Olmediella | |
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Scientific classification
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Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Malpighiales |
Family: | Salicaceae |
Subfamily: | Salicoideae |
Tribe: | Saliceae |
Genus: |
Olmediella Baill. |
Species: | O. betschleriana
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Binomial name | |
Olmediella betschleriana (Göpp.) Loes.
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Olmediella is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Salicaceae. It consists of one species of trees: Olmediella betschleriana, which is native to Central America. Formerly placed in the heterogeneous family Flacourtiaceae, [1] Olmediella is now classified in Salicaceae, [2] along with close relatives Bennettiodendron, Carrierea, Idesia, Itoa, Macrohasseltia, Poliothyrsis, and even the willows ( Salix) and cottonwoods ( Populus) themselves. [3]
Olmediella has a number of features that point to its close relationship to the willows ( Salix), including flowers subtended by prominent bracts, flowers with a highly reduced calyx, and nectaries located next to each stamen or pistil. Its sometimes spiny-margined leaves, though, are unlike those of any Salix, and some early botanists even included the species in the genus Ilex. [3]