Cephalanthus
Encyclopedia
Cephalanthus is a genus
of flowering plant
s in the madder
family, Rubiaceae
. Different authorities accept between six and 15 species
, which are commonly known as Buttonbushes. Cephalanthus occidentalis is native
to the southeastern United States
. The others occur
in tropical
regions of the Americas
, Africa
and Asia
. Two species are known in cultivation
.
They are shrub
s or small tree
s growing to 5–15 m (16.4–49.2 ft) tall. The leaves
are simple, arranged in opposite pairs or whorls of three. The flower
s form a dense globular inflorescence
.
Cephalanthus was named
by Linnaeus in Species Plantarum
in 1753. The generic name is derived
from the Ancient Greek
words κέφαλος (kephalos), meaning "head", and ἄνθος (anthos), meaning "flower."
Cephalanthus is the most basal
genus in the tribe
Naucleeae
. Some authors have segregated
it into its own monotypic tribe. The type species
for Cephalanthus is Cephalanthus occidentalis.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
s in the madder
Rubiá
aRubiá is a municipality in the Spanish province of Ourense. It has a population of 1734 and an area of 101 km²....
family, Rubiaceae
Rubiaceae
The Rubiaceae is a family of flowering plants, variously called the coffee family, madder family, or bedstraw family. The group contains many commonly known plants, including the economically important coffee , quinine , and gambier , and the horticulturally valuable madder , west indian jasmine ,...
. Different authorities accept between six and 15 species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
, which are commonly known as Buttonbushes. Cephalanthus occidentalis is native
Indigenous (ecology)
In biogeography, a species is defined as native to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention. Every natural organism has its own natural range of distribution in which it is regarded as native...
to the southeastern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The others occur
Range (biology)
In biology, the range or distribution of a species is the geographical area within which that species can be found. Within that range, dispersion is variation in local density.The term is often qualified:...
in tropical
Tropics
The tropics is a region of the Earth surrounding the Equator. It is limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at S; these latitudes correspond to the axial tilt of the Earth...
regions of the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. Two species are known in cultivation
Gardening
Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants. Ornamental plants are normally grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance; useful plants are grown for consumption , for their dyes, or for medicinal or cosmetic use...
.
They are shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s or small tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s growing to 5–15 m (16.4–49.2 ft) tall. The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are simple, arranged in opposite pairs or whorls of three. The flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s form a dense globular inflorescence
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. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
.
Cephalanthus was named
Botanical name
A botanical name is a formal scientific name conforming to the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature and, if it concerns a plant cultigen, the additional cultivar and/or Group epithets must conform to the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants...
by Linnaeus in Species Plantarum
Species Plantarum
Species Plantarum was first published in 1753, as a two-volume work by Carl Linnaeus. Its prime importance is perhaps that it is the primary starting point of plant nomenclature as it exists today. This means that the first names to be considered validly published in botany are those that appear...
in 1753. The generic name is derived
Etymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
from the Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
words κέφαλος (kephalos), meaning "head", and ἄνθος (anthos), meaning "flower."
Cephalanthus is the most basal
Basal (phylogenetics)
In phylogenetics, a basal clade is the earliest clade to branch in a larger clade; it appears at the base of a cladogram.A basal group forms an outgroup to the rest of the clade, such as in the following example:...
genus in the tribe
Tribe (biology)
In biology, a tribe is a taxonomic rank between family and genus. It is sometimes subdivided into subtribes.Some examples include the tribes: Canini, Acalypheae, Hominini, Bombini, and Antidesmeae.-See also:* Biological classification* Rank...
Naucleeae
Naucleeae
Naucleeae is a tribe of flowering plants in the Rubiaceae family and contains about 180 species in 23 genera. Species belonging to Naucleeae occur from Australasia, tropical Asia, Madagascar, tropical Africa, and to the Neotropics and North America.-Genera:...
. Some authors have segregated
Segregate (taxonomy)
In taxonomy, a segregate, or a segregate taxon is created when a taxon is split off, from another taxon. This other taxon will be better known, usually bigger, and will continue to exist, even after the segregate taxon has been split off...
it into its own monotypic tribe. The type species
Type species
In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...
for Cephalanthus is Cephalanthus occidentalis.
Species
The following six species are those recognized in a revision of Cephalanthus in 1976.- Cephalanthus angustifolius Lour.João de LoureiroJoão de Loureiro was a Portuguese Jesuit missionary, paleontologist, physician and botanist.In 1742 he travelled to Cochinchina, remaining there for 30 years. He became a specialist in Asian flora and on his return published Flora Cochinchinensis .- References :...
(LaosLaosLaos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, VietnamVietnamVietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
) - Cephalanthus glabratus (Spreng.) K.Schum.Karl Moritz SchumannKarl Moritz Schumann was a German botanist.Dr. Schumann was the curator of the Botanisches Museumin Berlin-Dahlem from 1880 until 1894...
– Sarandi (South AmericaSouth AmericaSouth America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
) - Cephalanthus natalensis Oliv.Daniel OliverDaniel Oliver, FRS was a British botanist.He was Librarian of the Herbarium, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew from 1860–1890 and Keeper there from 1864–1890, and Professor of Botany at University College, London from 1861–1888....
(Southern AfricaAfricaAfrica is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
) - Cephalanthus occidentalisCephalanthus occidentalisCephalanthus occidentalis is a species of flowering plant in the coffee family, Rubiaceae, that is native to eastern and southern North America. Common names include Buttonbush, Common Buttonbush, Button-willow and Honey-bells....
L. – Button-willow, Common Buttonbush, or Honey-bells (North AmericaNorth AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
) - Cephalanthus salicifoliusCephalanthus salicifoliusCephalanthus salicifolius is a species of flowering plant in the cinchona family, Rubiaceae. Common names include Mexican Buttonbush, Mimbre, Botoncillo, and Jazmin Blanco. Its native range extends from the banks of the southernmost stretch of the Rio Grande in Texas south to south-central Mexico;...
Humb.Alexander von HumboldtFriedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt was a German naturalist and explorer, and the younger brother of the Prussian minister, philosopher and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt...
& Bonpl.Aimé BonplandAimé Jacques Alexandre Bonpland was a French explorer and botanist.Bonpland's real name was Goujaud, and he was born in La Rochelle, a coastal city in France. After serving as a surgeon in the French army, and studying under J. N...
– Mexican Buttonbush, Willowleaf Buttonbush (MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Rio Grande ValleyRio Grande ValleyThe Rio Grande Valley or the Lower Rio Grande Valley, informally called The Valley, is an area located in the southernmost tip of South Texas...
of TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
) - Cephalanthus tetandra (Roxb.William RoxburghWilliam Roxburgh was a Scottish surgeon and botanist. He has been called the Father of Indian Botany.-Early life:Roxburgh was born at Underwood in the parish of Craigie, Ayrshire. He studied medicine in Edinburgh...
) Ridsd. & Bakh.f. (tropical AsiaTropical AsiaThrough a crop-based biodiversity, natural resources and animals , Tropical Asia is economically and physiogeographically rich. There are 16 countries of Tropical Asia ranging in size from around 610 km² to 3,000,000 km²...
)
Formerly placed here
- Adina pilulifera (Lam.) Franch. ex Drake (as C. pilulifera Lam.)
- Nauclea orientalisNauclea orientalisNauclea orientalis is a species of tree in the Rubiaceae family. It is commonly known as the Leichhardt tree and yellow cheesewood, among other names. It grows to a maximum of around in height and has large glossy leaves. It bears spherical clusters of fragrant flowers that develop into golf...
(L.) L. (as C. orientalis L.)
External links
- Cephalanthus At: Search Page At: World Checklist of Rubiaceae At: Index by Team At: Projects At: Science Directory At: Scientific Research and Data At: Kew Gardens
- http://www.ipni.org/ipni/advPlantNameSearch.do;jsessionid=8E096FF25180F04FAE27C8FA5EFC5D0F?find_family=&find_genus=Cephalanthus&find_species=&find_infrafamily=&find_infragenus=&find_infraspecies=&find_authorAbbrev=&find_includePublicationAuthors=on&find_includePublicationAuthors=off&find_includeBasionymAuthors=on&find_includeBasionymAuthors=off&find_publicationTitle=&find_isAPNIRecord=on&find_isAPNIRecord=false&find_isGCIRecord=on&find_isGCIRecord=false&find_isIKRecord=on&find_isIKRecord=false&find_rankToReturn=all&output_format=normal&find_sortByFamily=on&find_sortByFamily=off&query_type=by_query&back_page=plantsearchCephalanthus] At: Plant Names At: IPNI
- Cephalanthus In: Volume 1 Of: Species Plantarum At: Titles beginning with "S" At: Biodiversity Heritage Library
- Cephalanthus At:Index Nominum Genericorum At: References At: NMNH Department of Botany At: Research and Collections At: Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History