''Manekia'' 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 ...

of flowering plants 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 ...

Piperaceae The Piperaceae (), also known as the pepper family, are a large family of flowering plants. The group contains roughly 3,600 currently accepted species in 5 genera. The vast majority of species can be found within the two main genera: ''Piper'' ( ...

. It is distributed across disjunct areas in the southern Atlantics Forests of Brazil, the Guiana shield in Venezuela, the Andean regions of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama, and the Greater and Lesser Antilles. It thrives in

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

areas, and in humid, premontane or montane forests from sea level to . The name ''Manekia'' is a taxonomic anagram derived from the name of the genus ''

Ekmania ''Ekmania'' is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family. It contains only one known species, ''Ekmania lepidota'', endemic to Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island coun ...

''. The latter name is a taxonomic patronym honoring the Swedish botanist Erik Leonard Ekman.

Description

''Manekia'' members are characterized by

scandent A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselve ...

or lianescent habits and by short sympodial branches holding the spikes. Flowers possess four stamens, four-carpellate pistils with four or five stigmas. Berries are fully or partially immersed in the rachis. When compared to other Piperaceae genera, the ecology of ''Manekia'' appears rather distinct, with plants invading forest litter, forming large mats of reptant stems, and eventually colonizing nearby

phorophyte In botany phorophytes are plants, on which epiphyte An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. Th ...

s, reaching the canopy, and often forming large masses on the top before blooming.

Phylogeny

''Manekia'' is the

sister group In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and t ...

to '' Zippelia'', and both genera are sister to a clade including '' Piper'' and '' Peperomia''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q15933093 Piperales genera Piperaceae