![Myrothamnus flabellifolius Myrothamanaceae](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Myrothamnus_flabellifolius_Myrothamanaceae.jpg)
''Myrothamnus'' 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 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, consisting of two species
of small
xerophytic
A xerophyte (from Greek ξηρός ''xeros'' 'dry' + φυτόν ''phuton'' 'plant') is a species of plant that has adaptations to survive in an environment with little liquid water, such as a desert such as the Sahara or places in the Alps or th ...
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, in the southern parts of tropical
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 ...
and in
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 ...
. ''Myrothamnus'' is recognized as the only genus in the family Myrothamnaceae.
Myrothamnaceae was included in order
Hamamelidales
Hamamelidales is an order of flowering plants formerly accepted in a number of systems of plant taxonomy, including the Cronquist system published in 1968 and 1988. The order is not currently accepted in the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group III system ...
in the
Cronquist system
The Cronquist system is a taxonomic classification system of flowering plants. It was developed by Arthur Cronquist in a series of monographs and texts, including ''The Evolution and Classification of Flowering Plants'' (1968; 2nd edition, 1988) a ...
. Molecular systematic studies have suggested that ''Myrothamnus'' is not closely related to
Hamamelidaceae
Hamamelidaceae, commonly referred to as the witch-hazel family, is a family of flowering plants in the order Saxifragales. The clade consists of shrubs and small trees positioned within the woody clade of the core Saxifragales. An earlier system ...
nor any other family included in that order, but rather is closely related to ''
Gunnera
''Gunnera'' is the sole genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Gunneraceae, which contains 63 species. Some species in this genus, namely those in the subgenus ''Panke'', have extremely large leaves. Species in the genus are various ...
''. In the
APG II system
The APG II system (Angiosperm Phylogeny Group II system) of plant classification is the second, now obsolete, version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy that was published in April 2003 by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Gro ...
(2003) the genus is assigned to family
Gunneraceae or to the optionally recognized segregate family Myrothamnaceae. 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 ...
(2009) and
APG IV system
The APG IV system of flowering plant classification is the fourth version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy for flowering plants (angiosperms) being developed by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG). It was publishe ...
(2016) the narrower circumscription is preferred, and these two families are considered distinct
[
]
Species
Species of ''Myrothamnus'' are dioecious shrubs.
# ''
Myrothamnus flabellifolius
''Myrothamnus flabellifolius'' is a plant species in the genus ''Myrothamnus
''Myrothamnus'' is a genus of flowering plants, consisting of two species of small xerophytic shrubs, in the southern parts of tropical Africa and in Madagascar. '' ...
''
Welw. - Angola, Southern Africa, Zimbabwe
# ''
Myrothamnus moschata
''Myrothamnus moschata'' is a plant species in the genus ''Myrothamnus
''Myrothamnus'' is a genus of flowering plants, consisting of two species of small xerophytic shrubs, in the southern parts of tropical Africa and in Madagascar. ''Myrotha ...
''
(Baill.) Baill. - Madagascar
References
External links
*
NCBI Taxonomy Browserin Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards)
Angiosperm Phylogeny Website Version 7, May 2006.
in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards).
The families of flowering plants descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval.'' Version: 21 May 2006. http://delta-intkey.com
links at CSDL
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q6948520, from2=Q132943
Gunnerales
Eudicot genera
Dioecious plants
Afrotropical realm flora