''Cryptanthus'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Bromeliaceae The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot flowering plants of about 80 genera and 3700 known species, native mainly to the tropical Americas, with several species found in the American subtropics and one in tropical west Africa, ...

, subfamily

Bromelioideae Bromelioideae is a subfamily of the bromeliads (Bromeliaceae). This subfamily is the most diverse in the family, represented by the greatest number of genera with about 40. Most of the plants in this group are epiphytes, though some have evolved ...

. The genus name is from the Greek ''cryptos'' (hidden) and ''anthos'' (flower). The genus formerly had two recognized subgenera: the type subgenus and subgenus ''Hoplocryptanthus'' Mez which has been raised to the separate genus '' Hoplocryptanthus''. All

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of this genus are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. The common name for any ''Cryptanthus'' is "Earth star".

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 ...

Former species

A major revision of ''Cryptanthus'' in 2017 based on both morphological and molecular characters elevated a former subgenus to the genus '' Hoplocryptanthus'' and created two new genera, '' Forzzaea'' and '' Rokautskyia'', transferring many former ''Cryptanthus'' species to these three genera.

Transferred to ''Forzzaea''

*''Cryptanthus leopoldo-horstii'' Rauh → '' Forzzaea leopoldo-horstii'' (Rauh) Leme, S.Heller & Zizka *''Cryptanthus micrus'' Louzada, Wand. & Versieux → '' Forzzaea micra'' (Louzada, Wand. & Versieux) Leme, S.Heller & Zizka *''Cryptanthus warasii'' E.Pereira → '' Forzzaea warasii'' (E.Pereira) Leme, S.Heller & Zizka

Transferred to ''Haplocryptanthus''

*''Cryptanthus caracensis'' Leme & E.Gross → '' Hoplocryptanthus caracensis'' *''Cryptanthus ferrarius'' Leme & C.C.Paula → '' Hoplocryptanthus ferrarius'' *''Cryptanthus glaziovii'' Mez → '' Hoplocryptanthus glaziovii'' *''Cryptanthus lavrasensis'' Leme → '' Hoplocryptanthus lavrasensis'' *''Cryptanthus regius'' Leme → '' Hoplocryptanthus regius'' *''Cryptanthus schwackeanus'' Mez → '' Hoplocryptanthus schwackeanus'' *''Cryptanthus tiradentesensis'' Leme → '' Hoplocryptanthus tiradentesensis''

Transferred to ''Rokautskyia''

*''Cryptanthus caulescens'' I.Ramírez → '' Rokautskyia caulescens'' *''Cryptanthus exaltatus'' H.Luther → '' Rokautskyia exaltata'' *''Cryptanthus fernseeoides'' Leme → '' Rokautskyia fernseeoides'' *''Cryptanthus latifolius'' Leme → '' Rokautskyia latifolia'' *''Cryptanthus leuzingerae'' Leme → '' Rokautskyia leuzingerae'' *''Cryptanthus microglazioui'' I.Ramírez → '' Rokautskyia microglazioui'' (I.Ramírez) Leme, S.Heller & Zizka *''Cryptanthus odoratissimus'' Leme → '' Rokautskyia odoratissima'' *''Cryptanthus pseudoglaziovii'' Leme → '' Rokautskyia pseudoglaziovii'' *''Cryptanthus pseudoscaposus'' L.B.Sm. → '' Rokautskyia pseudoscaposa'' *''Cryptanthus roberto-kautskyi'' Leme → '' Rokautskyia roberto-kautskyi'' *''Cryptanthus sanctaluciae'' Leme & L.Kollmann → '' Rokautskyia sanctaluciae'' *''Cryptanthus scaposus'' E.Pereira → '' Rokautskyia scaposa'' *''Cryptanthus whitmanii'' Leme → '' Rokautskyia whitmanii''

References

External links

BSI Genera Gallery
photos * http://fcbs.org/pictures/Cryptanthus.htm {{Taxonbar, from=Q138350 Endemic flora of Brazil Bromeliaceae genera