''Flabellaria'' 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 ...

in the

Malpighiaceae Malpighiaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales. It comprises about 73 genera and 1315 species, all of which are native to the tropics and subtropics. About 80% of the genera and 90% of the species occur in the New World ( ...

, a

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 ...

of about 75 genera 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 order

Malpighiales The Malpighiales comprise one of the largest Order (biology), orders of flowering plants. The order is very diverse, with well-known members including willows, Viola (plant), violets, aspens and Populus, poplars, Euphorbia pulcherrima, poinsett ...

. ''Flabellaria'' includes one variable

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), ...

, ''Flabellaria paniculata''.

Etymology

The genus name ''Flabellaria'' comes from the Latin word ''flabellum'' meaning small fan, referring to the shape of the samara. This name was given by Cavanilles in 1790.

Synonyms

* ''Triaspis flabellaria'' A.Juss. * ''Triopterys pinnata''

Poir. Jean Louis Marie Poiret (11 June 1755 in Saint-Quentin7 April 1834 in Paris) was a French clergyman, botanist, and explorer. From 1785 to 1786, he was sent by Louis XVI to Algeria to study the flora. After the French Revolution, he became ...

Fossil record

The name ''Flabellaria'' was also given by Sternberg in 1821 to fossil palm leaves. In this sense the genus is known in the fossil record from the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...

to the

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 ...

(age range: from 70.6 to 33.9 million years ago.).

Description

''Flabellaria paniculata'', the only living species in this genus, can reach a length of . These plants are woody vine, with paniculate, lateral and terminal inflorescences up to 20 cm. long. Flowers are radially symmetrical, about 1 centimeter in diameter, with white and spatulate petals.Herbarium
Malpighiaceae - description, taxonomy, phylogeny, and nomenclature

Distribution and habitat

''Flabellaria paniculata'' is widely distributed in

equatorial Africa Equatorial Africa is an ambiguous term that sometimes is used to refer to the equatorial region of sub-Saharan Africa traversed by the Equator, more broadly to tropical Africa, or in a biological and geo-environmental sense to the intra-tropic ...

in thickets, woodlands, and forests, especially along rivers, at elevations of .Tropicos
/ref>The Plant List
/ref>African Plants Database
/ref>

Bibliography

* Abo, K.A., Olugbuyiro, J.A.O. (2004) Phytochemical and antibacterial studies of extracts of Flabellaria paniculata. African Journal of Biomedical Research 7(1):35-36. * Abo, K.A., Olugbuyiro, J.A.O., Famakinde, S.A. (2004) Anti-infective and wound healing properties of Flabellaria paniculata 1. African journal of Biomedical Research 7 (2): 85–87. * Olugbuyiro, J.A.O., Abo, K.A., Leigh, O.O. (2010) Wound healing effect Of Flabellaria paniculata leaf extracts Journal of Ethnopharmacology 127: 786–788. * ORSTOM 1988. List Vasc. Pl. Gabon

References

Malpighiaceae Malpighiaceae genera Monotypic Malpighiales genera Flora of Angola Flora of East Tropical Africa Flora of Northeast Tropical Africa Flora of West Tropical Africa Flora of West-Central Tropical Africa Taxa named by Antonio José Cavanilles {{Malpighiaceae-stub