''Monochaetum'' is a

neotropical 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 biogeogra ...

genus of

shrub A shrub or 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 trees by their multiple ...

s and subshrubs with about 54 species. It occurs in warm temperate to tropical montane habitats from Mexico and Central America to the South American

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Peru with one species reaching the

Guayana Highlands Guyana is a country in the Guianas, South America. Guyana, Guiana, or Guayana may refer to: * British Guiana, a British colony until 1966, now independent and known as Guyana * French Guiana, an overseas department of France in the Guianas * The ...

of Venezuela and Guyana. ''Monochaetum'' is characterized by its

tetramerous Merosity (from the greek "méros," which means "having parts")) refers to the number of component parts in a distinct whorl of a plant structure. The term is most commonly used in the context of a flower where it refers to the number of sepals in a ...

flowers, prevailingly dimorphic

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 with dorsally appendiculate

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, capsular fruits that are free from the

hypanthium In angiosperms, a hypanthium or floral cup is a structure where basal portions of the Sepal, calyx, the petal, corolla, and the stamens form a cup-shaped tube. It is sometimes called a floral tube, a term that is also used for corolla tube and cal ...

, and cochleate seeds.

Species

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

(POWO) listed the following accepted species of ''Monochaetum''.

References

External links

Melastomataceae of the World
Melastomataceae genera {{Melastomataceae-stub