Myrothamnus flabellifolius Myrothamanaceae

''Myrothamnus'' 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, consisting of two species of small

xerophytic A xerophyte () is a species of plant that has adaptations to survive in an environment with little liquid water. Examples of xerophytes include cactus, cacti, pineapple and some gymnosperm plants. The morphology (biology), morphology and physiology ...

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

s, in the southern parts of 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 ...

and in

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

. ''Myrothamnus'' is recognized as the only genus in the family Myrothamnaceae. Myrothamnaceae was included in the order

Hamamelidales Hamamelidales is an order of flowering plants formerly accepted in a number of systems of plant taxonomy, including the Cronquist system published in 1968 and 1988. The order is not currently accepted in the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group III system o ...

in the

Cronquist system The Cronquist system is a list of systems of plant taxonomy, taxonomic classification system of angiosperms, flowering plants. It was developed by Arthur Cronquist in a series of monographs and texts, including ''The Evolution and Classification of ...

. Molecular systematic studies have suggested that ''Myrothamnus'' is not closely related to

Hamamelidaceae Hamamelidaceae, commonly referred to as the witch-hazel family, is a family of flowering plants in the order Saxifragales. The clade consists of shrubs and small trees positioned within the woody clade of the core Saxifragales. An earlier system ...

nor any other family included in that order, but rather is closely related to the morphologically very different ''

Gunnera ''Gunnera'' is the sole genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Gunneraceae, which contains 63 species. Some species in this genus, namely those in the subgenus ''Panke'', have extremely large leaves. Species in the genus are various ...

''. In the

APG II system The APG II system (Angiosperm Phylogeny Group II system) of plant classification is the second, now obsolete, version of a modern, mostly Molecular phylogenetics, molecular-based, list of systems of plant taxonomy, system of plant taxonomy that ...

(2003) the genus is assigned to family

Gunneraceae ''Gunnera'' is the sole genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Gunneraceae, which contains 63 species. Some species in this genus, namely those in the subgenus ''Panke'', have extremely large leaves. Species in the genus are various ...

or to the optionally recognized segregate family Myrothamnaceae. In the

APG III system The APG III system of flowering plant classification is the third version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy being developed by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG). Published in 2009, it was superseded in 2016 by a f ...

(2009) and

APG IV system The APG IV system of flowering plant classification is the fourth version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy for flowering plants (angiosperms) being developed by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG). It was publish ...

(2016) the narrower circumscription is preferred, and these two families are considered distinct.

Species

Species of ''Myrothamnus'' are dioecious shrubs. # ''

Myrothamnus flabellifolius ''Myrothamnus flabellifolius'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrothamnaceae native to central and southern Africa. It is also called the resurrection plant for the appearance of dead leaves reviving during rain (see poikilohydry). ...

'' Welw. - Angola, Southern Africa, Zimbabwe # '' Myrothamnus moschata'' (Baill.) Baill. - Madagascar

References

External links

*
NCBI Taxonomy Browser
in Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards)
Angiosperm Phylogeny Website
Version 7, May 2006.

in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards).
The families of flowering plants
descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval.'' Version: 21 May 2006. http://delta-intkey.com
links at CSDL
Gunnerales Eudicot genera Dioecious plants Flora of the Afrotropical realm {{Eudicot-stub