''Staphylea'', called bladdernuts, is a small genus of 10 or 11 species of flowering plants in the
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Staphyleaceae
Staphyleaceae is a small family of flowering plants in the order Crossosomatales, native to Europe, temperate and tropical Asia and the Americas. The largest genus ''Staphylea'', which gives the family its name, contains the "bladdernut" trees. ...
, native to
temperate
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...
regions of the
Northern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined by humans as being in the same celestial sphere, celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the Solar ...
. The highest species diversity is in China, where four species occur.
They are large
shrub
A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...
s, occasionally small trees, growing to 2–5 m tall. The leaves are
deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
, arranged in opposite pairs, and
pinnate
Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and ...
, usually with three
leaflets, but in ''S. pinnata'' and in ''S. colchica''. The flowers are produced in drooping terminal
panicle
In botany, a panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a p ...
s 5–10 cm long, with 5–15 flowers on each panicle; the individual flowers are about 1 cm long, with the 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 and
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 similar in size and in their white or pale pink colour. The fruit is an inflated papery two- or three-lobed
capsule 3–10 cm long, containing a few small nut-like seeds.
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 ...
'' currently includes:
* ''
Staphylea affinis''
(Merr. & L.M.Perry) Byng & Christenh.
* ''
Staphylea arguta''
(Seem.) Byng & Christenh.
* ''
Staphylea bolanderi''
A.Gray – Sierra bladdernut. Western North America.
* ''
Staphylea bumalda''
DC. – Japanese bladdernut. Eastern Asia.
* ''
Staphylea campanulata''
J.Wen
* ''
Staphylea cochinchinensis''
(Lour.) Byng & Christenh. - Nepal to S. China and Indo-China.
* ''
Staphylea colchica''
Steven – Colchis bladdernut, jonjoli. Eastern Europe.
* ''
Staphylea emodi''
Wall. ex Brandis – Himalayan bladdernut. Himalaya.
* ''
Staphylea formosana''
(Nakai) Byng & Christenh.
* ''
Staphylea forrestii''
Balf.f. – China.
* ''
Staphylea holocarpa''
Hemsl. – China.
* ''
Staphylea indochinensis''
(Merr.) Byng & Christenh. - S. China, N. Vietnam
* ''
Staphylea insignis''
(Tul.) Byng & Christenh.
* ''
Staphylea japonica''
(Thunb.) Mabb.
* ''
Staphylea macrosperma''
(C.C.Huang) Byng & Christenh.
* ''
Staphylea megaphylla''
(Tul.) Byng & Christenh.
* ''
Staphylea pinnata''
L. – European bladdernut. Europe.
* ''
Staphylea pringlei''
S.Watson – Mexico.
* ''
Staphylea shweliensis''
W.W.Sm. – China.
* ''
Staphylea subsessilifolia''
(C.Y.Wu) Byng & Christenh.
* ''
Staphylea ternata''
(Nakai) Byng & Christenh.
* ''
Staphylea tricornuta''
(Lundell) Byng & Christenh.
* ''
Staphylea trifolia''
L. – American bladdernut. Eastern North America.
* ''
Staphylea yuanjiangensis''
K.M.Feng & T.Z.Hsu
Some
botanists
This is a list of botanists who have Wikipedia articles, in alphabetical order by surname. The List of botanists by author abbreviation is mostly a list of plant taxonomists because an author receives a standard abbreviation only when that aut ...
previously included the closely related
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 ...
''
Turpinia
''Turpinia'' is a genus of trees and shrubs in family Staphyleaceae, native to Asia and North, Central, and South America.
, Plants of the World Online accepted the following species:
* '' Turpinia brachypetala''
* '' Turpinia doanii''
* '' Tu ...
'' in ''Staphylea''.
Cultivation and uses
Several species are grown as
ornamental plant
Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...
s for their flowers and peculiar bladder-like fruit. The popular ''Staphylea × elegans'' is a
hybrid
Hybrid may refer to:
Science
* Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding
** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species
** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two diff ...
of unknown origin, probably between ''S. colchica'' and ''S. pinnata''. The pickled flowers can be served as a side dish in
Georgian cuisine
Georgian cuisine ( ka, ქართული სამზარეულო, tr) consists of cooking traditions, techniques, and practices of Georgia. Georgian cuisine has a distinct character, while bearing some similarities with various nationa ...
.
References
External links
EFloras: search results for ''Staphylea''Flora Europaea: ''Staphylea''
- at desert-tropicals.com
{{Taxonbar, from=Q158845
Rosid genera
Staphyleaceae