''Atractocarpus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

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 group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

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 a ...

. Its members are commonly known as native gardenias in Australia. The genus name is derived from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

terms ''atractos'' "spindle", and ''karpos'' "fruit", from the spindle-shaped fruit of the type species.

Taxonomy

Defined by botanists

Rudolf Schlechter Friedrich Richard Rudolf Schlechter (16 October 1872 – 16 November 1925) was a German taxonomist, botanist, and author of several works on orchids. He went on botanical expeditions in Africa, Indonesia, New Guinea, South and Central America and ...

and

Kurt Krause Kurt Krause (April 20, 1883 in Potsdam – November 19, 1963 in Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the Europ ...

in 1908, the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...

is ''Atractocarpus bracteatus'', which is found only on New Caledonia.Schlechter, Friedrich Richard Rudolf & Krause, Kurt. 1908. Botanische Jahrbücher für Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie 40 Beibl. 92: 43. Subsequently, several other species were described from New Caledonia. Meanwhile, the genera '' Randia'' and '' Gardenia'' had been used as wastebasket taxa, where many species that had been difficult to place had been placed by default. Several Australian species of the genus ''Randia'' were found to be not closely related to

Neotropical The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bioge ...

species and were transferred in a review of the genera by Australian botanist Christopher Puttock in 1999; these include several garden plant species such as '' A. benthamianus'', '' A. chartaceus'', and '' A. fitzalanii''. Puttock also proposed that the genera ''Sukunia'', ''Trukia'', ''Neofranciella'', and ''Sulitia'' (the last two consisting of once species each) be sunk into ''Atractocarpus''. The resulting genus now contains around forty species, with seven found in Australia, and others in the

Federated States of Micronesia The Federated States of Micronesia (; abbreviated FSM) is an island country in Oceania. It consists of four states from west to east, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosraethat are spread across the western Pacific. Together, the states comprise a ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

, the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

, New Caledonia, Fiji,

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

, and east to

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austra ...

. All species are found in a type of lowland rainforest known as mesophyll vine forests, as well as swamp forests and vine thickets.

Species

* '' Atractocarpus aragoensis''

Guillaumin Guillaumin is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Armand Guillaumin (1842–1927), French impressionist painter and lithographer *André Guillaumin (1885–1974), French botanist *Colette Guillaumin Colette Guillaumin (28 ...

* '' Atractocarpus benthamianus'' (

F.Muell. Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vic ...

) Puttock * '' Atractocarpus bracteatus'' Schltr. & K.Krause * '' Atractocarpus carolinensis'' ( Valeton) Puttock * '' Atractocarpus chartaceus'' (

) Puttock - narrow-leaved gardenia or thin-leaved gardenia * '' Atractocarpus crosbyi'' (Burkill) Puttock * '' Atractocarpus cucumicarpus''

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 ...

* '' Atractocarpus decorus'' ( Valeton) Puttock * '' Atractocarpus fitzalanii'' (

) Puttock - brown gardenia or yellow mangosteen * '' Atractocarpus heterophyllus'' ( Montrouz.)

& Beavis. * '' Atractocarpus hirtus'' (

) Puttock * '' Atractocarpus longipes'' (

A.C.Sm. Albert Charles Smith (April 5, 1906 – May 23, 1999) was an American botany, botanist who served as director of the National Museum of Natural History and Arnold Arboretum and was the former president of the American Society of Plant Taxonomists. ...

) Puttock * '' Atractocarpus longistipitatus''

* '' Atractocarpus macarthurii'' (

) Puttock * '' Atractocarpus merikin'' (

F.M.Bailey Frederick Manson Bailey (8 March 1827 – 25 June 1915) was a botanist active in Australia, who made valuable contributions to the characterisation of the flora of Queensland. He was known by his middle name, Manson. Early life Bailey was b ...

) Puttock * '' Atractocarpus oblongus''

* '' Atractocarpus obscurinervius'' ( Merr.) Puttock * '' Atractocarpus pentagonioides'' (

Seem. Berthold Carl Seemann (25 February 1825, in Hanover, Germany – 10 October 1871, in Nicaragua, Central America), was a German botanist. He travelled widely and collected and described plants from the Pacific and South America. In 1844 he trave ...

) Puttock * '' Atractocarpus platyxylon'' (Vieill. ex Pancher & Sebert)

* '' Atractocarpus pterocarpon'' (

) Puttock * '' Atractocarpus rotundifolius''

* '' Atractocarpus sessilifolius''

* '' Atractocarpus sessilis'' (

) Puttock * '' Atractocarpus simulans''

* '' Atractocarpus stipularis'' (

) Puttock ex P.S.Green * '' Atractocarpus tahitiensis'' (Nadeaud) Puttock * '' Atractocarpus tenuiflorus'' (

) Puttock * '' Atractocarpus vaginatus''

* '' Atractocarpus versteegii'' ( Valeton) Puttock

References

External links

World Checklist of RubiaceaeFlickriver interesting photos tagged as ''Atractocarpus'' (several species)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2841202 Rubiaceae genera Flora of New Guinea Flora of New Caledonia Flora of the Philippines Flora of the Pacific Flora of Norfolk Island Flora of Queensland Flora of New South Wales