''Coleotrype'' is a genus of perennial

monocotyledon Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, ( Lilianae '' sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are flowering plants whose seeds contain only one embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. A monocot taxon has been in use for several decades, but with various ranks ...

ous

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 dayflower family. It is found in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

and

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> The genus is characterised by its extremely contracted

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 with each unit being subtended by a relatively large

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also lo ...

, and the petals that form a short tube at the base in which 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 attached to it. Flowers may be either

zygomorphic Floral symmetry describes whether, and how, a flower, in particular its perianth, can be divided into two or more identical or mirror-image parts. Uncommonly, flowers may have no axis of symmetry at all, typically because their parts are spir ...

actinomorphic Floral symmetry describes whether, and how, a flower, in particular its perianth, can be divided into two or more identical or mirror-image parts. Uncommonly, flowers may have no axis of symmetry at all, typically because their parts are spirall ...

, and

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 release their pollen either through a pore at the tip or slits down the sides. They are typically encountered in forest understories.Faden, R. (2012). Commelinaceae. Flora of Tropical East Africa: 1-244. Analysis of

DNA sequence A nucleic acid sequence is a succession of bases within the nucleotides forming alleles within a DNA (using GACT) or RNA (GACU) molecule. This succession is denoted by a series of a set of five different letters that indicate the order of the nu ...

s has shown that ''Coleotrype'' is most closely related to the genus '' Amischotolype'', while these two are in turn most closely related to the genus ''

Cyanotis Cyanotis is a genus of mainly perennial plants in the family Commelinaceae, first described in 1825. Species of the genus are native to Africa, southern Asia, and northern Australia.Dyer, R. Allen, “The Genera of Southern African Flowering Plan ...

'' plus its very close relative '' Belosynapsis''. These four genera form a

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

that is found only in the

Old World The "Old World" () is a term for Afro-Eurasia coined by Europeans after 1493, when they became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia in the Eastern Hemisphere, previously ...

, while all of its immediate ancestors are present only in the

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

. ; Species * ''

Coleotrype baronii ''Coleotrype baronii'' is a dayflower plant species described by John Gilbert Baker John Gilbert Baker (13 January 1834 – 16 August 1920) was an England, English botanist. His son was the botanist Edmund Gilbert Baker (1864–1949). Bio ...

'' Baker - Madagascar * ''

Coleotrype brueckneriana ''Coleotrype'' is a genus of perennial monocotyledonous flowering plants in the dayflower family. It is found in Africa and Madagascar. The genus is characterised by its extremely contracted inflorescences with each unit being subtended by a re ...

'' Mildbr. - Kenya, Tanzania * ''

Coleotrype goudotii ''Coleotrype'' is a genus of perennial monocotyledonous flowering plants in the dayflower family. It is found in Africa and Madagascar. The genus is characterised by its extremely contracted inflorescences with each unit being subtended by a re ...

'' C.B.Clarke - Madagascar * ''

Coleotrype laurentii ''Coleotrype'' is a genus of perennial monocotyledonous flowering plants in the dayflower family. It is found in Africa and Madagascar. The genus is characterised by its extremely contracted inflorescences with each unit being subtended by a re ...

'' K.Schum. - western + central Africa * ''

Coleotrype lutea ''Coleotrype'' is a genus of perennial monocotyledonous flowering plants in the dayflower family. It is found in Africa and Madagascar. The genus is characterised by its extremely contracted inflorescences with each unit being subtended by a re ...

'' H.Perrier - Madagascar * ''

Coleotrype madagascarica ''Coleotrype'' is a genus of perennial monocotyledonous flowering plants in the dayflower family. It is found in Africa and Madagascar. The genus is characterised by its extremely contracted inflorescences with each unit being subtended by a re ...

'' C.B.Clarke - Madagascar * ''

Coleotrype natalensis ''Coleotrype'' is a genus of perennial monocotyledonous flowering plants in the Commelinaceae, dayflower family. It is found in Africa and Madagascar. The genus is characterised by its extremely contracted inflorescences with each unit being sub ...

'' C.B.Clarke - Eswatini, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, South Africa * ''

Coleotrype synanthera ''Coleotrype'' is a genus of perennial monocotyledonous flowering plants in the dayflower family. It is found in Africa and Madagascar. The genus is characterised by its extremely contracted inflorescences with each unit being subtended by a re ...

'' H.Perrier - Madagascar * ''

Coleotrype udzungwaensis ''Coleotrype'' is a genus of perennial monocotyledonous flowering plants in the Commelinaceae, dayflower family. It is found in Africa and Madagascar. The genus is characterised by its extremely contracted inflorescences with each unit being sub ...

'' Faden & Layton - Tanzania * ''

Coleotrype vermigera ''Coleotrype'' is a genus of perennial monocotyledonous flowering plants in the dayflower family. It is found in Africa and Madagascar. The genus is characterised by its extremely contracted inflorescences with each unit being subtended by a re ...

'' H.Perrier - Madagascar

References

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q5144594 Commelinaceae Commelinaceae genera Flora of the Afrotropical realm Taxa described in 1881 Taxa named by Charles Baron Clarke