Edgeworthia | |
---|---|
E. chrysantha (synon. E. papyrifera, E. tomentosa) | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Malvales |
Family: | Thymelaeaceae |
Subfamily: | Thymelaeoideae |
Genus: |
Edgeworthia Meisn. [1] [2] |
Type species | |
Edgeworthia gardneri
[3] | |
Species | |
See text |
Edgeworthia (paper bush) is a genus of plants in the family Thymelaeaceae. When the genus was first described, it was published twice in the same year (1841), in two separate publications: Plantarum vascularium genera: secundum ordines naturales digesta eorumque differentiae et affinitates tabulis diagnostacis expositae; [1] and Denkschriften der Regensburgischen Botanischen Gesellschaft. [2] The genus was named in honour of Michael Pakenham Edgeworth, an Irish botanist and official in the Bengal Civil Service, then stationed in India, and for his half-sister, writer Maria Edgeworth. [2]
At least one member of the genus, Edgeworthia chrysantha, has the extremely unusual ability to branch trichotomously - the apical meristem forming the end of each stem splits into three sections at once, leading to its Japanese name mitsumata (三椏, three-fork). [4] This trait is shared with no other known flowering plant. [5]
Species list from both GRIN [6] and ThePlantList [7]
Image | Scientific name | Distribution |
---|---|---|
Edgeworthia albiflora Nakai | Sichuan, China | |
Edgeworthia chrysantha Lindl. | Myanmar, south and southwestern China [8] | |
Edgeworthia eriosolenoides K.M.Feng & S.C.Huang | SE Yunnan, China | |
Edgeworthia gardneri (Wall.) Meisn. | Bhutan, India, N Myanmar, Nepal, China(E Xizang, NW Yunnan), Vietnam | |
Edgeworthia longipes Lace | Myanmar, India |