''Abelia'' is a previously recognized

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

that contained about 30

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

and hybrids, placed in the honeysuckle

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Caprifoliaceae The Caprifoliaceae or honeysuckle family is a clade of dicotyledonous flowering plants consisting of about 860 species, in 33, to 42 genera, with a nearly cosmopolitan distribution. Centres of diversity are found in eastern North America and ...

Molecular phylogenetic 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 ...

studies showed that the genus was not

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gr ...

, and in 2013,

Maarten Christenhusz Dr Maarten Joost Maria Christenhusz (born 27 April 1976) is a Dutch botanist, natural historian and photographer. Career He was born in Enschede, the Netherlands, received his undergraduate and master's degrees from Utrecht University in ...

proposed the merger of ''Abelia'' (excluding section ''Zabelia'') into '' Linnaea'', along with some other genera. ''Abelia'' section ''Zabelia'' was raised to the genus '' Zabelia''.

Description

Species formerly placed in ''Abelia'' are

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from tree ...

s from 1–6 m tall, native to eastern

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

(

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

west to the

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

) and southern

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

(

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

); the species from warm climates are

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

, and colder climate species

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

. The

leaves A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

are opposite or in whorls of three, ovate, glossy, dark green, 1.5–8 cm long, turning purplish-bronze to red in autumn in the deciduous species. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanis ...

s appear in the upper leaf axils and stem ends, 1-8 together in a short cyme; they are pendulous, white to pink, bell-shaped with a five-lobed corolla, 1–5 cm long, and usually scented. Flowering continues over a long and continuous period from late spring to fall. Some of these species are cultivated as ornamental garden plants, and may still be described as ''Abelia'' in horticultural listings. A notable example is the hybrid ''Abelia'' × ''grandiflora'' (now ''Linnaea'' × ''grandiflora'').

Taxonomy

The generic name commemorates Clarke Abel, a keen naturalist who accompanied Lord Amherst's unsuccessful embassy to China in 1816 as a surgeon, under the sponsorship of

Sir Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James C ...

. All of Abel's seeds and plants were lost in a shipwreck on the homeward voyage, however; living plants of ''Abelia chinensis'' (now '' Linnaea chinensis'') were first imported to England in 1844 by

Robert Fortune Robert Fortune (16 September 1812 – 13 April 1880) was a Scottish botanist, plant hunter and traveller, best known for introducing around 250 new ornamental plants, mainly from China, but also Japan, into the gardens of Britain, Australia, an ...

.Alice M. Coats, ''Garden Shrubs and Their Histories'' (1964), 1992, ''s.v.'' "Abelia". Some species placed in ''Abelia'' were transferred to '' Linnaea'' at various times from 1872 onwards, but these transfers were not accepted by most botanists.

studies showed that a number of genera traditionally placed in the tribe Linnaeeae were closely related, but that ''Abelia'' was not monophyletic, even with ''Abelia'' section ''Zabelia'' split off as a separate genus '' Zabelia''. In 2013,

proposed that ''Abelia'' and related genera be merged into ''Linnaea''. This proposal has been adopted by recent sources, including the

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants by ...

Allergenicity

''Abelia'' has an OPALS allergy scale rating of 5 out of 10, indicating moderate potential to cause allergic reactions, exacerbated by over-use of the same plant throughout a garden. People allergic to

honeysuckle Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or twining vines in the genus ''Lonicera'' () of the family Caprifoliaceae, native to northern latitudes in North America and Eurasia. Approximately 180 species of honeysuckle have been identified in both con ...

may experience cross-reactive allergic reactions with ''Abelia''.

Symbolism

The Abelia is symbolic for equality in some parts of

Former species and synonyms

Species and synonyms previously placed in ''Abelia'' but now placed in other genera include: *''Abelia adenotricha'' = '' Lonicera elisae'' *''Abelia aitchinsonii'' = unplaced *''Abelia angustifolia'' = '' Zabelia angustifolia'' *''Abelia anhweiensis'' = '' Zabelia dielsii'' *''Abelia aschersoniana'' = '' Linnaea chinensis'' *''Abelia biflora'' = '' Zabelia biflora'' *''Abelia brachystemon'' = '' Zabelia brachystemon'' *''Abelia buchwaldii'' = '' Linnaea serrata'' *''Abelia buddleioides'' = '' Zabelia buddleioides'' *''Abelia cavaleriei'' = '' Linnaea chinensis'' *''Abelia chinensis'' = '' Linnaea chinensis'' *''Abelia chowii'' = unplaced *''Abelia coreana'' = '' Zabelia dielsii'' *''Abelia coriacea'' = ''

Linnaea coriacea ''Linnaea'' is a plant genus in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae. Until 2013, the genus included a single species, ''Linnaea borealis''. In 2013, on the basis of molecular phylogenetic evidence, the genus was expanded to include species f ...

'' *''Abelia corymbosa'' = '' Zabelia corymbosa'' *''Abelia curviflora'' = '' Linnaea spathulata'' *''Abelia davidii'' = '' Zabelia biflora'' *''Abelia deutziifolia'' = ''

Linnaea engleriana ''Linnaea'' is a plant genus in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae. Until 2013, the genus included a single species, ''Linnaea borealis''. In 2013, on the basis of molecular phylogenetic evidence, the genus was expanded to include species f ...

'' *''Abelia dielsii'' = '' Zabelia dielsii'' *''Abelia engleriana'' = ''

'' *''Abelia fargesii'' = unplaced *''Abelia floribunda'' = ''

Linnaea floribunda ''Linnaea floribunda'', also known as Mexican abelia, is a species of flowering plant in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae, native to Mexico. Growing to tall and broad, it is a semi-evergreen or evergreen shrub with shiny ovate leaves and ...

'' *''Abelia gracilenta'' = ''

Linnaea forrestii ''Linnaea'' is a plant genus in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae. Until 2013, the genus included a single species, ''Linnaea borealis''. In 2013, on the basis of molecular phylogenetic evidence, the genus was expanded to include species f ...

'' *''Abelia graebneriana'' = ''

'' *''Abelia'' × ''grandiflora = ''Linnaea'' × ''grandiflora'' *''Abelia grandifolia'' = ''

Linnaea grandifolia ''Linnaea'' is a plant genus in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae. Until 2013, the genus included a single species, ''Linnaea borealis''. In 2013, on the basis of molecular phylogenetic evidence, the genus was expanded to include species f ...

'' *''Abelia gymnocarpa'' = '' Linnaea serrata'' *''Abelia hanceana'' = '' Linnaea chinensis'' *''Abelia hersii'' = '' Zabelia dielsii'' *''Abelia hirsuta'' = ''

'' *''Abelia insularis'' = '' Zabelia biflora'' *''Abelia integrifolia'' = '' Zabelia integrifolia'' *''Abelia ionandra'' = '' Linnaea chinensis'' *''Abelia ionostachya'' = '' Linnaea spathulata'' *''Abelia koehneana'' = ''

'' *''Abelia lipoensis'' = '' Linnaea chinensis'' *''Abelia longituba'' = '' Linnaea parvifolia'' *''Abelia macrotera'' = ''

Linnaea macrotera ''Linnaea'' is a plant genus in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae. Until 2013, the genus included a single species, ''Linnaea borealis''. In 2013, on the basis of molecular phylogenetic evidence, the genus was expanded to include species f ...

'' *''Abelia mairei'' = '' Linnaea parvifolia'' *''Abelia mexicana'' = ''

Linnaea mexicana ''Linnaea'' is a plant genus in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae. Until 2013, the genus included a single species, ''Linnaea borealis''. In 2013, on the basis of molecular phylogenetic evidence, the genus was expanded to include species f ...

'' *''Abelia microphylla'' = ''

'' *''Abelia mosanensis'' = '' Zabelia tyaihyonii'' *''Abelia myrtilloides'' = '' Linnaea parvifolia'' *''Abelia occidentalis'' = ''

Linnaea occidentalis ''Linnaea'' is a plant genus in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae. Until 2013, the genus included a single species, ''Linnaea borealis''. In 2013, on the basis of molecular phylogenetic evidence, the genus was expanded to include species f ...

'' *''Abelia onkocarpa'' = '' Zabelia onkocarpa'' *''Abelia parvifolia'' = '' Linnaea parvifolia'' *''Abelia rupestris'' = '' Linnaea chinensis'' *''Abelia sanguinea'' = '' Linnaea spathulata'' *''Abelia schischkinii'' = '' Linnaea parvifolia'' *''Abelia schumannii'' = '' Linnaea parvifolia'' *''Abelia serrata'' = '' Linnaea serrata'' *''Abelia shikokiana'' = '' Zabelia biflora'' *''Abelia spathulata'' = '' Linnaea spathulata'' *''Abelia speciosa'' = ''

'' *''Abelia splendens'' = '' Lonicera fragrantissima'' *''Abelia tereticalyx'' = '' Linnaea parvifolia'' *''Abelia tetrasepala'' = '' Linnaea tetrasepala'' *''Abelia tomentosa'' = '' Linnaea serrata'' *''Abelia tyaihyonii'' = '' Zabelia tyaihyonii'' *''Abelia umbellata'' = '' Zabelia umbellata'' *''Abelia uniflora'' = ''

Linnaea uniflora ''Linnaea'' is a plant genus in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae. Until 2013, the genus included a single species, ''Linnaea borealis''. In 2013, on the basis of molecular phylogenetic evidence, the genus was expanded to include species f ...

'' *''Abelia verticillata'' = '' Linnaea parvifolia'' *''Abelia zanderi'' = '' Zabelia dielsii''

References and external links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q158261 Historically recognized angiosperm genera Caprifoliaceae