''Grubbia'' 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 ...

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, ''Grubbia ''Grubbia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the famil ...

.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 elsew ...

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

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

.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 Multi-fruits, also called collective fruits, are fruiting bodies formed from a cluster of flowers, the ''inflorescence''. Each flower in the inflorescence produces a fruit, but these mature into a single mass. After flowering the mass is called a ...

. ''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 Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

Michael Grubb Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

.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 * H ...

, but Carlquist treated them as

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

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 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 ...

studies Study or studies may refer to: General * Education **Higher education * Clinical trial * Experiment * Observational study * Research * Study skills, abilities and approaches applied to learning Other * Study (art), a drawing or series of drawin ...

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 familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...

to '' Curtisia'', 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 in the

APG III system The APG III system of flowering plant classification is the third version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy being developed by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG). Published in 2009, it was superseded in 2016 by a fur ...

of 2009.

References

External links