''Pueraria'' is a genus of 15–20
species of
legume
Legumes are plants in the pea family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seeds of such plants. When used as a dry grain for human consumption, the seeds are also called pulses. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consum ...
s native to south, east, and southeast
Asia
Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
and to New Guinea and northern Australia.
[ The best known member is ]kudzu
Kudzu (), also called Japanese arrowroot or Chinese arrowroot, is a group of climbing, coiling, and trailing deciduous perennial vines native to much of East Asia, Southeast Asia, and some Pacific islands. It is invasive species, invasive in ...
, also called Japanese arrowroot.liana
A liana is a long-Plant stem, stemmed Woody plant, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the Canopy (biology), canopy in search of direct sunlight. T ...
s, shrubs, or climbing herbs, usually with large tuberous roots. Typical habitats include seasonally-dry tropical and subtropical forest, rain forest, forest margins, and scrub vegetation, often on limestone outcrops and in rocky areas.[
The genus, as traditionally circumscribed, 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 ...
, with different species being more related to other species in the tribe Phaseoleae
The plant tribe (biology), tribe Phaseoleae is one of the subdivisions of the legume subfamily Faboideae, in the unranked Non-protein amino acid-accumulating clade, NPAAA clade. This group includes many of the beans cultivated for human and anima ...
.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 which defines the current monophyletic genus.[
]
Species
The genus ''Pueraria'' is highly polyphyletic; the below list is divided by clade following the result of A.N.Egan & B.Pan (2016).[Earlier version, 2013 MSc thesis.]
/ref> In 2015, the authors validly published
In botanical nomenclature, a validly published name is a name that meets the requirements in the ''International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants'' (''ICN'') for valid publication. Valid publication of a name represents the minim ...
their proposal in ''Phytotaxa
''Phytotaxa'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal for rapid publication on any aspect of systematic botany. It publishes on a wide range of subjects, but focuses on new species, monographs, floras, revisions, reviews, and typification issues. ...
''. , Kew 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 ...
database accepts these names.[
]
''Pueraria'' sensu stricto
''Pueraria'' sensu stricto
''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular c ...
includes the vast majority of species in the genus. They fall into a single clade sister to or containing ''Nogra
''Nogra'' is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It includes four species of herbs native to Asia, ranging from India to Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and southern China. They typically grow in seasonally-dry tropical forest, o ...
''.[
* ''P. alopecuroides'' Craib
* ''P. calycina'' Franch.
* ''P. candollei'' Benth.
* '' P. edulis'' Pamp.]Merr.
Elmer Drew Merrill (October 15, 1876 – February 25, 1956) was an American botanist and taxonomist. He spent more than twenty years in the Philippines where he became a recognized authority on the flora of the Asia-Pacific region. Through ...
Provisionally retained
The following are not included in the 2016 study due to insufficient material for sequencing. They are accepted by POWO.[
*'' P. bella'' Prain: conflicting proposals assigning either to the main clade or to '' Neonotonia'' (morphology).
* ''P. bouffordii'' H. Ohashi: presumably in the main clade (morphology).
* ''P. grandiflora'' Bo Pan & Bing Liu: presumably in the main clade (morphology).
* ''P. xyzhuii'' H. Ohashi & Iokawa: presumably in the main clade (morphology).
The following are not included in Egan et al. 2016 for other reasons, but are accepted by Kew POWO:][
* ''P. garhwalensis'' L.R.Dangwal & D.S.Rawat: excluded per van der Maesen (2002)
* ''P. neocaledonica'' Harms: not mentioned
]
Former members
The rest of the genus fall into four clades, sorted by distance from the main clade:[
* '']Neustanthus
''Neustanthus'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the pea family Fabaceae and its tribe Phaseoleae. The only species is ''Neustanthus phaseoloides'', called tropical kudzu. This species is a forage crop and cover crop used i ...
'' Benth. – sister to '' Sinodolichos''
** '' P. phaseoloides'' ( Roxb.) Benth.
George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studie ...
''P. edulis'', ''P. montana'', and ''N. phaseoloides'' make up what is known as
kudzu
Kudzu (), also called Japanese arrowroot or Chinese arrowroot, is a group of climbing, coiling, and trailing deciduous perennial vines native to much of East Asia, Southeast Asia, and some Pacific islands. It is invasive species, invasive in ...
. The morphological differences between these species are subtle.
*** ''N. phaseoloides'' var. ''javanicus'' (= ''P. javanica'' (Benth.) Benth.)
*** ''N. phaseoloides'' var. ''phaseoloides''
*** ''N. phaseoloides'' var. ''subspicatus''
* ''Teyleria
''Teyleria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It includes three species of twining herbs native to Indochina, southern China, Hainan, the Philippines, Java, and the Lesser Sunda Islands. Typical habitat is seasonally ...
''
** ''P. stricta'' Kurz → ''T. stricta''
* ''Toxicopueraria
''Toxicopueraria'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Fabaceae.
Its native range is Pakistan to Southern China and Northern Indo-China.
Species:
* ''Toxicopueraria peduncularis'' (Benth.) A.N.Egan & B.Pan
* ''Toxicopueraria ...
'' A.N.Egan & B.Pan – sister to '' Cologania''
** ''P. peduncularis'' Grah.Haymondia
''Haymondia'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Fabaceae. The only species is ''Haymondia wallichii''. It is a scrambling shrub with a native range from Nepal to China (Yunnan) and Indo-China
Mainland Southeas ...
'' A.N.Egan & B.Pan – notably lies out of Glycininae near Kennediinae; known for a long time to be misplaced
** '' P. wallichii'' DC. → ''H. wallichii''
The following names are not accepted even before Egan 2016 but have seen valid publication:
* ''P. omeiensis'' Wang et Tang – ''P. montana'':Apios carnea
''Apios carnea'' is a vine in the Fabaceae
Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,[Sinodolichos lagopus
''Sinodolichos'' is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It includes two species native to southern China, Assam, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and Borneo. It belongs to subfamily Faboideae
The Faboideae are a subfamily o ...](_blank)
'' – still accepted by WFO
References
{{Authority control
Fabaceae genera
Taxa named by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle