''Diodia'' (or buttonweed) 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 was described by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

in 1753. The genus is found from southern and eastern

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

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 ...

, the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

and tropical

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

.USDA Plants Database
/ref>

Other buttonweeds

Many species of ''Diodia'' have been transferred to a closely related genus '' Diodella'', and therefore the name buttonweed also applies to these species. There are also many species of false buttonweeds in the related genus ''

Spermacoce ''Spermacoce'' or false buttonweed is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It comprises about 275 species found throughout the tropics and subtropics. Its highest diversity is found in the Americas, followed by Africa, Australia a ...

''. ''

Abutilon theophrasti ''Abutilon theophrasti,'' also known as velvetleaf, velvet plant, velvetweed and the Chinese jute is an annual plant in the Family (biology), family Malvaceae that is native to South Asia, southern Asia and it serves as a type species of the genu ...

'' in the family

Malvaceae Malvaceae (), or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include Theobroma cacao, cacao, Cola (plant), cola, cotton, okra, Hibiscus sabdariffa, ...

is also known by the common name of buttonweed.

Species

* '' Diodia aulacosperma'' K.Schum. - Socotra, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania * '' Diodia barbata'' ( Poir.) DC. - Guyana, Dominican Republic * '' Diodia barbigera'' Hook. &

Arn. George Arnott Walker Arnott of Arlary (6 February 1799 – 17 April 1868) was a Scottish botanist. He collaborated with botanists from around the world and served as a regius professor of botany at the University of Glasgow. An orchid genus ' ...

- Mexico * '' Diodia blepharophylla'' Standl. - Mexico * '' Diodia discolor'' DC. - French Guiana * '' Diodia flavescens'' Hiern - Angola, Zambia * '' Diodia indecora'' DC. - Mexico * '' Diodia kuntzei'' K.Schum. - Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay * '' Diodia lithospermoides'' K.Schum. - Peru * '' Diodia macrophylla'' K.Schum. - Brazil, Paraguay * '' Diodia microcarpa'' K.Schum. ex Glaziou - Brazil * '' Diodia mitens'' Bello - Puerto Rico * '' Diodia othonii'' Rizzini - Brazil * '' Diodia paludosa'' Kuntze - Paraguay * '' Diodia perforata''

Urb. Ignatz Urban (7 January 1848 – 7 January 1931) was a German botany, botanist. He is known for his contributions to the flora of the Caribbean and Brazil, and for his work as curator of the Botanical Garden in Berlin, Berlin Botanical Garden. B ...

- Haiti * '' Diodia rubricosa'' Hiern - Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone * '' Diodia saponariifolia'' (

Cham. Adelbert von Chamisso (; 30 January 1781 – 21 August 1838) was a German poet, writer and botanist. He was commonly known in French as Adelbert de Chamisso (or Chamissot) de Boncourt, a name referring to the family estate at Boncourt. Life ...

Schltdl. Diederich Franz Leonhard von Schlechtendal (27 November 1794, Xanten – 12 October 1866, Halle an der Saale, Halle) was a German botanist. Life and work Von Schlechtendal was born in Xanten, Xanten am Rhein and when his father Diederich Fried ...

) K.Schum. - Central and South America * '' Diodia saponarioides'' C.Presl - Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay * '' Diodia scandens''

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 ...

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

, Central, and

Eastern Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

* '' Diodia simplex'' Sw. - Cuba, Jamaica * '' Diodia verticillata'' Vahl - Brazil, Lesser Antilles * '' Diodia virginiana'' L. - Virginia buttonweed - south-central and south-eastern United States from Texas to Kansas, east to Florida and New Jersey; also Connecticut, Cuba and Nicaragua. Naturalized in Japan, Taiwan and northern California

References

External links

''Diodia'' in the World Checklist of RubiaceaeJepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants Profile
Rubiaceae genera Spermacoceae Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Rubioideae-stub