''Anthodon'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Celastraceae The Celastraceae (staff-vine or bittersweet) are a family of 98 genera and 1,350 species of herbs, vines, shrubs and small trees, belonging to the order Celastrales. The great majority of the genera are tropical, with only ''Celastrus'' (the staf ...

.Mark P. Simmons. 2004. "Celastraceae" pages 29-64. In: Klaus Kubitzki (editor). ''The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants'' vol. VI. Springer-Verlag: Berlin;Heidelberg, Germany. It comprises two

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of large woody

vine A vine is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas, or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselves, for instance, when used in wicker work.Jackson; Benjamin; Da ...

sAlbert C. Smith. 1940.
Anthodon
pages 418-423. In:
The American Species of Hippocrateaceae
''Brittonia'' 3(3):341-555.

native Native may refer to: People * '' Jus sanguinis'', nationality by blood * '' Jus soli'', nationality by location of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Nat ...

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

and northern and Amazonian

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

.Anne R.A. Görts-van Rijn and Alberta M.W. Mennega. 1994. "Hippocrateaceae" monograph 110, pages 3-81. In: Anne R.A. Görts-van Rijn (editor). ''Flora of the Guianas'' volume 16. Koeltz Scientific Books: Czech Republic. They are scattered throughout most of the

Neotropics The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In biogeog ...

, but are not

common Common may refer to: As an Irish surname, it is anglicised from Irish Gaelic surname Ó Comáin. Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Com ...

in any part of their

range Range may refer to: Geography * Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra) ** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands * Range, a term used to i ...

. They grow in wet

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

s from 100 m to 900 m in

elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...

. There is no known use of these vines by humans.

Description

''Anthodon'' is a large

liana A liana is a long-Plant stem, stemmed Woody plant, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the Canopy (biology), canopy in search of direct sunlight. T ...

. Its leaves are

opposite In lexical semantics, opposites are words lying in an inherently incompatible binary relationship. For example, something that is ''even'' entails that it is not ''odd''. It is referred to as a 'binary' relationship because there are two members i ...

or subopposite,

simple Simple or SIMPLE may refer to: *Simplicity, the state or quality of being simple Arts and entertainment * ''Simple'' (album), by Andy Yorke, 2008, and its title track * "Simple" (Florida Georgia Line song), 2018 * "Simple", a song by John ...

, and with margins that are

crenulate The following terms are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade is divided into two or more leaflets) ...

or serrulate. They are elliptic, 6 to 12 cm long, and 2.5 to 5 cm wide. The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

s are borne in the

axils A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, f ...

of the leaves, on peduncles 5 to 30 mm long. They are roughly flat-topped in shape, dichotomously branched, and bearing numerous flowers. The

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s are a greenish or pale yellow, fragrant, and 5 to 10 mm in diameter. They are bisexual and pentamerous, with the

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s and

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s being completely free. The sepals and petals are serrate; the petals conspicuously so, often with each tooth tapering to a short

hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and ...

. The

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s are three in number, equal, and ascending to erect. The filaments are short and broadened toward the base. The

anther The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s are basifixed and broadly

reniform Reniform is an adjective meaning "kidney-shaped". It may refer to: * Reniform habit, a type of crystal shape * Reniform leaf, a plant leaf shape * Reniform seed, a plant seed shape * Reniform stigma, a spot on the wings of certain moths See ...

opening Opening may refer to: Types of openings * Hole * A title sequence or opening credits * Grand opening of a business or other institution * Inauguration * Keynote * Opening sentence * Opening sequence * Opening statement, a beginning statemen ...

by a transverse, apical cleft. A

nectar Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by Plant, plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to an ...

y disk encircles the stamens. The

ovary The ovary () is a gonad in the female reproductive system that produces ova; when released, an ovum travels through the fallopian tube/ oviduct into the uterus. There is an ovary on the left and the right side of the body. The ovaries are end ...

is 3-sided and 3-locular, with 8 to 14

ovule In seed plants, the ovule is the structure that gives rise to and contains the female reproductive cells. It consists of three parts: the ''integument'', forming its outer layer, the ''nucellus'' (or remnant of the sporangium, megasporangium), ...

s per

locule A locule (: locules) or loculus (; : loculi) is a small cavity or compartment within an organ or part of an organism (animal, plant, or fungus). In angiosperms (flowering plants), the term ''locule'' usually refers to a chamber within an ovary ...

. The

placentation Placentation is the formation, type and structure, or modes of arrangement of the placenta. The function of placentation is to transfer nutrients, respiratory gases, and water from maternal tissue to a growing embryo, and in some instances to re ...

is axile. The

style Style, or styles may refer to: Film and television * ''Style'' (2001 film), a Hindi film starring Sharman Joshi, Riya Sen, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal * ''Style'' (2002 film), a Tamil drama film * ''Style'' (2004 film), a Burmese film * '' ...

is short and stout, surmounted by three small, triangular stigmas, these located opposite the stamens. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

is distinctive, easily attracting attention by its odd appearance. There is usually only one per inflorescence. It has been described as three

coherent Coherence is, in general, a state or situation in which all the parts or ideas fit together well so that they form a united whole. More specifically, coherence, coherency, or coherent may refer to the following: Physics * Coherence (physics ...

capsules and as a 3-locular capsule. It is dorso-ventrally flattened into a disk which hangs lantern-like from the peduncle attached at its center. It is green and variable in size, up to 18 cm in diameter. In most of its close relatives, the three locules of the ovary become three separate fruits, but in ''Anthodon'', they are united for their entire length and over half their width into a trilobed capsule with a notch at the end of each lobe. At maturity, the capsule breaks into three pieces, with each locule splitting down the middle and the adjacent halves of the locules remaining fused, sometimes weakly so. Unlike many in Celastraceae, the

seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

s have no

aril An aril (), also called arillus, is a specialized outgrowth from a seed that partly or completely covers the seed. An arillode, or false aril, is sometimes distinguished: whereas an aril grows from the attachment point of the seed to the ova ...

. Eight to 14 are crowded into each locule. The basal part of the seed is a membranous wing with a single, central

vein Veins () are blood vessels in the circulatory system of humans and most other animals that carry blood towards the heart. Most veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart; exceptions are those of the pulmonary and feta ...

that forms as a remnant of the funiculus. The

embryo An embryo ( ) is the initial stage of development for a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male sp ...

niferous part of the seed is near the edge of the capsule.

Names

The name ''Anthodon'' was coined by

Ruiz The Spanish surname Ruiz is a patronymic from the personal name Ruy, a short form of Rodrigo, meaning "son of Roderick". Roderick's roots can be traced back to the Visigoths, the Germanic tribe which ruled in the Iberian Peninsula between the 5th an ...

and Pavon in 1798 in their

masterpiece A masterpiece, , or ; ; ) is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, skill, profundity, or workmanship. Historically, ...

, ''Flora Peruviana et Chilensis''. It means "flower tooth" or "flower teeth", and refers to the prominent teeth that line the margins of the sepals and petals. At the end of their description, they wrote, "Genus ''Anthodon'' à foliolis calycinis et petalis dentato-ciliatis nominavimus".Hipólito Ruiz-López and José Antonio Pavón y Jiménez. 1789-1802. ''Flora Peruviana et Chilensis...''. plate LXXIV and volume 1, page 45. Typis Gabrielis de Sancha: Madrid, Spain. (see ''External links'' below). They described one species, ''Anthodon decussatum'', named for the

decussate Decussation is used in biological contexts to describe a crossing (due to the shape of the Roman numeral for ten, an uppercase 'X' (), ). In Latin anatomical terms, the form is used, e.g. . Similarly, the anatomical term chiasma is named aft ...

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

of the leaves. It is the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

for the genus. In 1940, Albert C. Smith named the second species, ''Anthodon panamense''. Some have doubted that ''Anthodon'' contains two species, suggesting that it might be a single species with a

disjunct distribution In biology, a taxon with a disjunct distribution is one that has two or more groups that are related but considerably separated from each other geographically. The causes are varied and might demonstrate either the expansion or contraction of a s ...

and a

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

nian

variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

. After Ruiz and Pavon established the genus ''Anthodon'', several species were assigned to it by other authors,"Anthodon" at ''International Plant Names Index'' (see ''External links'' below). resulting in a genus that was hard to distinguish from a few others. These species have been reassigned to other genera.

Relatives

In a treatment of the family Celastraceae in 2004, Mark Simmons placed ''Anthodon'' in the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Hippocrateoideae, which contains about 100 species. Hippocrateoideae is one of three morphologically distinct and

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

subfamilies In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zool ...

embedded in the large,

paraphyletic Paraphyly is a taxonomic term describing a grouping that consists of the grouping's last common ancestor and some but not all of its descendant lineages. The grouping is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In co ...

subfamily Celastroideae. The

classification Classification is the activity of assigning objects to some pre-existing classes or categories. This is distinct from the task of establishing the classes themselves (for example through cluster analysis). Examples include diagnostic tests, identif ...

proposed by Simmons is an

artificial Artificiality (the state of being artificial, anthropogenic, or man-made) is the state of being the product of intentional human manufacture, rather than occurring naturally through processes not involving or requiring human activity. Connotati ...

construct, meant to be used until a

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical dat ...

of Celastraceae can be found. The subfamily Hippocrateoideae (

sensu ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular co ...

Simmons) encompasses about a third of the species of the now defunct family Hippocrateaceae that was erected by Jussieu in 1811.Antoine Laurent de Jussieu. 1811. page 486. In: "Dixième Mémoire; Sur les caractères généraux des familles tirés des graines, et confirmés ou rectifiés par les observations de Gaertner. Renonculacées - Malpighiacées.". ''Annales du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle'' 18:472-487. (see ''External links'' below). The division of Hippocrateoideae into genera has been a source of considerable disagreement.Albert C. Smith. 1940. "Introductory Information" pages 341-356. In: "The American Species of Hippocrateaceae". ''Brittonia'' 3(3):341-555. (see ''External links'' below). Simmons recognizes 19 genera in this group. Most authors have recognized fewer genera and some have put all of the 100 or so species into one genus, a very broadly circumscribed '' Hippocratea''.

Circumscription

The genus ''Anthodon'' has been variously "sunk" into other genera. In 1872, John Miers placed the only species known at that time into '' Prionostemma''.John Miers. 1872. "On the Hippocrateaceae of South America". ''Transactions of the Linnean Society of London'' 28(2):319-342 + 32 plates. Theodor Loesener placed it in '' Hippocratea''

subgenus In biology, a subgenus ( subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between the ge ...

Pristimera.L.E. Theodor Loesener. 1942. "Anthodon" page 208. In: "Hippocrateaceae" pages 198-231. In: H.G. Adolf Engler and Karl A.E. Prantl, with Hermann Harms and Johannes Mattfeld (editors). ''Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien'' volume 20b. Duncker and Humblot: Berlin, Germany. 1960 reprint of 1942 publication. ''Anthodon'' has not yet been

sampled Sample or samples may refer to: * Sample (graphics), an intersection of a color channel and a pixel * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of something * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample ...

for

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

, but four of its close relatives, '' Hippocratea'', '' Pristimera'', ''

Plagiopteron ''Plagiopteron suaveolens'' is a species of flowering plant belonging to the family Celastraceae. It is a climbing shrub or liana native to southeastern China (southwestern Guangxi), Indo-China, and Assam. It is the sole species in genus ''Plagio ...

'', and '' Loesenerella'' were sampled for a

molecular phylogeny Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

of Celastraceae that was published in 2008.Mark P. Simmons, Jennifer J. Cappa, Robert H. Archer, Andrew J. Ford, Dedra Eichstedt, and Curtis C. Clevinger (2008). "Phylogeny of the Celastreae and the relationships of Catha edulis inferred from morphological characters and nuclear and plastid genes". ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'' 48(2):745-757. The ultimate

botanical Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

fate of ''Anthodon'' can not presently be known. It might be subsumed into some other genus or it might be expanded by having additional species transferred to it. Only further studies of Celastraceae will provide an answer.

Description

Names

Relatives

Circumscription

References

External links