''Globulostylis'' 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 comprises 8 species growing in Central Africa.

Description

The main characters of ''Globulostylis'' are the few-flowered inflorescences with a pair of bracts at the apex of the peduncle and the style with a swelling in the lower half.

Distribution and habitat

''Globulostylis'' has 8 species in Central Africa, all endemic to the Lower Guinean forests, except '' G. uncinula'', which also occurs in the

Congolian forests The Congolian rainforests ( French: ''Forêts tropicales congolaises'') are a broad belt of lowland tropical moist broadleaf forests which extend across the basin of the Congo River and its tributaries in Central Africa. Description The Congol ...

. All species are shrubs or small trees of forest understory, never gregarious.

Bacterial leaf symbiosis

Endophytic bacteria are housed in the intercellular space of the leaf

mesophyll tissue A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, fl ...

. The presence of these bacteria can only be microscopically ascertained. The bacteria are identified as ''

Burkholderia ''Burkholderia'' is a genus of Pseudomonadota whose pathogenic members include the ''Burkholderia cepacia'' complex, which attacks humans and plants; ''Burkholderia mallei'', responsible for glanders, a disease that occurs mostly in horses and r ...

'', which is a genus that is also found in the leaves of other Rubiaceae species. hypothesis is that these endophytic bacteria provide chemical protection against insect herbivory.

Taxonomy

The genus was described by H.F. Wernham in 1913 to accommodate two species from South Nigeria collected by Mr. and Mrs. P.A. Talbot, viz. '' G. minor'' and '' G. talbotii''. A third species, '' G. cuvieroides'', was added later. ''Globulostylis'' and ''Cuviera'' species are closely related, and therefore at one point ''Globulostylis'' was treated as a subgenus of ''Cuviera''. However, the combined analysis of both morphological and molecular data separates both genera.

Species

Accepted species according to the latest revision. * '' Globulostylis cuvieroides'' Wernham * '' Globulostylis dewildeana'' Sonké, O.Lachenaud & Dessein * '' Globulostylis leniochlamys'' ( K.Schum.) Sonké, O.Lachenaud & Dessein * '' Globulostylis minor'' Wernham * ''

Globulostylis rammelooana ''Globulostylis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the Family (biology), family Rubiaceae. It comprises 8 species growing in Central Africa. Description The main characters of ''Globulostylis'' are the few-flowered inflorescences with a pair of ...

'' Sonké, O.Lachenaud & Dessein * '' Globulostylis robbrechtiana'' Sonké, O.Lachenaud, Dessein & De Block * '' Globulostylis talbotii'' Wernham * '' Globulostylis uncinula'' (N.Hallé) Sonké, O.Lachenaud & Dessein

References

External links

''Globulostylis'' in the World Checklist of Rubiaceae
{{Taxonbar, from=Q18084751 Rubiaceae genera Vanguerieae Taxa named by Herbert Fuller Wernham