Cosmocalyx

Cosmocalyx is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. The genus contains only one species, viz. Cosmocalyx spectabilis, which is found in Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala.[1]

Cosmocalyx
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Rubiaceae
Subfamily: Cinchonoideae
Tribe: Hamelieae
Genus: Cosmocalyx
Standl.
Species:
C. spectabilis
Binomial name
Cosmocalyx spectabilis

Description

Cosmocalyx spectabilis is a slender tree, up to 15 m (49 ft) in height and 20 cm (7.9 in) in diameter (dbh). After anthesis, one of the four calyx lobes expands into a reddish, leaf-like structure called a calycophyll. These facilitate dispersal of the fruit by wind. The fruit is a cylindrical indehiscent bilocular capsule. Each locule contains one basally inserted seed. This combination of characters distinguishes Cosmocalyx from other genera in Rubiaceae.[2]

Systematics

Cosmocalyx was named by Paul Standley in 1930.[3] The generic name is derived from the Ancient Greek words, kosmos, meaning "order", and kalyx, "a calyx".[4]

Cosmocalyx is placed with Deppea, Hoffmannia, Hamelia and several other genera in the tribe Hamelieae. Relationships within this tribe are uncertain.[5]

References
  1. "Cosmocalyx in the World Checklist of Rubiaceae". Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  2. Delprete PG (1998). "Notes on calycophyllous Rubiaceae. Part III. Systematic position of the monotypic Mexican genus Cosmocalyx and notes on the calycophyll development". Brittonia. 50 (3): 309–317. doi:10.2307/2807774.
  3. Cosmocalyx page 56. In: Paul C. Standley. 1930. "Studies of American Plants – III". Field Museum of Natural History. Botanical series. 8(1):3-73.
  4. Quattrocchi U (2000). CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names. 1. Boca Raton, New York, Washington DC, London: CRC Press. ISBN 978-0-8493-2675-2.
  5. Manns U, Bremer B (2010). "Towards a better understanding of intertribal relationships and stable tribal delimitations within Cinchonoideae s.s. (Rubiaceae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 56 (1): 21–39. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2010.04.002. PMID 20382247.
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