''Paphia'' 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 family

Ericaceae The Ericaceae () are a Family (biology), family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The family is large, with about 4,250 known species spread acros ...

. It includes 21 species which range from New Guinea to Queensland, the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, and Fiji.''Paphia'' Seem.
''

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

''. Retrieved 21 June 2023. Species include climbers and lianas, scandent

epiphyte An epiphyte is a plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphyt ...

s, shrubs, and one arborescent species, ''Paphia alberti-eduardii''. Members of the genus are distinguished by flowers in fascicles, with a calyx that is not winged and typically articulated with the pedicel. Filaments and anthers of alternating stamens are similar, and tubules on the anthers are well-developed. Sixteen species are native to New Guinea, all of which are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the island. They grow in montane forests, including mossy forest, forest edges, and subalpine thickets, from 1300 to 3800 meters elevation. The genus was first described by

Berthold Carl Seemann Berthold Carl Seemann (25 February 1825, in Kingdom of Hanover – 10 October 1871, in Nicaragua) was a German botanist. He travelled widely and collected and described plants from the Pacific and South America. In 1844 he travelled to the Unit ...

in 1864, with the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

''Paphia vitiensis''. Many of the species in the genus were formerly classed in genus ''

Agapetes ''Agapetes'' (Gk. ἀγαπητός (agapetos) = 'beloved') is a semi-climbing shrub genus native to the Himalayas, grown as an ornamental for its attractive pendulous bunches of red tubular flowers blooming over a long period. It is mostly grow ...

'', and were reclassified by Peter F. Stevens in 2004.

Species

21 species are currently accepted. *'' Paphia alberti-eduardii'' – eastern New Guinea ( Mount Albert Edward) *'' Paphia brassii'' – New Guinea *'' Paphia carrii'' – New Guinea *'' Paphia costata'' – New Guinea *'' Paphia helenae'' – eastern New Guinea *'' Paphia kudukii'' – eastern New Guinea *'' Paphia megaphylla'' – eastern New Guinea *'' Paphia meiniana'' – northeastern Queensland *'' Paphia neocaledonica'' – New Caledonia *'' Paphia paniensis'' – New Caledonia *'' Paphia prostrata'' – New Guinea *'' Paphia rubrocalyx'' – New Guinea *'' Paphia sclerophylla'' – eastern New Guinea *'' Paphia shungolensis'' – New Guinea *'' Paphia sleumeriana'' – eastern New Guinea *'' Paphia stenantha'' – eastern New Guinea *'' Paphia viridiflora'' – northeastern New Guinea *'' Paphia vitiensis'' – Fiji (Viti Levu) *'' Paphia vitis-idaea'' – eastern New Guinea *'' Paphia vulcanicola'' – Solomon Islands *'' Paphia woodsii'' – eastern New Guinea

References

{{Taxonbar, from= Q17487514 Flora of Papuasia Ericaceae genera Taxa named by Berthold Carl Seemann Vaccinioideae