''Afrocanthium'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

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

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Rubiaceae The Rubiaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the coffee, madder, or bedstraw family. It consists of terrestrial trees, shrubs, lianas, or herbs that are recognizable by simple, opposite leaves with interpetiolar stipules ...

. It consists of

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

, unarmed

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s, and

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

s. They are

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

, from

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

and

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Taxonomy

''Afrocanthium'' was first recognized as a distinct group in 1991, when it was named as a

subgenus In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...

of ''

Canthium ''Canthium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. They are shrubs and small trees. The leaves are deciduous and the stems are usually thorny. Distribution ''Canthium'' species are predominantly found in Southeast Asia, espec ...

''. It was described and compared to the other subgenera in 1992. In 2004, a

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

study of

DNA sequence DNA sequencing is the process of determining the nucleic acid sequence – the order of nucleotides in DNA. It includes any method or technology that is used to determine the order of the four bases: adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine. Th ...

s showed that ''Afrocanthium'' is

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

and not most closely

related ''Related'' is an American comedy-drama television series that aired on The WB from October 5, 2005, to March 20, 2006. It revolves around the lives of four close-knit sisters of Italian descent, raised in Brooklyn and living in Manhattan. The ...

to the other subgenera of ''Canthium''. The authors of this study raised ''Afrocanthium'', unaltered, to

generic Generic or generics may refer to: In business * Generic term, a common name used for a range or class of similar things not protected by trademark * Generic brand, a brand for a product that does not have an associated brand or trademark, other ...

status Status (Latin plural: ''statūs''), is a state, condition, or situation, and may refer to: * Status (law) ** City status ** Legal status, in law ** Political status, in international law ** Small entity status, in patent law ** Status conference ...

. It is

sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...

to ''

Keetia ''Keetia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It consists of climbers or scrambling shrubs, rarely small trees. Distribution The genus has a wide distribution area and occurs in tropical and southern Africa. Taxonomy It was ...

'', a genus that was segregated from ''Canthium'' in 1986.

Species

* '' Afrocanthium burttii'' (

Bullock Bullock may refer to: Animals * Bullock (in British English), a castrated male bovine animal of any age * Bullock (in North America), a young bull (an uncastrated male bovine animal) * Bullock (in Australia, India and New Zealand), an ox, an adu ...

) Lantz * ''

Afrocanthium gilfillanii ''Afrocanthium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the Family (biology), family Rubiaceae. It consists of deciduous, Thorns, spines, and prickles, unarmed trees, and shrubs. They are Indigenous (ecology), native to East Africa, from Sudan and Eth ...

'' (

N.E.Br. Nicholas Edward Brown (11 July 1849 in Redhill, Surrey – 25 November 1934 in Kew Gardens, London) was an English plant taxonomist and authority on succulents. He was also an authority on several families of plants, including Asclepiadacea ...

) Lantz * '' Afrocanthium keniense'' (

) Lantz * '' Afrocanthium kilifiense'' ( Bridson) Lantz * ''

Afrocanthium lactescens ''Afrocanthium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It consists of deciduous, unarmed trees, and shrubs. They are native to East Africa, from Sudan and Ethiopia to South Africa. Taxonomy ''Afrocanthium'' was first recognize ...

'' ( Hiern) Lantz * ''

Afrocanthium mundianum ''Afrocanthium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It consists of deciduous, unarmed trees, and shrubs. They are native to East Africa, from Sudan and Ethiopia to South Africa. Taxonomy ''Afrocanthium'' was first recogn ...

'' (

Cham. Adelbert von Chamisso (; 30 January 178121 August 1838) was a Germans, German poet and botanist, author of ''Peter Schlemihl'', a famous story about a man who sold his shadow. He was commonly known in French as Adelbert de Chamisso (or Chamissot ...

Schltdl. Diederich Franz Leonhard von Schlechtendal (27 November 1794, Xanten – 12 October 1866, Halle an der Saale, Halle) was a German botanist. He studied in Berlin, in 1819 becoming curator of the Botanical Garden in Berlin, Royal Herbarium. He was ...

) Lantz * '' Afrocanthium ngonii'' ( Bridson) Lantz * ''

Afrocanthium parasiebenlistii ''Afrocanthium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It consists of deciduous, unarmed trees, and shrubs. They are native to East Africa, from Sudan and Ethiopia to South Africa. Taxonomy ''Afrocanthium'' was first recogn ...

'' ( Bridson) Lantz * '' Afrocanthium peteri'' ( Bridson) Lantz * ''

Afrocanthium pseudorandii ''Afrocanthium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It consists of deciduous, unarmed trees, and shrubs. They are native to East Africa, from Sudan and Ethiopia to South Africa. Taxonomy ''Afrocanthium'' was first recognize ...

'' ( Bridson) Lantz * ''

Afrocanthium pseudoverticillatum ''Afrocanthium pseudoverticillatum'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is found from Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozam ...

'' (

S.Moore Spencer Le Marchant Moore (1 November 1850 – 14 March 1931) was an English botanist. Biography Moore was born in Hampstead. He worked at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, from about 1870 to 1879, wrote a number of botanical papers, and then work ...

) Lantz * ''

Afrocanthium racemulosum ''Afrocanthium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the Family (biology), family Rubiaceae. It consists of deciduous, Thorns, spines, and prickles, unarmed trees, and shrubs. They are Indigenous (ecology), native to East Africa, from Sudan and Eth ...

'' (

) Lantz * '' Afrocanthium rondoense'' ( Bridson) Lantz * '' Afrocanthium salubenii'' ( Bridson) Lantz * ''

Afrocanthium shabanii ''Afrocanthium shabanii'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is endemic to Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa w ...

'' ( Bridson) Lantz * '' Afrocanthium siebenlistii'' ( K.Krause) Lantz * ''

Afrocanthium vollesenii ''Afrocanthium vollesenii'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is endemic to Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Afric ...

'' ( Bridson) Lantz

References

External links

''Afrocanthium'' in the World Checklist of Rubiaceae
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4690237 Rubiaceae genera Vanguerieae Taxa named by Birgitta Bremer Taxa named by Diane Mary Bridson