''Celastrus'', commonly known as staff vine, staff tree or bittersweet, is the type genus of the family
Celastraceae
The Celastraceae (staff-vine or bittersweet) are a family of 98 genera and 1,350 species of herbs, vines, shrubs and small trees, belonging to the order Celastrales. The great majority of the genera are tropical, with only ''Celastrus'' (the staf ...
; it contains over 40 species of
shrub
A shrub or 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 by their multiple ...
s and
vine
A vine is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas, or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselves, for instance, when used in wicker work.Jackson; Benjamin; Da ...
s, which have a wide distribution in
East Asia
East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...
,
Australasia
Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different context ...
,
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
, and the
Americas
The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...
.
[
]
Description
The leaves
A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...
are alternate and simple, ovoid, and typically long. The flower
Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...
s are small, white, pink or greenish, and borne in long panicle
In botany, 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 p ...
s; the fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...
is a three-valved berry
A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples of berries in the cul ...
.
In North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
, they are known as bittersweet, presumably a result of confusion with the unrelated bittersweet ('' Solanum dulcamara'') by early colonists. '' C. orbiculatus'' is a serious invasive weed
A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, growing where it conflicts with human preferences, needs, or goals.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. Pla ...
in much of eastern North America.
Species
''Plants of the World Online
Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
History
Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...
''[Plants of the World Online]
''Celastrus'' L. (retrieved 10 September 2023) includes:
# '' Celastrus aculeatus'' Merr.
# '' Celastrus angulatus'' Maxim.
# '' Celastrus australis'' Harv. & F.Muell. – Australian staff vine
# '' Celastrus caseariifolius'' Lundell
# '' Celastrus cuneatus'' (Rehder & E.H.Wilson) C.Y.Cheng & T.C.Kao
# '' Celastrus flagellaris'' Rupr.
# '' Celastrus franchetianus'' Loes.
# '' Celastrus gemmatus'' Loes.
# '' Celastrus glaucophyllus'' Rehder & E.H.Wilson
# '' Celastrus grenadensis'' Urb.
# '' Celastrus hindsii'' Benth.
# '' Celastrus hirsutus'' H.F.Comber
# '' Celastrus homaliifolius'' P.S.Hsu
# '' Celastrus hookeri'' Prain
# '' Celastrus hypoleucoides'' P.L.Chiu
# '' Celastrus hypoleucus'' (Oliv.) Warb. ex Loes.
# '' Celastrus kusanoi'' Hayata
# '' Celastrus lenticellatus'' Lundell
# '' Celastrus madagascariensis'' Loes.
# '' Celastrus membranifolius'' Prain
# '' Celastrus microcarpus'' D.Don
# '' Celastrus monospermoides'' Loes.
# '' Celastrus monospermus'' Roxb.
# '' Celastrus novoguineensis'' Merr. & L.M.Perry
# '' Celastrus oblanceifolius'' Chen H.Wang & P.C.Tsoong
# '' Celastrus obovatifolius'' X.Y.Mu & Z.X.Zhang
# '' Celastrus orbiculatus'' Thunb. – Oriental bittersweet
# '' Celastrus panamensis'' Lundell
# '' Celastrus paniculatus'' Willd. – black oil plant, climbing staff tree, or intellect tree
# '' Celastrus pringlei'' Rose
# '' Celastrus punctatus'' Thunb.
# '' Celastrus richii'' A.Gray
# '' Celastrus rosthornianus'' Loes.
# '' Celastrus rugosus'' Rehder & E.H.Wilson
# '' Celastrus scandens'' L. – American bittersweet
# '' Celastrus stephanotiifolius'' (Makino) Makino
# '' Celastrus stylosus'' Wall.
# '' Celastrus subspicatus'' Hook.
# '' Celastrus tonkinensis'' Pit.
# '' Celastrus vaniotii'' (H.Lév.) Rehder
References
External links
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{{Authority control
Celastraceae
Celastrales genera