''Arachnothryx'' 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

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Rubiaceae Rubiaceae () is a family (biology), family of flowering plants, commonly known as the coffee, madder, or bedstraw family. It consists of terrestrial trees, shrubs, lianas, or herbs that are recognizable by simple, opposite leaves with Petiole ( ...

. It contains about 107

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

. It is found from

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

and in

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

Taxonomy

''Arachnothryx'' was named by

Jules Émile Planchon Jules Émile Planchon (21 March 1823 – 1 April 1888) was a French botanist born in Ganges, Hérault. He was a brother of Gustave Planchon who also studied medicinal plants. Biography After receiving his Doctorate of Science at the Universit ...

in 1849.''Arachnothryx'' In: International Plant Names Index. (see ''External links'' below).Jules Émile Planchon. 1849. ''Flore des Serres et des Jardins de l'Europe'' 5:442 and illustration. (see ''External links'' below). This generic name is derived from

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

: ''arachne'' or ''arachnos'', "a spider", and ''thrix'' or ''trichos'', "hair". As currently

circumscribed In geometry, a circumscribed circle for a set of points is a circle passing through each of them. Such a circle is said to ''circumscribe'' the points or a polygon formed from them; such a polygon is said to be ''inscribed'' in the circle. * Circum ...

, ''Arachnothryx'' is

paraphyletic Paraphyly is a taxonomic term describing a grouping that consists of the grouping's last common ancestor and some but not all of its descendant lineages. The grouping is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In co ...

over ''Cuatrecasasiodendron'', '' Gonzalagunia'', and ''Javorkaea''. Some authors have included these genera in a broadly defined '' Rondeletia'', but

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

studies Study or studies may refer to: General * Education **Higher education * Clinical trial * Experiment * Field of study * Observational study * Scientific study * Research * Study skills, abilities and approaches applied to learning Other * Study ...

have shown that they are more closely related to ''

Guettarda ''Guettarda'' is a plant genus in the family Rubiaceae. Most of these plants are known by the common name velvetseed. Distribution Most of the species are Neotropical.David J. Mabberley. 2008. ''Mabberley's Plant-Book'' third edition (2008). C ...

'' than to '' Rondeletia''.

Species

* '' Arachnothryx aspera'' ( Standl.) Borhidi * '' Arachnothryx atravesadensis'' (Lorence) Borhidi * '' Arachnothryx bertieroides'' ( Standl.) Borhidi * '' Arachnothryx brachytyrsa'' Borhidi * '' Arachnothryx brenesii'' ( Standl.) Borhidi * '' Arachnothryx buddleioides'' (

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 ...

) Planch. * '' Arachnothryx calycophylla''

Steyerm. Julian Alfred Steyermark (January 27, 1909 – October 15, 1988) was a Venezuelan American botanist. His focus was on New World vegetation, and he specialized in the family Rubiaceae. Life and work Julian Alfred Steyermark was born in St. Louis ...

* '' Arachnothryx calycosa'' (Donn.Sm.) Borhidi * '' Arachnothryx capitellata'' ( Hemsl.) Borhidi * '' Arachnothryx caucana'' ( Standl. ex

)

* '' Arachnothryx chaconii'' (Lorence) Borhidi * '' Arachnothryx chiapensis'' ( Brandegee) Borhidi * '' Arachnothryx chimalaparum'' Lorence ex Borhidi * '' Arachnothryx chimboracensis'' ( Standl.)

* '' Arachnothryx chiriquiana'' (Lorence) Borhidi * '' Arachnothryx colombiana'' ( Rusby)

* '' Arachnothryx costanensis''

* '' Arachnothryx costaricensis'' ( Standl.) Borhidi * '' Arachnothryx cupreiflora'' ( K.Schum. & K.Krause)

* '' Arachnothryx darienensis'' ( Standl.) Borhidi * '' Arachnothryx discolor'' (

Kunth Carl Sigismund Kunth (18 June 1788 – 22 March 1850) was a German botanist. He was also known as Karl Sigismund Kunth or anglicized as Charles Sigismund Kunth. He was one of the early systematic botanists who focused on studying the plants of th ...

) Planch. * '' Arachnothryx dwyeri'' (Lorence) Borhidi * '' Arachnothryx educta'' ( Standl. ex

)

* '' Arachnothryx euryphylla'' ( Standl.)

* '' Arachnothryx evansii'' (Lorence) Borhidi * '' Arachnothryx flocculosa'' Borhidi * '' Arachnothryx fosbergii''

* '' Arachnothryx galeottii'' ( Standl.) Borhidi * '' Arachnothryx garciae'' Standl. ex

* '' Arachnothryx ginetteae'' (Lorence) Borhidi * '' Arachnothryx glabrata'' ( Standl.)