Hoplophyllum
Encyclopedia
Hoplophyllum is a genus
of flowering plant
s in the family
Asteraceae
. It has two species
, Hoplophyllum spinosum and Hoplophyllum ferox, both native
to South Africa
.
Both species are shrub
s. The leaves are hard and spine-tipped, much longer than wide, and either cylindrical or somewhat flattened. They are grooved with stripes running lengthwise. The type species
is Hoplophyllum spinosum.
Hoplophyllum is derived from two Greek
words, hoplon "a tool or weapon" and phyllon "a leaf", a reference to the spiny leaves.
The name
Hoplophyllum was originated in 1836 by A.P. de Candolle when he assigned Hoplophyllum spinosum to this genus in his classic work Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis
. This species had originally been named Pteronia spinosa by Linnaeus filius
in 1782 in his book Supplementum Plantarum
.
The closest relative of Hoplophyllum is Eremothamnus
, another native
of southern Africa. In one classification
, published in 2009, these two formed the tribe
Eremothamneae. Other authors have placed them in the tribe Arctotideae.
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 family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Asteraceae
Asteraceae
The Asteraceae or Compositae , is an exceedingly large and widespread family of vascular plants. The group has more than 22,750 currently accepted species, spread across 1620 genera and 12 subfamilies...
. It has two 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...
, Hoplophyllum spinosum and Hoplophyllum ferox, both 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 South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
Both species 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. The leaves are hard and spine-tipped, much longer than wide, and either cylindrical or somewhat flattened. They are grooved with stripes running lengthwise. 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...
is Hoplophyllum spinosum.
Hoplophyllum is derived from two Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
words, hoplon "a tool or weapon" and phyllon "a leaf", a reference to the spiny leaves.
The name
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...
Hoplophyllum was originated in 1836 by A.P. de Candolle when he assigned Hoplophyllum spinosum to this genus in his classic work Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis
Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis
Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis, also known by its standard botanical abbreviation Prodr. , is a 17-volume treatise on botany initiated by A. P. de Candolle. De Candolle intended it as a summary of all known seed plants, encompassing taxonomy, ecology, evolution and biogeography....
. This species had originally been named Pteronia spinosa by Linnaeus filius
Carolus Linnaeus the Younger
Carl Linnaeus the Younger, Carl von Linné or Carolus Linnaeus the Younger was a Swedish naturalist...
in 1782 in his book Supplementum Plantarum
Supplementum Plantarum
Supplementum Plantarum Systematis Vegetabilium Editionis Decimae Tertiae, Generum Plantarum Editiones Sextae, et Specierum Plantarum Editionis Secundae, commonly abbreviated to Supplementum Plantarum Systematis Vegetabilium or just Supplementum Plantarum, and further abbreviated by botanists to...
.
The closest relative of Hoplophyllum is Eremothamnus
Eremothamnus
Eremothamnus marlothianus is a species of shrub in the family Asteraceae, the only species in the genus Eremothamnus. It is native to the coastal desert of Namibia. It is a small shrub with spiny leaves.-Taxonomy and systematics:...
, another 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...
of southern Africa. In one classification
Biological classification
Biological classification, or scientific classification in biology, is a method to group and categorize organisms by biological type, such as genus or species. Biological classification is part of scientific taxonomy....
, published in 2009, these two formed 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...
Eremothamneae. Other authors have placed them in the tribe Arctotideae.
External links
- Hoplophyllum At:Index Nominum Genericorum At: References At: NMNH Department of Botany At: Research and Collections At: Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
- CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names: D-L At: Botany & Plant Science At: Life Science At: CRC Press
- http://www.ipni.org/ipni/advPlantNameSearch.do;jsessionid=E1E5F5223320AF699FD25FFE988913CA?find_family=&find_genus=Hoplophyllum&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=plantsearchHoplophyllum] At: IPNI
- Hoplophyllum In: Prodr. (DC.) vol. 5
- Supplementum Plantarum At: botanicus