''Anthocercis'', commonly known as tailflower, is a

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 n ...

of shrubs which are endemic to southern temperate Australia with the center of distribution in the South West Botanical Province of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...

.George ''et al.''. (1982) All species of ''Anthocercis'' contain

tropane alkaloid Tropane alkaloids are a class of bicyclic .2.1alkaloids and secondary metabolites that contain a tropane ring in their chemical structure. Tropane alkaloids occur naturally in many members of the plant family Solanaceae. Certain tropane alkaloid ...

s, and have occasionally caused poisoning in children or suspected of poisoning stock. Anthocercis is known as the only Solanaceous plant known to produce

resin In polymer chemistry and materials science, resin is a solid or highly viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers. Resins are usually mixtures of organic compounds. This article focuses on n ...

compounds on glandular

trichomes Trichomes (); ) are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants, algae, lichens, and certain protists. They are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae. A covering of any kind of hair on a pla ...

Taxonomy

The

, which is placed within the family

Solanaceae The Solanaceae , or nightshades, are a family of flowering plants that ranges from annual and perennial herbs to vines, lianas, epiphytes, shrubs, and trees, and includes a number of agricultural crops, medicinal plants, spices, weeds, and o ...

, was first formally described by botanist

Jacques Labillardière Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardière (28 October 1755 – 8 January 1834) was a French biologist noted for his descriptions of the flora of Australia. Labillardière was a member of a voyage in search of the La Pérouse expedition. He pub ...

in ''

Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen ''Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen'' is a two-volume work describing the flora of Australia. Facsimiles of the originals can be found in the onlinBiodiversity Heritage Library (Vol.1)anVol 2) The author was the French botanist Jacques Labillar ...

'', Vol. 2: 19 (1806). The type species of the

is '' Anthocercis littorea'' Labill. ''Anthocercis'' lies in the subfamily

Nicotianoideae Nicotianoideae is a subfamily within the family ''Solanaceae''. Most genera are found in Australia, but they are also found in America and Africa. The subfamily contains eight genera and about 125 species, 90 of them are included in ''Nicotiana'' ...

. The genus is considered to be part of the tribe "Anthocercideae," but the

monophyly 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 ...

of this grouping has been called into question. The species within ''Anthocercis'', however, form a monophyletic group, and lie sister to all other genera of the "Anthocercidoid clade.".

Etymology

''Anthocercis''; from the Greek ''anthos'' (a flower) and ''kerkis'' (a ray), in reference to the narrow

corolla Corolla may refer to: *Corolla (botany), the petals of a flower, considered as a unit *Toyota Corolla, an automobile model name * Corolla (headgear), an ancient headdress in the form of a circlet or crown * ''Corolla'' (gastropod), a genus of moll ...

-lobes.

Species

* '' Anthocercis angustifolia''

F.Muell. Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vic ...

* '' Anthocercis anisantha'' Endl. * '' Anthocercis aromatica''

C.A.Gardner Charles Austin Gardner (6 January 1896 – 24 February 1970) was an English-born Western Australian botanist. Biography Born in Lancaster, in England, on 6 January 1896, Gardner emigrated to Western Australia with his family in 1909, whe ...

* '' Anthocercis fasciculata'' F.Muell. * '' Anthocercis genistoides'' Miers * '' Anthocercis gracilis''

Benth. George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studie ...

— Slender tailflower * ''

Anthocercis ilicifolia ''Anthocercis'', commonly known as tailflower, is a genus of shrubs which are endemic to southern temperate Australia with the center of distribution in the South West Botanical Province of Western Australia.George ''et al.''. (1982) All species ...

Hook. Sir William Jackson Hooker (6 July 178512 August 1865) was an English botanist and botanical illustrator, who became the first director of Kew when in 1841 it was recommended to be placed under state ownership as a botanic garden. At Kew ...

— Red striped yellow tailflower * ''

Anthocercis intricata ''Anthocercis'', commonly known as tailflower, is a genus of shrubs which are endemic to southern temperate Australia with the center of distribution in the South West Botanical Province of Western Australia.George ''et al.''. (1982) All species ...

'' F.Muell. * '' Anthocercis littorea'' Labill. — Yellow tailflower * ''

Anthocercis sylvicola ''Anthocercis'', commonly known as tailflower, is a genus of shrubs which are endemic to southern temperate Australia with the center of distribution in the South West Botanical Province of Western Australia.George ''et al.''. (1982) All species ...

'' T. D. Macfarl. & Ward.-JohnsonMacfarlane & Wardell-Johnson (1996) * ''

Anthocercis viscosa ''Anthocercis viscosa'', also known as sticky tailflower, is a species of shrub in the family Solanaceae, native to the south coast of Western Australia. It grows up to 3 metres in height and produces white or cream flowers between May and Feb ...

'' R.Br. — Sticky tailflower

Hybrids

* ''

Anthocercis tenuipes ''Anthocercis'', commonly known as tailflower, is a genus of shrubs which are endemic to southern temperate Australia with the center of distribution in the South West Botanical Province of Western Australia.George ''et al.''. (1982) All species ...

'' Gand. (putative hybrid between

Duboisia myoporoides ''Duboisia myoporoides'', or corkwood, is a shrub or tree native to high-rainfall areas on the margins of rainforest in eastern Australia. It has a thick and corky bark. The leaves are obovate to elliptic in shape, 4–15 cm long and 1–4&n ...

R.Br. &

Cyphanthera scabrella ''Cyphanthera'' is a genus of shrubs in the family Solanaceae. The species, which are endemic to Australia, include: *''Cyphanthera albicans'' (A.Cunn.) Miers *''Cyphanthera anthocercidea'' (F.Muell.) Haegi *''Cyphanthera microphylla'' Miers *' ...

(Benth.) Miers)

Renamed

* ''Anthocercis microphylla'' F.Muell. → ''

Cyphanthera microphylla ''Cyphanthera'' is a genus of shrubs in the family Solanaceae. The species, which are endemic to Australia, include: *''Cyphanthera albicans'' (A.Cunn.) Miers *''Cyphanthera anthocercidea ''Cyphanthera'' is a genus of shrubs in the family So ...

'' Miers — Small-leaved anthocercis * ''Anthocercis odgersii'' F.Muell. → ''

Cyphanthera odgersii ''Cyphanthera'' is a genus of shrubs in the family Solanaceae. The species, which are endemic to Australia, include: *''Cyphanthera albicans'' (A.Cunn.) Miers *''Cyphanthera anthocercidea'' (F.Muell.) Haegi *''Cyphanthera microphylla'' Miers *' ...

'' F.Muell. — Woolly anthocercis * ''Anthocercis racemosa'' F.Muell. → ''

Cyphanthera racemosa ''Cyphanthera'' is a genus of shrubs in the family Solanaceae. The species, which are endemic to Australia, include: *''Cyphanthera albicans'' (A.Cunn.) Miers *''Cyphanthera anthocercidea'' (F.Muell.) Haegi *''Cyphanthera microphylla'' Miers *' ...

'' (F. Muell.) Haegi

References

Notes

Bibliography

* , (1982): ''Flora of Australia. Volume 29: Solanaceae'', pp. 6 – 13. * (2003): ''Plant Resins'', p. 95. * , (1996): ''Anthocercis sylvicola (Solanaceae), a rare new species from the tingle forests of Walpole, south western Australia'', Nuytsia, Vol. 11, no.1, p. 71-78 : ill.

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q141671 Nicotianoideae Solanaceae genera Solanales of Australia Eudicots of Western Australia