''Aloysia'' 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

verbena ''Verbena'' (), also known as vervain or verveine, is a genus in the family Verbenaceae. It contains about 150 species of annual and perennial herbaceous or semi-woody flowering plants. The majority of the species are native to the Americas ...

family,

Verbenaceae The Verbenaceae ( ), the verbena family or vervain family, is a family of mainly tropical flowering plants. It contains trees, shrubs, and herbs notable for heads, spikes, or clusters of small flowers, many of which have an aromatic smell. T ...

. They are known generally as beebrushes.''Aloysia''.
Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). They are native to the Americas, where they are distributed in

temperate climate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ra ...

s, as well as in

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...

and

desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

s.Siedo, S. J. (2012)
Four new species of the genus ''Aloysia'' (Verbenaceae).
''Lundellia'' 15, 35-46. The genus is named for

Maria Luisa of Parma Maria Luisa of Parma (Luisa Maria Teresa Anna; 9 December 1751 – 2 January 1819) was, by marriage to King Charles IV of Spain, Queen of Spain from 1788 to 1808 leading up to the Peninsular War. Her relationship with Manuel Godoy and influence o ...

(1751-1819), wife of King

Charles IV of Spain Charles IV (; 11 November 1748 – 20 January 1819) was King of Spain and ruler of the Spanish Empire from 1788 to 1808. The Spain inherited by Charles IV gave few indications of instability, but during his reign, Spain entered a series of disa ...

.''Aloysia''.
The Jepson eFlora 2013.

Description

These plants are subshrubs, shrubs, or

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

s growing 0.5 meters to 15 meters tall. Many are very aromatic. The stems may be four-angled and smooth when new, becoming more angular or rounded and often furrowed or striated with age. The leaves are evergreen or

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 Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

in the dry season. They are often oppositely arranged or whorled, but can be alternate or clustered. The blades are variable in shape, toothed or smooth-edged, and hairless to rough-haired on the upper surfaces. The undersides may have glandular hairs. 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 ...

is usually a

raceme A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate growth, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are ...

of widely spaced clusters of 3 to 6 flowers each. There are leaflike

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 ...

s under the flowers which can be showy in some species. The calyx of

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 has 2 or 4 lobes and is persistent, enclosing the fruit as it develops. The flower corolla is tubular with a wider mouth divided into four lobes, one of which may be cleft. The corolla can be white, purplish, blue, or pink. The narrow

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 tipped with a bilobed stigma and there are 4

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. The fruit is a

schizocarp A schizocarp is a dry fruit that, when mature, splits up into mericarps. There are different definitions: * Any Dry fruits, dry fruit composed of multiple carpels that separate. : Under this definition the mericarps can contain one or more ...

Species

The following 41 species are recognised in the genus ''Aloysia'': *'' Aloysia arequipensis'' *'' Aloysia barbata'' *'' Aloysia brasiliensis'' *'' Aloysia castellanosii'' *'' Aloysia catamarcensis'' *'' Aloysia chamaedryfolia'' *'' Aloysia chiapensis'' *''

Aloysia citrodora ''Aloysia citrodora'', lemon verbena, is a species of flowering plant in the verbena family (biology), family Verbenaceae, native plant, native to South America. Other common names include lemon beebrush. It was brought to Europe by the Spain, Sp ...

'' – lemon verbena, lemon beebrush *'' Aloysia coalcomana'' *''

Aloysia cordata ''Aloysia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. They are known generally as beebrushes.

'' *'' Aloysia crenata'' *'' Aloysia decipiens'' *'' Aloysia densispicata'' *'' Aloysia deserticola'' *'' Aloysia dusenii'' *'' Aloysia fiebrigii'' *'' Aloysia gentryi'' *'' Aloysia gratissima'' – common beebrush, whitebrush, whitebushSoule, J. A. ''Butterfly Gardening In Southern Arizona''. Tierra del Sol Press, Tucson, Arizona. 2012. *'' Aloysia hatschbachii'' *'' Aloysia herrerae'' *'' Aloysia macrostachya'' – Rio Grande beebrush *'' Aloysia nahuire'' *'' Aloysia oblanceolata'' *'' Aloysia ovatifolia'' *'' Aloysia peruviana'' *'' Aloysia polygalifolia'' *'' Aloysia polystachya'' – burro, burrito *'' Aloysia pulchra'' *'' Aloysia riojana'' *'' Aloysia salsoloides'' *'' Aloysia salviifolia'' *'' Aloysia schulziana'' *'' Aloysia scorodonioides'' *'' Aloysia sonorensis'' *'' Aloysia spathulata'' *'' Aloysia tarapacana'' *'' Aloysia trifida'' *'' Aloysia unifacialis'' *''

Aloysia velutina ''Aloysia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. They are known generally as beebrushes.

'' *'' Aloysia virgata'' *'' Aloysia wrightii'' – mintbush lippia, Wright's beebrush

Formerly placed here

* ''

Mulguraea ligustrina ''Mulguraea'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Verbenaceae. Its native range is Peru to southern South America. It is found in the countries of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru. The genus name of ''Mulguraea'' is in hono ...

'' (as ''A. ligustrina'' (Lag.) Small)GRIN Species Records of ''Aloysia''.
Germplasm Resources Information Network.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1946965 Verbenaceae genera Taxonomy articles created by Polbot