''Apocissus'' is a genus of

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 family

Vitaceae The Vitaceae are a family of flowering plants, with 14 genera and around 910 known species, including common plants such as Vitis, grapevines (''Vitis'' spp.) and Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Virginia creeper (''Parthenocissus quinquefolia''). Th ...

. It includes seven species of climbing or scrambling vines, with six species native to New Guinea and Australia, and one species native to Central and South America. The species in ''Apocissus'' were formerly placed in ''

Cissus ''Cissus'' is a genus of approximately 350 species of lianas (Woody plant, woody vines) in the grape family (Vitaceae). They have a cosmopolitan distribution, though the majority are to be found in the tropics. Decription Extrafloral nectaries ...

'', a large genus with a wide distribution in the tropics and subtropics. They are distinguished from ''Cissus'' by the presence of

domatia A domatium (plural: domatia, from the Latin "domus", meaning home) is a tiny chamber that houses arthropods, produced by a plant. Ideally domatia differ from galls in that they are produced by the plant rather than being induced by their inhabi ...

and/or ‘pouch-like'

stipule In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole (botany), petiole). They are primarily found among dicots and rare among monocots. Stipules are considered part ...

s. Jackes and Trias-Blasi (2023) concluded that ''Apocissus'' diverged from the core ''Cissus'' clade in the early

Eocene The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...

, when South America and Australia were still connected via Antarctica.

Species

Seven species are accepted. *''

Apocissus acrantha ''Apocissus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Vitaceae. It includes seven species of climbing or scrambling vines, with six species native to New Guinea and Australia, and one species native to Central and South America. The species ...

'' – New Guinea *'' Apocissus antarctica'' – eastern Australia *'' Apocissus behrmannii'' – New Guinea *'' Apocissus hypoglauca'' – eastern and southeastern Australia *'' Apocissus oblonga'' – eastern Australia *'' Apocissus sterculiifolia'' – eastern Australia *'' Apocissus trianae'' – southern Mexico to Bolivia and southeastern Brazil

References

{{Taxonbar, from= Q135409995 Vitaceae Vitaceae genera Taxa described in 2023