''Knightia'' is a small genus of the family Proteaceae endemic to New Zealand, named in honor of

Thomas Andrew Knight Thomas Andrew Knight (1759–1838), FRS, of Elton Hall in the parish of Elton in Herefordshire (4 miles south-west of Ludlow) and later of Downton Castle (3 miles north-west of Elton), was a British horticulturalist and botanist. He served a ...

. One extant species, '' K. excelsa'' (rewarewa) is found in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. Two further ''Knightia'' species are found in New Caledonia, although they were placed in the genus ''

Eucarpha ''Eucarpha'' is a genus of flowering plant of the family Proteaceae, endemic to New Caledonia. Two species are recognised. Up to 1975, these were classified within the genus '' Knightia'' until Lawrence Johnson and Barbara G. Briggs recognised ...

'' by

Lawrie Johnson Lawrence Alexander Sidney Johnson Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, FAA, (26 June 1925 – 1 August 1997) known as Lawrie Johnson, was an Australian Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic botany, botanist. He worked at the Royal Botanic Garden ...

and Barbara Briggs in their influential 1975 monograph "On the Proteaceae: the evolution and classification of a southern family", a placement supported in a 2006 classification of the Proteaceae. A fossil species from upper Miocene deposits in Kaikorai has been described as '' Knightia oblonga''. ''Knightia'' has been placed in the tribe

Roupaleae The Grevilleoideae are a subfamily of the plant family Proteaceae. Mainly restricted to the Southern Hemisphere, it contains around 46 genera and about 950 species. Genera include ''Banksia'', ''Grevillea'', and ''Macadamia''. Description The ...

of the subfamily

Grevilleoideae The Grevilleoideae are a subfamily of the plant family Proteaceae. Mainly restricted to the Southern Hemisphere, it contains around 46 genera and about 950 species. Genera include ''Banksia'', ''Grevillea'', and '' Macadamia''. Description The ...

Species

, Plants of the World Online accepted three extant species. Other sources place the two species from New Caledonia in the genus ''

''. *''Knightia deplanchei'' Vieill. ex Brongn. & Gris, syn. ''

Eucarpha deplanchei ''Eucarpha deplanchei'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae, native to New Caledonia. It was first described in 1865 as ''Knightia deplanchei''. Taxonomy The species was placed within the genus '' Knightia'' until 1975, whe ...

'' (Vieill. ex Brongn. & Gris) P.H.Weston & Mabb. – New Caledonia *''

Knightia excelsa ''Knightia excelsa'', commonly called rewarewa (from Māori), is an evergreen tree endemic to the low elevation and valley forests of New Zealand's North Island and Marlborough Sounds (41° S) and the type species for the genus ''Knightia''. R ...

'' (Knight) R.Br. – New Zealand *''Knightia strobilina'' (Labill.) R.Br. ex Meisn., syn. ''

Eucarpha strobilina ''Eucarpha strobilina'', synonym ''Knightia strobilina'', is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae, native to New Caledonia. Taxonomy The taxonomic history of the species is somewhat tangled, as some names have been used that we ...

'' (Labill.) P.H.Weston & Mabb. – New Caledonia

References

External links

* * * * Proteaceae Proteaceae genera Flora of New Zealand {{Proteaceae-stub