''Ternstroemia'' 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

Pentaphylacaceae The Pentaphylacaceae are a small family of plants within the order Ericales. In the APG III system of 2009, it includes the former family Ternstroemiaceae. Genera In 2014, the Angiosperm Phylogeny Website included 14 genera in the family: Plant ...

. It is distributed in

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

and subtropical regions in Africa, Asia, and the Americas.''Ternstroemia''.
Flora of China. These 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, whic ...

shrubs 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 alternately arranged, sometimes in clusters. Species are

androdioecious Androdioecy is a reproductive system characterized by the coexistence of males and hermaphrodites. Androdioecy is rare in comparison with the other major reproductive systems: dioecy, gynodioecy and hermaphroditism. In animals, androdioecy has bee ...

, with some individuals bearing bisexual flowers and others with flowers that are functionally male. Flowers are solitary or borne in clusters. The flower has two bracteoles, five

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coine ...

s, five petals, and many stamens. The berry-like fruit contains seeds that have red flesh over a thick endosperm. They are likely dispersed by birds. ''T. gymnanthera'' is an Asian species cultivated as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...

. ''T. pringlei'' is one of the most widely used medicinal plants in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. The genus was named in honour of

Christopher Tärnström Christopher Tärnström or Christoffer Tärnström (20 May 1711 – 4 December 1746) was a Swedish naturalist and Lutheran pastor who was the first of the students or apostles of Carl Linnaeus who travelled to Southeast Asia where he died off Vie ...

. There are about 90 species in the genus. Species include: * '' Ternstroemia bullata'' Proctor * '' Ternstroemia calycina'' Fawc. & Rendle * '' Ternstroemia cherreyi'' * ''

Ternstroemia cleistogama ''Ternstroemia cleistogama'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Pentaphylacaceae. It is endemic to Ecuador, where it occurs above 2500 meters in elevation in the Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the ...

'' Kobuski * '' Ternstroemia corneri'' H.Keng * '' Ternstroemia evenia'' (King) A.C.Sm. * '' Ternstroemia glomerata'' Proctor * '' Ternstroemia granulata'' Krug & Urb. * '' Ternstroemia gymnanthera'' (Wight & Arn.) Sprague – Japanese ternstoemia, cleyera * '' Ternstroemia heptasepala'' – saintedwood * '' Ternstroemia howardiana'' Kobuski * '' Ternstroemia landae'' Standl. & L.O.Williams * '' Ternstroemia lineata'' DC. * '' Ternstroemia luquillensis'' Krug & Urb. – palo colorado * '' Ternstroemia maclellandiana'' Ridl. * '' Ternstroemia peduncularis'' – copey vera * '' Ternstroemia penangiana'' Choisy * '' Ternstroemia polypetala'' Melch. * '' Ternstroemia selleana'' Ekman & Schmidt * '' Ternstroemia stahlii'' – mamey de cura * '' Ternstroemia subsessilis'' (Britt.) Kobuski – el yunque colorado * '' Ternstroemia tepezapote'' * '' Ternstroemia wallichiana'' (Griffith) Engl.

References

Ericales genera Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Pentaphylacaceae-stub