''Roepera'' 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 the family

Zygophyllaceae Zygophyllaceae is a family of flowering plants that contains the bean-caper and caltrop. The family includes around 285 species in 22 genera. Plants in the family Zygophyllaceae may be trees, shrubs, or herbs. They are often found in dry habit ...

, subfamily

Zygophylloideae Zygophylloideae is a subfamily of the family Zygophyllaceae. The subfamily comprises about 180 species of shrubs, subshrubs and herbs, found throughout arid parts of the Paleotropical kingdom, Palaeotropics and into North and South America. , the ...

. It is native to Australia and south-western Africa, from

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

to South Africa.

Description

Species of ''Roepera'' are shrubs, subshrubs or

herbaceous plant Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition o ...

s. The shrubby species may be up to tall. The leaves are opposite, with or without petioles, and have one or two leaflets. The flowers have four or five

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s, which persist in the fruit, and four or five

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s of various colours. The eight to ten

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s usually have undivided appendages. The

ovary The ovary () is a gonad in the female reproductive system that produces ova; when released, an ovum travels through the fallopian tube/ oviduct into the uterus. There is an ovary on the left and the right side of the body. The ovaries are end ...

has four or five locules (chambers). The fruit is usually a capsule, or more rarely a winged

schizocarp A schizocarp is a dry fruit that, when mature, splits up into mericarps. There are different definitions: * Any Dry fruits, dry fruit composed of multiple carpels that separate. : Under this definition the mericarps can contain one or more ...

. The seeds are

mucilaginous Mucilage is a thick gluey substance produced by nearly all plants and some microorganisms. These microorganisms include protists which use it for their locomotion, with the direction of their movement always opposite to that of the secretion of ...

and have a more-or-less well developed

aril An aril (), also called arillus, is a specialized outgrowth from a seed that partly or completely covers the seed. An arillode, or false aril, is sometimes distinguished: whereas an aril grows from the attachment point of the seed to the ova ...

Taxonomy

The genus ''Roepera'' was first published by

Adrien-Henri de Jussieu Adrien-Henri de Jussieu (23 December 1797 – 29 June 1853) was a French botanist. Born in Paris as the son of botanist Antoine Laurent de Jussieu, he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1824 with a treatise of the plant family Eupho ...

in 1825, for two Australian species of ''

Zygophyllum ''Zygophyllum'' is the type genus of the flowering plant family Zygophyllaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek language, Greek words ζυγόν (''zygon''), meaning "double", and φυλλον (''phyllon''), meaning "leaf". It refer ...

''. However, de Jussieu did not actually publish the two new combinations, ''

Roepera billardierei ''Roepera billardierei'', Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Zygophyllum billardierei'', commonly known as coast twin-leaf, is a species of plant in the family (biology), family Zygophyllaceae found in temperate regions of Australia. In Tasmania, whe ...

'' and ''

Roepera fruticulosa ''Roepera'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Zygophyllaceae, subfamily Zygophylloideae. It is native to Australia and south-western Africa, from Angola to South Africa. Description Species of ''Roepera'' are shrubs, subshrubs or herb ...

''. These were published by

George Don George Don (29 April 1798 – 25 February 1856) was a Scottish botanist and plant collector. Life and career George Don was born at Doo Hillock, Forfar, Angus, Scotland on 29 April 1798 to Caroline Clementina Stuart and George Don (b.1756), pr ...

in 1831. The genus was rarely used until the 21st century, the two species being kept in ''Zygophyllum''.

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 ...

studies in 2000 and 2003 showed that the genus ''Zygophyllum'', as then

circumscribed In geometry, a circumscribed circle for a set of points is a circle passing through each of them. Such a circle is said to ''circumscribe'' the points or a polygon formed from them; such a polygon is said to be ''inscribed'' in the circle. * Circum ...

, was

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 ...

. In 2003, Beier et al. resurrected ''Roepera'' as part of revising ''Zygophyllum'' to make it

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

. About 60 former ''Zygophyllum'' species were placed in ''Roepera''. The genus is placed in subfamily

Species

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 ...

recognized 60 species: * ''

Roepera ammophila ''Roepera'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Zygophyllaceae, subfamily Zygophylloideae. It is native to Australia and south-western Africa, from Angola to South Africa. Description Species of ''Roepera'' are shrubs, subshrubs or herb ...

'' (

F.Muell. Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Victoria (state), Vic ...

) Beier & Thulin * ''

Roepera angustifolia ''Roepera'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Zygophyllaceae, subfamily Zygophylloideae. It is native to Australia and south-western Africa, from Angola to South Africa. Description Species of ''Roepera'' are shrubs, subshrubs or herb ...

'' ( H.Eichler) Beier & Thulin * ''

Roepera apiculata ''Roepera'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Zygophyllaceae, subfamily Zygophylloideae. It is native to Australia and south-western Africa, from Angola to South Africa. Description Species of ''Roepera'' are shrubs, subshrubs or herb ...

'' (F.Muell.) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera aurantiaca'' Lindl. * ''

'' ( DC.) G.Don * '' Roepera botulifolia'' (Van Zyl) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera compressa'' ( J.M.Black) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera confluens'' (H.Eichler) Beier & Thulin * ''

Roepera cordifolia ''Roepera'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Zygophyllaceae, subfamily Zygophylloideae. It is native to Australia and south-western Africa, from Angola to South Africa. Description Species of ''Roepera'' are shrubs, subshrubs or herb ...

'' ( L.f.) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera crassissima'' ( Ising) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera crenata'' (F.Muell.) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera cuneifolia'' ( Eckl. & Zeyh.) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera debilis'' (Cham.) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera divaricata'' (Eckl. & Zeyh.) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera eichleri'' ( R.M.Barker) Beier & Thulin * ''

Roepera emarginata ''Roepera'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Zygophyllaceae, subfamily Zygophylloideae. It is native to Australia and south-western Africa, from Angola to South Africa. Description Species of ''Roepera'' are shrubs, subshrubs or herb ...

'' (H.Eichler) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera eremaea'' (

Diels Diels is the last name of several people: * Rudolf Diels (1900–1957), German politician * Otto Diels (1876–1954), German scientist noted for his work on the Diels–Alder reaction * Ludwig Diels (1874–1945), German botanist whose standard aut ...

) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera flava'' (H.Eichler ex R.M.Barker) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera flexuosa'' (Eckl. & Zeyh.) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera foetida'' (

Schrad. Heinrich Adolf Schrader (1 January 1767 in Alfeld near Hildesheim – 22 October 1836 in Göttingen) was a German botanist and mycologist. He studied medicine early in life. He named the Australian plant genus ''Hakea'' in 1797. In 1795 he re ...

& J.C.Wendl.) Beier & Thulin * ''

'' (DC.) G.Don * ''

Roepera fulva ''Roepera'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Zygophyllaceae, subfamily Zygophylloideae. It is native to Australia and south-western Africa, from Angola to South Africa. Description Species of ''Roepera'' are shrubs, subshrubs or herb ...

'' (L.) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera fuscata'' (Van Zyl) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera glauca'' (F.Muell.) Beier & Thulin * ''

Roepera halophila ''Roepera'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Zygophyllaceae, subfamily Zygophylloideae. It is native to Australia and south-western Africa, from Angola to South Africa. Description Species of ''Roepera'' are shrubs, subshrubs or herb ...

'' (R.M.Barker) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera hirticaulis'' (Van Zyl) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera horrida'' (

Cham. Adelbert von Chamisso (; 30 January 1781 – 21 August 1838) was a German poet, writer and botanist. He was commonly known in French as Adelbert de Chamisso (or Chamissot) de Boncourt, a name referring to the family estate at Boncourt. Life ...

) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera howittii'' (F.Muell.) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera humillima'' (

Max Koch Maxwell "Max" Koch (17 July 1854 – 1 April 1925) was a German-born Australian botanical collector. Biography Born in Berlin, Koch was apprenticed to a merchant's office, but, not liking the work, joined the crew of a Glasgow-based sailing sh ...

Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera hybrida'' (Tate) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera incrustata'' (E.Mey. ex Sond.) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera iodocarpa'' (F.Muell.) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera kochii'' (Tate) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera leptopetala'' (E.Mey. ex Sond.) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera leucoclada'' (Diels) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera lichtensteiniana'' (Cham.) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera lobulata'' (

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 ...

) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera macrocarpos'' (

Retief Retief is an Afrikaans surname. It may refer to: *Piet Retief (1780–1838), prominent voortrekker *Glen Retief, South African writer *Johan Retief (born 1946), former Chief of the South African Navy *Johan Retief (rugby union) (born 1995), Namibian ...

) Beier & Thulin * ''

Roepera maculata ''Roepera'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Zygophyllaceae, subfamily Zygophylloideae. It is native to Australia and south-western Africa, from Angola to South Africa. Description Species of ''Roepera'' are shrubs, subshrubs or herb ...

'' (

Aiton Aiton may refer to: People *Aiton (surname) *Standard author abbreviation of William Aiton (1731 – 1793), Scottish botanist Places * Aiton, Cluj, a commune in Romania *Aiton, Savoie Aiton is a commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergn ...

) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera maritima'' (Eckl. & Zeyh.) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera marliesiae'' (R.M.Barker) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera microphylla'' (L.f.) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera morgsana'' ( L.) Beier & Thulin * ''

Roepera orbiculata ''Roepera'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Zygophyllaceae, subfamily Zygophylloideae. It is native to Australia and south-western Africa, from Angola to South Africa. Description Species of ''Roepera'' are shrubs, subshrubs or herb ...

'' ( Welw. ex Oliv.) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera ovata'' ( Ewart & Jean White) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera prismatotheca'' (F.Muell.) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera pubescens'' ( Schinz) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera pygmaea'' (Eckl. & Zeyh.) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera reticulata'' (H.Eichler ex R.M.Barker) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera retivalvis'' ( Domin) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera rogersii'' ( Compton) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera rowelliae'' (R.M.Barker) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera schreiberiana'' ( Merxm. & Giess) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera sessilifolia'' (L.) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera similis'' (H.Eichler) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera sphaerocarpa'' (Schltr. ex Huysst.) Beier & Thulin * ''

Roepera spinosa ''Roepera'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Zygophyllaceae, subfamily Zygophylloideae. It is native to Australia and south-western Africa, from Angola to South Africa. Description Species of ''Roepera'' are shrubs, subshrubs or herb ...

'' (L.) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera teretifolia'' (Schltr.) Beier & Thulin * ''

Roepera tesquorum ''Roepera'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Zygophyllaceae, subfamily Zygophylloideae. It is native to Australia and south-western Africa, from Angola to South Africa. Description Species of ''Roepera'' are shrubs, subshrubs or herb ...

'' ( J.M.Black) Beier & Thulin * '' Roepera tetraptera'' (H.Eichler ex R.M.Barker) Beier & Thulin

Distribution

''Roepera'' has a discontinuous distribution. Species are

native Native may refer to: People * '' Jus sanguinis'', nationality by blood * '' Jus soli'', nationality by location of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Nat ...

to Australia, and to the western side of southern Africa (

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

, and the

Cape Provinces The Cape Provinces of South Africa is a biogeographical area used in the World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD). It is part of the WGSRPD region 27 Southern Africa. The area has the code "CPP". It includes the Sou ...

and Free State of South Africa). The genus appears to have originated in Africa, and dispersed into Australia about . Species are found in warm and arid areas.

Gallery

File:Zygophyllum cordifolium = Roepera cordifolia (Zygophyllaceae) (37387282096).jpg, ''

'',

Namaqualand Namaqualand ( Khoikhoi: "Nama-kwa" meaning Nama Khoi people's land) is an arid region of Namibia and South Africa, extending along the west coast over and covering a total area of . It is divided by the lower course of the Orange River int ...

Dune

Strandveld Strandveld is a coastal region of the Western Cape province of South Africa. The region is mostly shrublands.Strandveld

File:Roepera lichtensteiniana = Zygophyllum lichtensteinianum (Zygophyllaceae) (27117633766).jpg, '' Roepera lichtensteiniana'' in the
Karoo National Park The Karoo National Park is a wildlife reserve in the Karoo, Great Karoo area of the Western Cape, South Africa#Geography, South Africa near Beaufort West. This semi-desert area covers an area of . The Nuweveld portion of the Great Escarpment, Sou ...
File:Zygophyllum morgsana = Roepera morgsana (Zygophyllaceae) (37414301556).jpg, '' Roepera morgsana'' in fruit, coastline of
Namaqua National Park Namaqua National Park is a South African national park situated on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of Namaqualand (an area covering 440,000 km2 located within the semi-desert Succulent Karoo biome).Van Deventer, M. and J.A.J. ...
File:Zygophyllum spinosum = Roepera spinosa (Zygophyllaceae) (37468785332).jpg, ''
Roepera spinosa ''Roepera'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Zygophyllaceae, subfamily Zygophylloideae. It is native to Australia and south-western Africa, from Angola to South Africa. Description Species of ''Roepera'' are shrubs, subshrubs or herb ...
'', coastline of
Namaqua National Park Namaqua National Park is a South African national park situated on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of Namaqualand (an area covering 440,000 km2 located within the semi-desert Succulent Karoo biome).Van Deventer, M. and J.A.J. ...
File:Zygophyllum ammophilum habit.jpg, ''
Roepera ammophila ''Roepera'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Zygophyllaceae, subfamily Zygophylloideae. It is native to Australia and south-western Africa, from Angola to South Africa. Description Species of ''Roepera'' are shrubs, subshrubs or herb ...
'' in habit, Australia File:Zygophyllum ammophilum flower.jpg, Flower of ''Roepera ammophila'' File:Zygophyllum eremeum flower.jpg, Flower of '' Roepera eremaea'' from Australia File:Zygophyllum tesquorum flowers and foliage.jpg, ''
Roepera tesquorum ''Roepera'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Zygophyllaceae, subfamily Zygophylloideae. It is native to Australia and south-western Africa, from Angola to South Africa. Description Species of ''Roepera'' are shrubs, subshrubs or herb ...
'' from Australia

References
{{taxonbar, from=Q10363998 Zygophylloideae Zygophyllales genera