''Polycarpaea'' is a genus of

plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...

s in the family

Caryophyllaceae Caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family or carnation family, is a family (biology), family of flowering plants. It is included in the dicotyledon order Caryophyllales in the APG III system, alongside 33 other families, including Amaranth ...

. It contains 79 species native to tropical and subtropical regions of South America, Africa and Madagascar, the Indian subcontinent, Indochina, southern China, Taiwan, the Philippines, New Guinea, and Australia. The genus was named by

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, chevalier de Lamarck (1 August 1744 – 18 December 1829), often known simply as Lamarck (; ), was a French naturalist, biologist, academic, and soldier. He was an early proponent of the idea that biologi ...

in 1792.

Molecular phylogenetic 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 ...

analysis showed that the genus is

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage that includes organisms with mixed evolutionary origin but does not include their most recent common ancestor. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as Homoplasy, homoplasies ...

and needs to be redefined. It falls into three distinct

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 ...

s. One of these, a group of species related to ''P. corymbosa'', has acquired the photosynthetic pathway.

Species

79 species are accepted. * '' Polycarpaea akkensis'' Coss. ex Maire. * '' Polycarpaea angustipetala'' * '' Polycarpaea arenaria'' * '' Polycarpaea arida'' * ''

Polycarpaea aristata ''Polycarpaea'' is a genus of plants in the family Caryophyllaceae. It contains 79 species native to tropical and subtropical regions of South America, Africa and Madagascar, the Indian subcontinent, Indochina, southern China, Taiwan, the Phili ...

'' Chr.Sm. * '' Polycarpaea aurea'' * '' Polycarpaea balfourii'' Briq. * '' Polycarpaea barbellata'' * '' Polycarpaea basaltica'' * ''

Polycarpaea billei ''Polycarpaea'' is a genus of plants in the family Caryophyllaceae. It contains 79 species native to tropical and subtropical regions of South America, Africa and Madagascar, the Indian subcontinent, Indochina, southern China, Taiwan, the Phili ...

'' * ''

Polycarpaea breviflora ''Polycarpaea'' is a genus of plants in the family Caryophyllaceae. It contains 79 species native to tropical and subtropical regions of South America, Africa and Madagascar, the Indian subcontinent, Indochina, southern China, Taiwan, the Phili ...

'' * ''

Polycarpaea caboverdeana ''Polycarpaea'' is a genus of plants in the family Caryophyllaceae. It contains 79 species native to tropical and subtropical regions of South America, Africa and Madagascar, the Indian subcontinent, Indochina, southern China, Taiwan, the Phili ...

'' * '' Polycarpaea caespitosa''

Balf.f. Sir Isaac Bayley Balfour, KBE, FRS, FRSE (31 March 1853 – 30 November 1922) was a Scottish botanist. He was Regius Professor of Botany at the University of Glasgow from 1879 to 1885, Sherardian Professor of Botany at the University of Oxfor ...

* ''

Polycarpaea carnosa ''Polycarpaea'' is a genus of plants in the family Caryophyllaceae. It contains 79 species native to tropical and subtropical regions of South America, Africa and Madagascar, the Indian subcontinent, Indochina, southern China, Taiwan, the Phili ...

'' Chr.Sm. * ''

Polycarpaea clavifolia ''Polycarpaea'' is a genus of plants in the family Caryophyllaceae. It contains 79 species native to tropical and subtropical regions of South America, Africa and Madagascar, the Indian subcontinent, Indochina, southern China, Taiwan, the Phili ...

'' M.Gilbert. * ''

Polycarpaea corymbosa ''Polycarpaea'' is a genus of plants in the family Caryophyllaceae. It contains 79 species native to tropical and subtropical regions of South America, Africa and Madagascar, the Indian subcontinent, Indochina, southern China, Taiwan, the Phili ...

'' (L.) Lam. * ''

Polycarpaea diffusa ''Polycarpaea'' is a genus of plants in the family Caryophyllaceae. It contains 79 species native to tropical and subtropical regions of South America, Africa and Madagascar, the Indian subcontinent, Indochina, southern China, Taiwan, the Phili ...

'' * ''

Polycarpaea divaricata ''Polycarpaea'' is a genus of plants in the family Caryophyllaceae. It contains 79 species native to tropical and subtropical regions of South America, Africa and Madagascar, the Indian subcontinent, Indochina, southern China, Taiwan, the Phili ...

'' Aiton. * ''

Polycarpaea douliotii ''Polycarpaea'' is a genus of plants in the family Caryophyllaceae. It contains 79 species native to tropical and subtropical regions of South America, Africa and Madagascar, the Indian subcontinent, Indochina, southern China, Taiwan, the Phili ...

'' * '' Polycarpaea ebracteata'' * '' Polycarpaea eriantha'' * '' Polycarpaea fallax'' * ''

Polycarpaea filifolia ''Polycarpaea'' is a genus of plants in the family Caryophyllaceae. It contains 79 species native to tropical and subtropical regions of South America, Africa and Madagascar, the Indian subcontinent, Indochina, southern China, Taiwan, the Phili ...

Wight A wight is a being or thing. This general meaning is shared by cognate terms in Germanic languages, however the usage of the term varies greatly over time and between regions. In Old English, it could refer to anything in existence, with more s ...

ex Arn. * '' Polycarpaea spirostylis'' * '' Polycarpaea staminodina'' * '' Polycarpaea stellata'' * '' Polycarpaea stylosa'' * '' Polycarpaea sumbana'' * '' Polycarpaea tenax'' * '' Polycarpaea tenuifolia'' * '' Polycarpaea tenuis'' Webb ex Christ. * '' Polycarpaea tenuistyla'' * '' Polycarpaea thymoidea'' * '' Polycarpaea timorensis'' * '' Polycarpaea umbrosa'' * '' Polycarpaea ventiversa'' M.Gilbert. * '' Polycarpaea violacea'' * '' Polycarpaea zollingeri''

References

Caryophyllaceae genera Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Caryophyllaceae-stub