''Palicourea'' is a

plant Plants are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic eukaryotes of the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all curr ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Rubiaceae The Rubiaceae are a 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 interpetiolar stipules ...

. It contains about 200

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

, which range from shrubs to small

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s, and is distributed throughout the New World

tropics The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred ...

.Taylor (2008) These plants are closely related to ''

Psychotria ''Psychotria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It contains 1,582 species and is therefore one of the largest genera of flowering plants. The genus has a pantropical distribution and members of the genus are small understo ...

'' and in particular its

subgenus In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed betw ...

''Heteropsychotria''. Indeed, it seems to be nothing else but a distinctively-flowered offshoot of ''Heteropsychotria''; arguably, it would thus need to be merged into ''Psychotria'' to make that genus

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic ...

. On the other hand, ''Psychotria'' is extremely diverse already, so it is probably more practical to move the more distantly related species out of this genus and merge ''Heteropsychotria'' with ''Palicourea''. By a Hungarian botanist

Attila Borhidi Borhidi Attila (born 28 June 1932), is a Széchenyi Prize winning Hungarian botanist, ecologist, professor, politician and full member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He is most noted for his extensive work on plant taxonomy. 1989 to 1992, ...

, some of the ''Psychotria'' species have been transferred into this genus. The genus is not well studied. Most species are distylous, although a few on isolated Caribbean islands seem to have lost the trait. Flowers are in racemes, having no scent, and are normally

pollinated Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds, ...

hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics ar ...

s. Blue-black berries follow, and are thought to be distributed by birds. Almost one-tenth of the ''Palicourea'' species are considered

threatened Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensa ...

by the IUCN, even though the conservation status has only been reviewed for those species that occur in

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar language, Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechuan ...

.IUCN (2008)

Selected species

* ''

Palicourea anderssoniana ''Palicourea anderssoniana'' is a species of plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is endemic to Ecuador. References Flora of Ecuador anderssoniana Vulnerable plants Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Rubiaceae-stub ...

'' * ''

Palicourea anianguana ''Palicourea anianguana'' is a species of plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is endemic to Ecuador. References Flora of Ecuador anianguana Vulnerable plants Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Rubiaceae-stub ...

'' * ''

Palicourea asplundii ''Palicourea asplundii'' is a species of plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is endemic to Ecuador. References Flora of Ecuador asplundii Vulnerable plants Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Rubiaceae-stub ...

'' * ''

Palicourea azurea ''Palicourea azurea'' is a species of plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is endemic to Ecuador. References Flora of Ecuador azurea Vulnerable plants Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Rubiaceae-stub ...

'' * ''

Palicourea calantha ''Palicourea calantha'' is a species of plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is endemic to Ecuador. References Flora of Ecuador calantha Vulnerable plants Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Rubiaceae-stub ...

'' * ''

Palicourea calothyrsus ''Palicourea calothyrsus'' is a species of plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is endemic to Ecuador. References Flora of Ecuador calothyrsus Vulnerable plants Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Rubiaceae-stub ...

'' * ''

Palicourea calycina ''Palicourea calycina'' is a species of plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is endemic to Ecuador. References Flora of Ecuador calycina ''Calycina'' is a genus of fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the grou ...

'' * ''

Palicourea canarina ''Palicourea canarina'' is a species of plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is endemic to Ecuador. References Flora of Ecuador canarina Vulnerable plants Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Rubiaceae-stub ...

'' * '' Palicourea candida'' * ''

Palicourea consobrina ''Palicourea consobrina'' is a species of plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is endemic to Peru. References Flora of Peru consobrina Vulnerable plants Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Rubiaceae-stub ...

'' * ''

Palicourea corniculata ''Palicourea corniculata'' is a species of plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is endemic to Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, ...

'' * '' Palicourea cornigera'' * ''

Palicourea elata ''Palicourea elata'', formerly ''Psychotria elata'', commonly known as girlfriend kiss and labios de puta, is a tropical plant that ranges from Central to South American rain forests in countries such as Mexico, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, and ...

'' (syn. '' Psychotria elata'') * ''

Palicourea fuchsioides ''Palicourea fuchsioides'' is a species of plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is endemic to Ecuador. References Flora of Ecuador fuchsioides Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Rubiaceae-stub ...

'' * '' Palicourea gentryi'' * ''

Palicourea heilbornii ''Palicourea heilbornii'' is a species of plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is Endemism, endemic to Ecuador. References

Flora of Ecuador Palicourea, heilbornii Endangered plants Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Rubiaceae-stub ...

'' * '' Palicourea herrerae'' * '' Palicourea holmgrenii'' * ''

Palicourea jaramilloi ''Palicourea jaramilloi'' is a species of plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is endemic to Ecuador. References Flora of Ecuador jaramilloi Vulnerable plants Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Rubiaceae-stub ...

'' * '' Palicourea lasiantha'' * ''

Palicourea lasiorrhachis ''Palicourea'' is a plant genus in the family Rubiaceae. It contains about 200 species, which range from shrubs to small trees, and is distributed throughout the New World tropics.Taylor (2008) These plants are closely related to '' Psych ...

'' * ''

Palicourea latifolia ''Palicourea latifolia'' is a species of plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is Endemism, endemic to Peru. References

Flora of Peru Palicourea, latifolia Vulnerable plants Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Rubiaceae-stub ...

'' * ''

Palicourea lobbii ''Palicourea lobbii'' is a species of plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is endemic to Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, whic ...

'' * ''

Palicourea macrocalyx ''Palicourea'' is a plant genus in the family Rubiaceae. It contains about 200 species, which range from shrubs to small trees, and is distributed throughout the New World tropics.Taylor (2008) These plants are closely related to '' Psych ...

'' * '' Palicourea padifolia'' * '' Palicourea prodiga'' * '' Palicourea sodiroi'' * '' Palicourea stenosepala'' * '' Palicourea subalatoides'' * ''

Palicourea tectoneura ''Palicourea tectoneura'' is a species of plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is endemic to Ecuador. References Flora of Ecuador tectoneura Vulnerable plants Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Rubiaceae-stub ...

'' * '' Palicourea tomentosa'' (syn. '' Psychotria poeppigiana'') * '' Palicourea wilesii''

Selected species

References

Further reading