''Medinilla'' is a genus of about 400 species of

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

Melastomataceae Melastomataceae is a family of dicotyledonous flowering plants found mostly in the tropics (two-thirds of the genera are from the New World tropics) comprising c. 175 genera and c. 5115 known species. Melastomes are annual or perennial herbs, sh ...

, native to tropical regions of the Old World from

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

(two species) east through

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

(about 70 species) and southern

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

to the western

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

islands. The genus was named after

J. de Medinilla ''J. The Jewish News of Northern California'', formerly known as ''Jweekly'', is a weekly print newspaper in Northern California, with its online edition updated daily. It is owned and operated by San Francisco Jewish Community Publications In ...

, governor of the

Mariana Islands The Mariana Islands (; also the Marianas; in Chamorro: ''Manislan Mariånas'') are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, betw ...

in 1820. They are

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

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 or

liana A liana is a long- stemmed, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the canopy in search of direct sunlight. The word ''liana'' does not refer to a ta ...

s. The

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 ...

are opposite or whorled, or alternate in some species. The

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 are white, pink, red, or orange, and are produced singly or in large

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...

Selected species

There are approximately 418 species in this genus, including: *''

Medinilla acuminata ''Medinilla'' is a genus of about 400 species of flowering plants in the family Melastomataceae, native to tropical regions of the Old World from Africa (two species) east through Madagascar (about 70 species) and southern Asia to the western Pa ...

'' Philippines *''

Medinilla arboricola ''Medinilla'' is a genus of about 400 species of flowering plants in the family Melastomataceae, native to tropical regions of the Old World from Africa (two species) east through Madagascar (about 70 species) and southern Asia to the western Pa ...

'' China *''

Medinilla assamica ''Medinilla'' is a genus of about 400 species of flowering plants in the family Melastomataceae, native to tropical regions of the Old World from Africa (two species) east through Madagascar (about 70 species) and southern Asia to the western Pa ...

'' India *''

Medinilla astronioides ''Medinilla'' is a genus of about 400 species of flowering plants in the family Melastomataceae, native to tropical regions of the Old World from Africa (two species) east through Madagascar (about 70 species) and southern Asia to the western Pa ...

'' Philippines *'' Medinilla banahaensis'' Philippines *'' Medinilla beamanii'' Borneo *''

Medinilla brevipendunculata ''Medinilla'' is a genus of about 400 species of flowering plants in the family Melastomataceae, native to tropical regions of the Old World from Africa (two species) east through Madagascar (about 70 species) and southern Asia to the western Pa ...

'' Philippines *''

Medinilla clemetis ''Medinilla'' is a genus of about 400 species of flowering plants in the family Melastomataceae, native to tropical regions of the Old World from Africa (two species) east through Madagascar (about 70 species) and southern Asia to the western Pa ...

'' Philippines *''

Medinilla congesta ''Medinilla'' is a genus of about 400 species of flowering plants in the family Melastomataceae, native to tropical regions of the Old World from Africa (two species) east through Madagascar (about 70 species) and southern Asia to the western Pa ...

'' Philippines *''

Medinilla cordata ''Medinilla'' is a genus of about 400 species of flowering plants in the family Melastomataceae, native to tropical regions of the Old World from Africa (two species) east through Madagascar (about 70 species) and southern Asia to the western Pa ...

'' Philippines *''

Medinilla cummingii ''Medinilla cummingii'', the chandelier tree, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melastomataceae, native to mossy forest in the Philippines at altitude. It is a small shrub, in height, with ternate or quaternate leaves, and many-flow ...

'' Philippines *''

Medinilla curtisii ''Medinilla'' is a genus of about 400 species of flowering plants in the family Melastomataceae, native to tropical regions of the Old World from Africa (two species) east through Madagascar (about 70 species) and southern Asia to the western Pa ...

'' *''

Medinilla dolichophylla ''Medinilla'' is a genus of about 400 species of flowering plants in the family Melastomataceae, native to tropical regions of the Old World from Africa (two species) east through Madagascar (about 70 species) and southern Asia to the western Pa ...

'' Philippines *''

Medinilla erythrophylla ''Medinilla'' is a genus of about 400 species of flowering plants in the family Melastomataceae, native to tropical regions of the Old World from Africa (two species) east through Madagascar (about 70 species) and southern Asia to the western Pa ...

'' China, Nepal, India *''

Medinilla fengii ''Medinilla'' is a genus of about 400 species of flowering plants in the family Melastomataceae, native to tropical regions of the Old World from Africa (two species) east through Madagascar (about 70 species) and southern Asia to the western Pa ...

'' China *''

Medinilla formosana ''Medinilla'' is a genus of about 400 species of flowering plants in the family Melastomataceae, native to tropical regions of the Old World from Africa (two species) east through Madagascar (about 70 species) and southern Asia to the western Pa ...

'' Taiwan *''

Medinilla fuligineo-glandulifera ''Medinilla'' is a genus of about 400 species of flowering plants in the family Melastomataceae, native to tropical regions of the Old World from Africa (two species) east through Madagascar (about 70 species) and southern Asia to the western Pa ...

'' China *''

Medinilla hainanensis ''Medinilla'' is a genus of about 400 species of flowering plants in the family Melastomataceae, native to tropical regions of the Old World from Africa (two species) east through Madagascar (about 70 species) and southern Asia to the western Pa ...

'' China *''

Medinilla halconensis ''Medinilla'' is a genus of about 400 species of flowering plants in the family Melastomataceae, native to tropical regions of the Old World from Africa (two species) east through Madagascar (about 70 species) and southern Asia to the western Pa ...

'' Philippines * Taiwan *''

Medinilla himalayana ''Medinilla'' is a genus of about 400 species of flowering plants in the family Melastomataceae, native to tropical regions of the Old World from Africa (two species) east through Madagascar (about 70 species) and southern Asia to the western Pa ...

'' India *'' Medinilla involucrata'' Philippines *'' Medinilla lanceata'' China *'' Medinilla luchuenensis'' China *''

Medinilla magnifica ''Medinilla magnifica'', the showy medinilla or rose grape, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melastomataceae, native to the Philippines . It is an epiphyte. Various species and hybrids in this family are well known and popular with p ...

'' Philippines *'' Medinilla malindangensis'' Philippines *''

Medinilla merrillii ''Medinilla'' is a genus of about 400 species of flowering plants in the family Melastomataceae, native to tropical regions of the Old World from Africa (two species) east through Madagascar (about 70 species) and southern Asia to the western Pa ...

'' Philippines *'' Medinilla mindorensis'' Philippines *'' Medinilla miniata'' Philippines *'' Medinilla multiflora'' Philippines *'' Medinilla mytiformis'' Philippines *'' Medinilla nana'' China *''

Medinilla petelotii ''Medinilla'' is a genus of about 400 species of flowering plants in the family Melastomataceae, native to tropical regions of the Old World from Africa (two species) east through Madagascar (about 70 species) and southern Asia to the western Pa ...

'' China *'' Medinilla pycnantha'' Quisumb. & Merr. Philippines *'' Medinilla ramiflora'' Philippines *'' Medinilla rubicunda'' China *'' Medinilla scortechinii'' Philippines *''

Medinilla sedifolia ''Medinilla sedifolia'' is a perennial plant of the family Melastomataceae that grows primarily in Madagascar, but is occasionally used as a terrarium plant, an epiphyte mounting, or in hanging pots. It is small for the genus, growing only tall. ...

'' *''

Medinilla septentrionalis ''Medinilla'' is a genus of about 400 species of flowering plants in the family Melastomataceae, native to tropical regions of the Old World from Africa (two species) east through Madagascar (about 70 species) and southern Asia to the western Pa ...

'' China *''

Medinilla speciosa ''Medinilla speciosa'' is a perennial epiphytic plant in the genus ''Medinilla'' of the family Melastomataceae. Etymology ''Medinilla'' is named for José de Medinilla y Pineda, who was governor of Mauritius (then known as the Marianne Islands ...

'' Philippines *''

Medinilla theresae ''Medinilla theresae'' is an endemic species of flowering evergreen shrub or liana in the family Melastomataceae, occurring on ultramafic soils on the dwarf forests of Mt. Redondo, Dinagat Island at 700-840 elevation, and at Mt. Hamiguitan, Phil ...

'' Philippines *'' Medinilla venosa'' Indonesia, Philippines *''

Medinilla waterhousei ''Medinilla waterhousei'', commonly known as tagimaucia or tagimoucia (tahng-ee-mow-theea), is a species of flowering plant in the family Melastomataceae which is endemic to the highland rainforest of the Fijian island of Taveuni. It is a lia ...

'' Fiji "Tagimaucia" *'' Medinilla yunnanensis'' China

References

External links

*Renner, S. S. (2004). Multiple Miocene Melastomataceae dispersal between Madagascar, Africa and India. ''Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B Biol. Sci.'' 359(1450): 1485-149
(pdf file)
Melastomataceae genera {{Melastomataceae-stub