Cephalanthus

Cephalanthus
Cephalanthus occidentalis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Gentianales
Family:	Rubiaceae
Subfamily:	Cinchonoideae
Tribe:	Naucleeae
Genus:	Cephalanthus L.
Type species
Cephalanthus occidentalis L.
Synonyms
Acrodryon Spreng. Axolus Raf. Eresimus Raf.

Cephalanthus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. There are about six species that are commonly known as buttonbush.^[1][2]

Description

They are shrubs or small trees growing to 5–15 m (16–49 ft) tall. The leaves are simple, arranged in opposite pairs or whorls of three. The flowers form a dense globular inflorescence.

Distribution and habitat

Cephalanthus occidentalis is

Cephalanthus was named by Linnaeus in Species Plantarum in 1753.^[5] The generic name is derived from the Ancient Greek words κέφαλη (kephale), meaning "head", and ἄνθος (anthos), meaning "flower".^[6]

Taxonomy

Cephalanthus is the most basal genus in the tribe Naucleeae.^[7] Some authors have segregated it into its own monotypic tribe.^[8] The type species is Cephalanthus occidentalis.^[9]

Species

• Cephalanthus angustifolius Lour. - Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam
• Spreng.) K.Schum. - sarandí - Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay
• Eswatini, South Africa
• Cephalanthus occidentalis L. - button-willow, common buttonbush, honey-bells - Cuba, eastern Canada, eastern, central and southern United States, California, Arizona, New Mexico
• Cephalanthus salicifolius Humb. & Bonpl. - Mexican buttonbush, willowleaf buttonbush - Mexico, Honduras, extreme southern tip of Texas
• Cephalanthus tetrandrus (Roxb.) Ridsdale & Bakh.f.^[2][10][11] - tropical Asia from India to China and Thailand

Fossil record

16

strata of the Fasterholt area near Silkeborg in Central Jutland, Denmark.^[12]

References

1. ^ The Plant List, Cephalanthus
2. ^ ^{a b} Flora of China, Cephalanthus
3. ISBN 978-0-521-82071-4
   .
4. ISBN 978-0-333-47494-5
5. ^ Linnaeus, C. Cephalanthus. Species Plantarum. 1753. 1: 95
6. ISBN 978-0-8493-2675-2
   .
7. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2010.04.002
8. ^ Ridsdale CE (1976). "A revision of the tribe Cephalantheae (Rubiaceae)". Blumea. 23 (1): 177–88.
9. ^ Cephalanthus. Index Nominum Genericorum. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
10. ^ "Cephalanthus tetrandrus (Roxb.) Ridsdale & Bakh.f." WFO Plant list. June 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
11. ^ "Cephalanthus tetrandrus (Roxb.) Ridsdale & Bakh.f." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
12. ^ Angiosperm Fruits and Seeds from the Middle Miocene of Jutland (Denmark) by Else Marie Friis, The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters 24:3, 1985

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cephalanthus.

Wikispecies has information related to Cephalanthus.

• Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, Cephalanthus
• USDA PLANTS, Cephalanthus
• Flora of Taiwan, Cephalanthus