''Acleisanthes'' is a genus of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s in the ''

Bougainvillea ''Bougainvillea'' ( , ) is a genus of thorny ornamental vines, bushes, and trees belonging to the four o' clock family, Nyctaginaceae. It is native to eastern South America, found from Brazil, west to Peru, and south to southern Argentina. ...

'' family,

Nyctaginaceae Nyctaginaceae, the four o'clock family, is a family of around 33 genera and 290 species of flowering plants, widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions, with a few representatives in temperate regions. The family has a unique fruit t ...

. There are currently 16 species. The generic name is derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

words ακλειοτος (''akleistos''), meaning "not closed", and ανθος (''anthos''), meaning "flower". Plants of this genus are known commonly as trumpets due to the elongated, open-ended shape of their flowers. These are arid-adapted

perennials A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also widel ...

with thick

taproot A taproot is a large, central, and dominant root from which other roots sprout laterally. Typically a taproot is somewhat straight and very thick, is tapering in shape, and grows directly downward. In some plants, such as the carrot, the taproo ...

s which are usually compact and low to the ground or slightly ascending. An individual plant may have

cleistogamous Cleistogamy is a type of automatic self-pollination of certain plants that can propagate by using non-opening, self-pollinating flowers. Especially well known in peanuts, peas, and pansies, this behavior is most widespread in the grass family. How ...

(unopening and self-pollinating) flowers as well as opening flowers which are usually nocturnal as a water-saving adaptation and are pollinated by night-flying or

crepuscular In zoology, a crepuscular animal is one that is active primarily during the twilight period, being matutinal, vespertine, or both. This is distinguished from diurnal and nocturnal behavior, where an animal is active during the hours of daylig ...

insects such as

hawkmoths The Sphingidae are a family of moths ( Lepidoptera) called sphinx moths, also colloquially known as hawk moths, with many of their caterpillars known as “hornworms”; it includes about 1,450 species. It is best represented in the tropics, b ...

. Flowers are usually white, sometimes yellow. These plants are native to the Chihuahuan and

Sonoran Desert The Sonoran Desert ( es, Desierto de Sonora) is a desert in North America and ecoregion that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the southwestern United States (in Arizona ...

s of

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and the United States.

Taxonomy

In the year 2000 studies by Rachel A. Levin reclassified the members of two genera, ''Ammocodon'' and ''Selinocarpus'', into the genus ''Acleisanthes''.

Selected species

*'' Acleisanthes acutifolia''

Standl. Paul Carpenter Standley (March 21, 1884 – June 2, 1963) was an American botanist known for his work on neotropical plants. __TOC__ Standley was born on March 21, 1884 in Avalon, Missouri. He attended Drury College in Springfield, Missouri an ...

– needletip trumpets *'' Acleisanthes angustifolia'' *'' Acleisanthes anisophylla'' A.Gray – obliqueleaf trumpets *'' Acleisanthes chenopodioides'' *'' Acleisanthes crassifolia'' A.Gray – Texas trumpets *'' Acleisanthes diffusa'' *'' Acleisanthes longiflora'' A.Gray – angel trumpets, yerba de la rabia *'' Acleisanthes nevadensis'' (Standl.) B.L.Turner – desert moonpod *'' Acleisanthes obtusa'' ( Choisy) Standl. – Berlandier's trumpets *'' Acleisanthes parvifolia'' *'' Acleisanthes wrightii'' (A.Gray)

Benth. George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studie ...

Hook.f. Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (30 June 1817 – 10 December 1911) was a British botanist and explorer in the 19th century. He was a founder of geographical botany and Charles Darwin's closest friend. For twenty years he served as director of ...

ex Hemsl. – Wright's trumpets

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment - outdated
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2823369 Nyctaginaceae Caryophyllales genera