri - Hidalgo, Jalisco
  3. Clethra alexandri - Jamaica
  4. Clethra alnifolia – sweet pepper bush; S + E USA (TX to ME)
  5. Clethra arborea – lily of the valley tree; Madeira, Canary islands†, Azores
  6. Clethra arfakana - New Guinea
  7. Clethra barbinervis – Japanese sweet shrub; SE China, Korea, Japan
  8. Clethra bodinieri – S China
  9. Clethra canescens - Philippines, E + C Indonesia, New Guinea
  10. Clethra castaneifolia - Peru
  11. Clethra chiapensis - Chiapas
  12. Clethra consimilis - Panama, Costa Rica
  13. Clethra conzattiana - Oaxaca
  14. Clethra crispaEcuador
  15. Clethra cubensis - Cuba
  16. Clethra cuneata - Peru, Bolivia
  17. Clethra delavayi – SW China, Assam, Myanmar, Bhutan and Vietnam
  18. Clethra elongata - Peru, Bolivia
  19. Clethra fabri – S China, Vietnam
  20. Clethra fagifolia - Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela
  21. Clethra fargesii – C China
  22. Clethra ferruginea - Peru
  23. Clethra fimbriata – Peru, Ecuador, Colombia
  24. Clethra formosa - Costa Rica
  25. Clethra fragrans - Jalisco, Michoacán, Guerrero
  26. Clethra galeottiana - Puebla, Oaxaca, Chiapas
  27. Clethra gelida - Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras
  28. Clethra guyanensis - Guyana, Venezuela
  29. Clethra hartwegii - C + S Mexico
  30. Clethra hendersonii - Peninsular Malaysia
  31. Clethra hirsutovillosa - Guerrero
  32. Clethra hondurensis - Tabasco to Costa Rica
  33. Clethra javanica - Java, Bali, Lombok, Timor
  34. Clethra kaipoensis – SE China
  35. Clethra kebarensis - New Guinea
  36. Clethra licanioides – Guatemala, Honduras
  37. Clethra longispicata J.J.Sm.Borneo, Philippines, Sulawesi, Maluku
  38. Clethra luzmariae - Oaxaca
  39. Clethra macrophylla - Veracruz, Puebla
  40. Clethra mexicana – C + S Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad
  41. Clethra oaxacana - Oaxaca
  42. Clethra obovata – Ecuador, Peru
  43. Clethra occidentalis - Jamaica
  44. Clethra oleoides - C + S Mexico, Central America
  45. Clethra ovalifolia – Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru
  46. Clethra pachecoana - Chiapas to Honduras
  47. Clethra pachyphylla – Borneo
  48. Clethra papuana - New Guinea
  49. Clethra paralelinervia – Ecuador
  50. Clethra × parvifolia - Chiapas
  51. Clethra pedicellaris - Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
  52. Clethra peruviana - Ecuador, Peru
  53. Clethra petelotiiVietnam, Yunnan
  54. Clethra poilanei - Laos
  55. Clethra pringlei - Mexican Summersweet; Mexico
  56. Clethra pulgarensis - Palawan
  57. Clethra purpusii - Oaxaca, Chiapas
  58. Clethra pyrogena - Panama, Costa Rica
  59. Clethra repanda – Colombia, Venezuela
  60. Clethra retivenia - Peru
  61. Clethra revoluta – Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru
  62. Clethra rosei - Mexico
  63. Clethra rugosa – Colombia, Ecuador
  64. Clethra scabra – Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, NW Argentina
  65. Clethra skutchii - Guatemala
  66. Clethra sleumeriana - Hunan
  67. Clethra suaveolens - S Mexico, Central America
  68. Clethra sumatrana - Sumatra
  69. Clethra sumbawaensis - Lesser Sunda Islands
  70. Clethra symingtonii - Perak
  71. Clethra talamancana - Costa Rica
  72. Clethra tomentella - Philippines
  73. Clethra tutensis - Panama
  74. Clethra tuxtlensis - Veracruz
  75. Clethra uleana - S Brazil
  76. Clethra vicentina - S Mexico, Central America

References

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