''Grubbia'' 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 ...

Grubbiaceae The Grubbiaceae are a family of flowering plants endemic to the Cape floristic region of South Africa. The family includes five species of leathery-leaved shrubs in two genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biologica ...

.Vernon H. Heywood, Richard K. Brummitt, Ole Seberg, and Alastair Culham. 2007. ''Flowering Plant Families of the World''. Firefly Books: Ontario, Canada. . The genus has three

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

, all

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa.David J. Mabberley. 2008. ''Mabberley's Plant-Book'' third edition (2008). Cambridge University Press: UK. They are shrubs that grow to tall, with tiny

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s and slender, leathery leaves.Klaus Kubitzki. 2004. "Grubbiaceae". pages 199-201. In: Klaus Kubitski (editor). ''The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants'' volume VI. Springer-Verlag: Berlin;Heidelberg, Germany. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

is a syncarp. ''Grubbia'' was named by

Peter Jonas Bergius Peter Jonas Bergius (13 July 1730 – 10 July 1790) was a Swedish people, Swedish Physician, medical doctor and botanist. In 1758 Bergius was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. In 1768 he was elected to membership of the A ...

in 1767 in a Swedish

journal A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...

entitled ''Kongliga Vetenskaps Academiens Handlingar''.''Grubbia'' in International Plant Names Index. (see ''External links'' below). The generic name honors the Swedish botanist Michael Grubb.Umberto Quattrocchi. 2000. ''CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names'' volume II. CRC Press: Boca Raton; New York; Washington,DC;, US. London, UK. (vol. II). (see ''External links'' below). ''Grubbia'' was revised by

Sherwin Carlquist Sherwin John Carlquist FMLS (July 7, 1930 - December 1, 2021) was an American botanist and photographer. Education He received his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1952 and a Ph.D. in botany in 1956, also at ...

in 1977.Sherwin Carlquist. 1977. "A revision of Grubbiaceae". ''Journal of South African Botany'' (currently: ''South African Journal of Botany''). 43(2):115-128. ''Grubbia gracilis'', ''Grubbia hirsuta'', and ''Grubbia pinifolia'' had all been recognized, at least by some authors, at species

rank Rank is the relative position, value, worth, complexity, power, importance, authority, level, etc. of a person or object within a ranking, such as: Level or position in a hierarchical organization * Academic rank * Diplomatic rank * Hierarchy * ...

, but Carlquist treated them as subspecies or

varieties Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

of ''Grubbia rosmarinifolia''. Some authors had recognized a second genus, ''Strobilocarpus'', in the family Grubbiaceae, but Carlquist assigned its two species, ''Strobilocarpus rourkei'' and ''Strobilocarpus tomentosa'' to ''Grubbia''. Molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that ''Grubbia'' 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 family, familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to r ...

to ''

Curtisia ''Curtisia dentata'' (commonly known as the Assegai tree or Cape lancewood, af, Assegaai, xh, Umgxina, zu, Umagunda) is a flowering tree from Southern Africa. It is the sole species in genus ''Curtisia'', which was originally classed as a typ ...

'', another genus from South Africa.Qiu-Yun (Jenny) Xiang, David T. Thomas, and Qiao Ping Xiang. 2011. "Resolving and dating the phylogeny of Cornales - Effects of taxon sampling, data partitions, and fossil calibrations". ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'' 59(1):123-138. It has been suggested that ''Grubbia'' and ''Curtisia'' might be combined into a single family."Jenny" Qiu-Yun Xiang, Michael L. Moody, Douglas E. Soltis, Chuan Zhu Fan, and Pamela S. Soltis. 2002. "Relationships within Cornales and circumscription of Cornaceae - matK and rbcL sequence data and effects of outgroups and long branches". ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'' 24(1):35-57. This was not followed by the

Angiosperm Phylogeny Group The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG) is an informal international group of systematic botanists who collaborate to establish a consensus on the taxonomy of flowering plants (angiosperms) that reflects new knowledge about plant relationships disc ...

in the APG III system of 2009.

References

External links