''Lucya'' is a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

genus 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 belonging to the family

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 only contains one known species, 'Lucya tetrandra' (L.) K.Schum. It is native to the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

region. It is found in Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica and Puerto Rico. The genus name of ''Lucya'' is in honour of Rose Lucie (or Lucy) Dunal (1798–1827), the sister of

Michel Félix Dunal Michel Félix Dunal (24 October 1789 in Montpellier – 29 July 1856 in Montpellier) was a French botanist. He was a professor of botany in Montpellier, France. He held the chair of natural history at the University of Montpellier from 1816 unt ...

(1789–1856) who investigated Rubiaceae in

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

. The genus has several known synonyms; such as ''Clavenna'' , ''Clavennaea'' and ''Dunalia'' The species Latin

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

of ''tetrandra'' refers to the Greek ''tetrandrus'' meaning four-anthered, the

anther The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

is the pollen-bearing part of a stamen. The genus was first described and published Prodr. Vol.4 on page 434 in 1830. and the species was first published in H.G.A.Engler & K.A.E.Prantl, Nat. Pflanzenfam. Vol.4 (Issue 4) on page 27 in 1891.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q9024799, from2=Q15470872 Rubiaceae Rubiaceae genera Plants described in 1830 Flora of the Caribbean