''Beaupreopsis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family
Proteaceae
The Proteaceae form a family (biology), family of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises 83 genus, genera with about 1,660 known species. Australia and South Africa have the greatest concentr ...
, with just one species in the genus, ''Beaupreopsis paniculata''. It is native to New Caledonia on the south of
Grand Terre. Its habitat is shrubland at altitudes from , on substrates of eroded
ultramafic
Ultramafic rocks (also referred to as ultrabasic rocks, although the terms are not wholly equivalent) are igneous and meta-igneous rocks with a very low silica content (less than 45%), generally >18% MgO, high FeO, low potassium, and are usua ...
rocks.
Description
The plants are shrubs, rarely exceeding 1.50 m in height, with thick branches, scattered and few. They have pseudo-whorled leaves (5-10 x 0, 20-0, 60 cm), more or less toothed or lobed at the apex, cuneate at the base, leathery, venation slightly prominent, petiole short and robust.
Flowers are small, white or pinkish in terminal panicles from 20 to 50 cm. The fruits are small and hairy, containing a single seed.
Taxonomy
This plant was first described as ''Cenarrhenes paniculata'' in 1865 by French botanists
Adolphe-Théodore Brongniart and
Jean Antoine Arthur Gris, and published in ''Bulletin de la Société Botanique de France''. In 1968 the species was reviewed by another French botanist,
Robert Virot, who created the new genus ''Beaupreopsis'' and transferred the species to it. His work was published in ''Flore de la Nouvelle-Calédonie et Dépendances''.
The genus ''Beaupreopsis'' is most closely related to the genera ''
Cenarrhenes'' (
Tasmania
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
) and ''
Dilobeia'' (
Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
).
References
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q4877611, from2=Q15574805
Proteoideae
Monotypic Proteaceae genera
Endemic flora of New Caledonia
Taxa named by Jean Antoine Arthur Gris
Taxa named by Adolphe-Théodore Brongniart
Taxa named by Robert Virot