''Globulostylis'' 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 comprises 8 species growing in Central Africa.

Description

The main characters of ''Globulostylis'' are the few-flowered inflorescences with a pair of bracts at the apex of the peduncle and the style with a swelling in the lower half.

Distribution and habitat

''Globulostylis'' has 8 species in Central Africa, all endemic to the

Lower Guinean forests The Lower Guinean forests is region of coastal tropical moist broadleaf forest in West Africa, extending along the eastern coast of the Gulf of Guinea from eastern Benin through Nigeria and Cameroon. The Dahomey Gap, a region of savanna and dry for ...

, except '' G. uncinula'', which also occurs in the

Congolian forests The Congolian rainforests are a broad belt of lowland tropical moist broadleaf forests which extend across the basin of the Congo River and its tributaries in Central Africa. They are the only major rainforests which absorb more carbon than they ...

. All species are shrubs or small trees of forest understory, never gregarious.

Bacterial leaf symbiosis

Endophytic bacteria are housed in the intercellular space of the leaf

mesophyll tissue A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...

. The presence of these bacteria can only be microscopically ascertained. The bacteria are identified as ''

Burkholderia ''Burkholderia'' is a genus of Pseudomonadota whose pathogenic members include the ''Burkholderia cepacia'' complex, which attacks humans and ''Burkholderia mallei'', responsible for glanders, a disease that occurs mostly in horses and related a ...

'', which is a genus that is also found in the leaves of other Rubiaceae species. hypothesis is that these endophytic bacteria provide chemical protection against insect herbivory.

Taxonomy

The genus was described by H.F. Wernham in 1913 to accommodate two species from South Nigeria collected by Mr. and Mrs. P.A. Talbot, viz. '' G. minor'' and '' G. talbotii''. A third species, '' G. cuvieroides'', was added later. ''Globulostylis'' and ''Cuviera'' species are closely related, and therefore at one point ''Globulostylis'' was treated as a subgenus of ''Cuviera''. However, the combined analysis of both morphological and molecular data separates both genera.

Species

Accepted species according to the latest revision. * ''

Globulostylis cuvieroides ''Globulostylis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the Family (biology), family Rubiaceae. It comprises 8 species growing in Central Africa. Description The main characters of ''Globulostylis'' are the few-flowered inflorescences with a pair of ...

'' Wernham * '' Globulostylis dewildeana'' Sonké, O.Lachenaud & Dessein * '' Globulostylis leniochlamys'' (

K.Schum. Karl Moritz Schumann (17 June 1851 – 22 March 1904) was a German botanist. Schumann was born in Görlitz. He was curator of the Botanisches Museum in Berlin-Dahlem from 1880 until 1894. He also served as the first chairman of the ''Deut ...

) Sonké, O.Lachenaud & Dessein * '' Globulostylis minor'' Wernham * ''

Globulostylis rammelooana ''Globulostylis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It comprises 8 species growing in Central Africa. Description The main characters of ''Globulostylis'' are the few-flowered inflorescences with a pair of bracts at the ape ...

'' Sonké, O.Lachenaud & Dessein * ''

Globulostylis robbrechtiana ''Globulostylis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It comprises 8 species growing in Central Africa. Description The main characters of ''Globulostylis'' are the few-flowered inflorescences with a pair of bracts at the ape ...

'' Sonké, O.Lachenaud, Dessein & De Block * '' Globulostylis talbotii'' Wernham * '' Globulostylis uncinula'' (N.Hallé) Sonké, O.Lachenaud & Dessein

References

External links

''Globulostylis'' in the World Checklist of Rubiaceae
{{Taxonbar, from=Q18084751 Rubiaceae genera Vanguerieae Taxa named by Herbert Fuller Wernham