''Hesperomeles'' is a genus of South American

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

trees of the family

Rosaceae Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera. The name is derived from the type genus '' Rosa''. The family includes herbs, shrubs, and trees. Most species are deciduous, but som ...

that has sometimes been included along with ''

Pyracantha ''Pyracantha'' (from Greek "fire" and "thorn", hence firethorn) is a genus of large, thorny evergreen shrubs in the family Rosaceae, with common names firethorn or pyracantha. They are native to an area extending from Southwest Europe east to ...

'' in the genus ''

Osteomeles ''Osteomeles'' is a genus of plants in the rose family, Rosaceae. They are shrubs native to eastern Asia, with compound leaves, opposite leaf arrangement, and small pome fruit. The fruits of all species in this genus are edible. Taxonomy The ge ...

''. However, ''Osteomeles'' notably have

compound leaves 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 ...

, and recent

molecular phylogenetics 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 ...

suggests that ''Hesperomeles'' is only distantly related to ''Osteomeles'', and is instead

sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to ref ...

to the ''

Crataegus ''Crataegus'' (), commonly called hawthorn, quickthorn, thornapple, Voss, E. G. 1985. ''Michigan Flora: A guide to the identification and occurrence of the native and naturalized seed-plants of the state. Part II: Dicots (Saururaceae–Cornacea ...

''—''

Mespilus ''Mespilus'', commonly called medlar, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rosaceae containing the single species '' Mespilus germanica'' of southwest Asia. It is also found in some countries in the Balkans, especially in Albanian, Ma ...

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

Species

Depending on the author, there are between 12 and 20 species in the genus. According to Tropicos.org database, the following species are recognized:

References

External links

* * * Maleae Rosaceae genera {{Maleae-stub