''Paliurus'' 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 ...

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 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 ...

Rhamnaceae The Rhamnaceae are a large family of flowering plants, mostly trees, shrubs, and some vines, commonly called the buckthorn family. Rhamnaceae is included in the order Rosales. The family contains about 55 genera and 950 species. The Rhamnaceae h ...

. The eight species are native to warm, dry regions of

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...

and

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

from

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

east to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

Description

They are

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 small

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 growing to 3–15 m tall. The shoots are zig-zagged, with a

leaf A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...

and two stipular spines on the outside of each kink. 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

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

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 ...

, oval, 2–10 cm long and 1–7 cm broad, glossy green, with three conspicuous veins at the base, and an entire or bluntly toothed margin. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

is a dry woody nutlet centred in a circular wing 1–3.5 cm diameter.

Ecology

''Paliurus'' species are used as food plants by the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

species including the ''

Bucculatrix Bucculatricidae or (Bucculatrigidae) is a family of moths. This small family has representatives in all parts of the world. Some authors place the group as a subfamily of the family Lyonetiidae. Adults of this family are easily overlooked, bein ...

'' leaf-miners ''B. albella'' (feeds exclusively on ''P. spina-christi''), ''B. paliuricola'' (feeds exclusively on ''Paliurus spp.'') and ''B. turatii'' (feeds exclusively on ''P. aculeatus'').

Selected species

*''

Paliurus hemsleyanus ''Paliurus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rhamnaceae. The eight species are native to warm, dry regions of Eurasia and North Africa from Morocco and Spain east to Japan and Taiwan. Description They are shrubs or small trees grow ...

'' Rehder ex Schirarend & Olabi (Southern China) *''

Paliurus orientalis ''Paliurus orientalis'' is a species of ''Paliurus'' native for Yunnan province in China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population ...

'' (Franch.) Hemsl. (Central China) *''

Paliurus ramosissimus ''Paliurus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rhamnaceae. The eight species are native to warm, dry regions of Eurasia and North Africa from Morocco and Spain east to Japan and Taiwan. Description They are shrubs or small trees grow ...

'' (Lour.) Poir. (Eastern Asia) *''

Paliurus spina-christi ''Paliurus spina-christi'', commonly known as Jerusalem thorn, garland thorn, Christ's thorn, or crown of thorns, is a species of ''Paliurus'' native to the Mediterranean region and southwest and central Asia, from Morocco and Spain east to Iran ...

'' Mill.

Formerly placed here

*''

Dracontomelon dao ''Dracontomelon dao'', the Argus pheasant-tree, is a tree in the family Anacardiaceae, native to tropical Asia. Description ''Dracontomelon dao'' grows as a tropical canopy tree distinguished mostly by its height (reaching up to about ), for it ...

'' (Blanco) Merr. & Rolfe (as ''P. dao'' Blanco or ''P. edulis'' Blanco) *''

Harrisonia perforata ''Harrisonia perforata'' is a species of liana in the family Rutaceae. Its recorded distribution includes: Andaman Islands, Nicobar Islands, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Indo-China, Java and Lesser Sunda Islands, but no subspecies are listed in the Catal ...

'' (Blanco) Merr. (''as P. perforata'' Blanco)

References

* * * Rhamnaceae Rhamnaceae genera Taxa named by Philip Miller {{Rhamnaceae-stub