''Oxera'' is a genus 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

Lamiaceae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savory ...

native to

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

and

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

in the western Pacific.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref>

Description

Species of ''Oxera'' show a variety of growth forms, including

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 ...

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 and

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s. The leaves are simple, and are petiolate (on short stalks), except in '' O. sessilifolia'', with entire or occasionally sinuate (wavy) edges. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

s are loose

thyrse A thyrse is a type of inflorescence in which the main axis grows indeterminately, and the subaxes (branches) have determinate growth.{{cite book , author1=Hickey, M., author2=King, C. , year=2001 , title=The Cambridge Illustrated Glossary of Bot ...

s of flowers, growing from leaf axils (axillary) or directly from the stem (

cauliflory Cauliflory is a botanical term referring to plants that flower and fruit from their main stems or woody trunks, rather than from new growth and shoots. This can allow trees to be pollinated or have their seeds dispersed by animals that climb o ...

). The flowers are large, conspicuous and bisexual; the calyx is actinomorphic (rotationally symmetrical), but the corolla is zygomorphic, sometimes strongly so. Although some species have four

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s in each flower, they are usually reduced in number with two stamens, usually the posterior pair, forming

staminode In botany, a staminode is an often rudimentary, sterile or abortive stamen, which means that it does not produce pollen.Jackson, Benjamin, Daydon; ''A Glossary of Botanic Terms with their Derivation and Accent''; Published by Gerald Duckworth & Co. ...

s instead.

Distribution

Twenty of the twenty-one species are found on the island of Grande Terre (the main island of

). Three species occur on the adjacent island of

Île des Pins The Isle of Pines (french: Île des Pins; name in Kanak people, Kanak language Kwênyii: ') is an island in the Pacific Ocean, in the archipelago of New Caledonia, an overseas collectivity of France. The island is part of the commune in France, ...

, two on

Lifou Lifou is a communes of France, commune of France in the Loyalty Islands Province of New Caledonia in the Pacific Ocean. Geography Lifou is made up of Lifou Island, the largest and most heavily populated of the Loyalty Islands, its smaller neig ...

and one on Maré in the

Loyalty Islands The Loyalty Islands Province ( French ''Province des îles Loyauté'') is one of three administrative subdivisions of New Caledonia encompassing the Loyalty Island (french: Îles Loyauté) archipelago in the Pacific, which are located northeast of ...

, and two on

(including one

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...

). ''

Oxera vanuatuensis ''Oxera'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae native to Vanuatu and New Caledonia in the western Pacific. Description Species of ''Oxera'' show a variety of growth forms, including lianas, shrubs and trees. The leaves are simp ...

'' is only known from Vanuatu, where it is only known from cultivated specimens. Villagers on

Pentecost Island Pentecost Island is one of the 83 islands that make up the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu. It lies due north of capital Port Vila. Pentecost Island is known as in French and in Bislama. The island was known in its native languages by ...

(and their descendants on

Maewo Maewo (; formerly ''Aurora Island'') is an island in Vanuatu in Penama province, 105 km to the east of Espiritu Santo. It is 47 km long, and 6 km wide, with an area of 269 km2. Its highest point is 795 m above sea le ...

call the tree ''harongmau'', and propagate the species by planting seeds, transplanting seedlings or taking cuttings. The plant is thought to treat illnesses caused by

black magic Black magic, also known as dark magic, has traditionally referred to the use of supernatural powers or magic for evil and selfish purposes, specifically the seven magical arts prohibited by canon law, as expounded by Johannes Hartlieb in 145 ...

, and profuse flowering from the trunk is thought to foretell a good harvest of yams.

Species

Twenty-one species are recognised in the genus ''Oxera'', in five informal

species group In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

s: ;''baladica'' group *''

Oxera baladica ''Oxera baladica'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae. It comprises two subspecies, both of which are included as vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List: *''Oxera baladica'' subsp. ''baladica'' (formerly ''Oxera cauliflora'' ...

'' Vieill. *''

Oxera sessilifolia ''Oxera'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae native to Vanuatu and New Caledonia in the western Pacific. Description Species of ''Oxera'' show a variety of growth forms, including lianas, shrubs and trees. The leaves are simp ...

'' Dubard *''

Oxera subverticillata ''Oxera'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae native to Vanuatu and New Caledonia in the western Pacific. Description Species of ''Oxera'' show a variety of growth forms, including lianas, shrubs and trees. The leaves are simp ...

'' Vieill. *''

'' de Kok –

;''robusta'' group *''

Oxera coriacea ''Oxera'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae native to Vanuatu and New Caledonia in the western Pacific. Description Species of ''Oxera'' show a variety of growth forms, including lianas, shrubs and trees. The leaves are simp ...

'' Dubard *'' Oxera coronata'' de Kok *'' Oxera palmatinervia'' Dubard *'' Oxera robusta'' Vieill. ;''pulchella'' group *'' Oxera balansae'' Dubard – Grande Terre, Île des Pins, Lifou Status iucn EN icon

*''

Oxera brevicalyx ''Oxera'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae native to Vanuatu and New Caledonia in the western Pacific. Description Species of ''Oxera'' show a variety of growth forms, including lianas, shrubs and trees. The leaves are simp ...

'' (Moldenke) de Kok *'' Oxera crassifolia'' Virot Status iucn LC icon

*'' Oxera morierei'' Vieill. *''

Oxera pulchella ''Oxera'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae native to Vanuatu and New Caledonia in the western Pacific. Description Species of ''Oxera'' show a variety of growth forms, including lianas, shrubs and trees. The leaves are simp ...

'' Labill. Status iucn LC icon

;''sulfurea'' group *'' Oxera gmelinoides'' S. Moore *'' Oxera microcalyx'' Guillaumin *'' Oxera rugosa'' Guillaumin *'' Oxera sulfurea'' Dubard – Grand Terre, Île des Pins, Lifou, Maré ;''macrocalyx'' group *'' Oxera glandulosa'' Vieill. – New Caledonia, Île des Pins *'' Oxera neriifolia'' (Montrouz.) Beauvis. *''

Oxera macrocalyx ''Oxera macrocalyx'' is a species of plant in the family Lamiaceae. It is Endemism, endemic to New Caledonia. References

Flora of New Caledonia Lamiaceae Vulnerable plants Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Lamiaceae-stub ...

'' Dubard

*'' Oxera oreophila'' Guillaumin

Taxonomic history

The genus ''Oxera'' was erected by

Jacques Labillardière Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardière (28 October 1755 – 8 January 1834) was a French biologist noted for his descriptions of the flora of Australia. Labillardière was a member of a voyage in search of the Jean-François de Galaup, comte ...

in 1824, based on a single specimen that he had collected in New Caledonia. The closest relative of ''Oxera'' is the genus ''

Faradaya ''Faradaya'' is a genus of plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae, first described in 1865 by Victorian government botanist Ferdinand von Mueller in '' Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae''. Following a revision of the genera ''Oxera'', ''Clerodendr ...

'', and the two genera were once united as the tribe Oxereae. Collectively, they are 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 a clade containing ''

Clerodendrum ''Clerodendrum'' is a genus of flowering plants formerly placed in the family Verbenaceae, but now considered to belong to the Lamiaceae (mint) family. Its common names include glorybower, bagflower and bleeding-heart. It is currently classified ...

'' and a number of segregate genera such as '' Kalaharia'', '' Huxleya'', ''

Amasonia ''Amasonia'' is a genus of plants in the family Lamiaceae, native to South America and to the island of Trinidad. They are shrubs, subshrubs, or perennial herbs. Leaves usually alternate, bracts are brightly colored (red, purple, or yellow), and ...

'' and ''

Tetraclea ''Tetraclea'' is a genus 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 ...

''. Both genera are now treated as members of the subfamily Teucrioideae, following work published by Philip D. Cantino in 1992.

Notes

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2705492 Lamiaceae Lamiaceae genera Flora of New Caledonia Flora of Vanuatu Taxonomy articles created by Polbot