Stachyurus

Stachyurus
Stachyurus praecox flowers.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Crossosomatales
Family:	Stachyuraceae J.Agardh
Genus:	Stachyurus Siebold & Zucc.
Species
See text

Stachyurus is the only genus in the flowering plant family Stachyuraceae, native to the Himalayas and eastern Asia. They are deciduous shrubs or small trees with pendent racemes of 4-petalled flowers which appear on the bare branches before the leaves.^[1] The plants have leaves with serrate margins.

Pendunculagin, casuarictin, strictinin, casuarinin and casuariin are ellagitannins found in the species within the genus.^[2]

Stachyurus praecox, from Japan, is a spreading shrub growing to 4 m (13 ft) tall by 3 m (10 ft) wide. Pendent, bell-shaped, primrose yellow flowers are borne in winter and spring. The Latin specific epithet praecox means "early", referring to the exceptionally early flowering season. This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.^[3]

S. chinensis

S. chinensis, from China, is also found in cultivation.

Species list

S. chinensis S. cordatulus       S. himalaicus S. obovatus

S. praecox S. retusus S. salicifolius S. yunnanensis

References

1. RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN 1405332964.
2. Tannins of Casuarina and Stachyurus species. I: Structures of pendunculagin, casuarictin, strictinin, casuarinin, casuariin, and stachyurin. Okuda T., Yoshida T., Ashida M. and Yazaki K., Journal of the Chemical Society, 1983, no8, pp. 1765-1772
3. "RHS Plant Selector - Stachyurus praecox". Retrieved 4 July 2013.

External links

• Stachyuraceae in Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards).