Afrocanthium
{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}}
{{automatic taxobox
|display_parents = 2
|image = Afrocanthium gilfillanii, habitus, Schanskop.jpg
|image_caption = A. gilfillanii in South Africa
|taxon = Afrocanthium
|authority = (Bridson) Lantz & B.Bremer
|type_species = Afrocanthium lactescens
|type_species_authority = (Hiern) Lantz
}}
Afrocanthium is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It consists of deciduous, unarmed trees, and shrubs. They are native to East Africa, from Sudan and Ethiopia to South Africa.{{cite journal|author=Bridson DM|year=1992|title=The genus Canthium (Rubiaceae - Vanguerieae) in tropical Africa|journal=Kew Bulletin|volume=47|issue=3|pages=353–401|doi=10.2307/4110569|jstor=4110569|bibcode=1992KewBu..47..353B }}
Taxonomy
Afrocanthium was first recognized as a distinct group in 1991, when it was named as a subgenus of Canthium.{{cite book|author=Verdcourt B, Bridson DM|year=1991|title=Flora of Tropical East Africa|edition=3|publisher=AA Balkema|location=Rotterdam/Brookfield|editor=Polhill RM|chapter= Rubiaceae|pages=864}} It was described and compared to the other subgenera in 1992. In 2004, a molecular phylogenetic study of DNA sequences showed that Afrocanthium is monophyletic and not most closely related to the other subgenera of Canthium.{{cite journal|author=Lantz H, Bremer B|year=2004|title=Phylogeny inferred from morphology and DNA data: characterizing well-supported groups in Vanguerieae (Rubiaceae)|journal=Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society|volume=146|issue=3|pages=257–283|doi=10.1111/j.1095-8339.2004.00338.x|doi-access=free}} The authors of this study raised Afrocanthium, unaltered, to generic status. It is sister to Keetia, a genus that was segregated from Canthium in 1986.{{cite journal|author=Bridson DM|year=1986|title=The reinstatement of the African genus Keetia (Rubiaceae subfam. Cinchonoideae tribe Vanguerieae)|journal=Kew Bulletin|volume=41|issue=4|pages=965–994|doi=10.2307/4102996|jstor=4102996|bibcode=1986KewBu..41..965B }}
Species
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
- Afrocanthium burttii (Bullock) Lantz
- Afrocanthium gilfillanii (N.E.Br.) Lantz
- Afrocanthium keniense (Bullock) Lantz
- Afrocanthium kilifiense (Bridson) Lantz
- Afrocanthium lactescens (Hiern) Lantz
- Afrocanthium mundianum (Cham. & Schltdl.) Lantz
- Afrocanthium ngonii (Bridson) Lantz
- Afrocanthium parasiebenlistii (Bridson) Lantz
- Afrocanthium peteri (Bridson) Lantz
- Afrocanthium pseudorandii (Bridson) Lantz
- Afrocanthium pseudoverticillatum (S.Moore) Lantz
- Afrocanthium racemulosum (S.Moore) Lantz
- Afrocanthium rondoense (Bridson) Lantz
- Afrocanthium salubenii (Bridson) Lantz
- Afrocanthium shabanii (Bridson) Lantz
- Afrocanthium siebenlistii (K.Krause) Lantz
- Afrocanthium vollesenii (Bridson) Lantz
{{div col end}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/qsearch.do?plantName=Afrocanthium Afrocanthium in the World Checklist of Rubiaceae]
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