Flueggea, the bushweeds, is a genus of shrubs and trees in the family Phyllanthaceae first described as a genus in 1806.[3][4][5] It is widespread across much of Asia, Africa, and various oceanic islands, with a few species in South America and on the Iberian Peninsula.[2][6][7][8][9][10]

Bushweeds
Flueggea leucopyrus[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Phyllanthaceae
Subfamily: Phyllanthoideae
Tribe: Phyllantheae
Genus: Flueggea
Willd. 1806 not Rich. 1807 (Asparagaceae)
Synonyms[2]
  • Acidoton P.Browne 1856, rejected name, now Sw. 1788
  • Bessera Spreng., illegitimate homonym, not Schult. 1809 nor Schult. f. 1829 nor Vell. 1825
  • Colmeiroa Reut.
  • Coilmeroa Endl.
  • Fluggea Willd. spelling variant
  • Geblera Fisch. & C.A.Mey.
  • Neowawraea Rock
  • Pleiostemon Sond.
  • Richeriella Pax & K.Hoffm. in H.G.A.Engler
  • Villanova Pourr. ex Cutanda 1861, illegitimate homonym, not Ortega 1797 nor Lag. 1816 (both of the latter Asteraceae)

The genus is named after John Fluegge, a German cryptogamic botanist.

Members of this genus all have entire ovate leaves and minute green flowers that form at the leaf axils in the form of fascicles or cymes. The fruits are berries, of the size of peas.[8] With the exception of F. verrucosa, F. spirei, and occasionally F. virosa, they are dioecious.[11]

Taxonomy edit

The genus Flueggea consists of 12[12] -16[13] species.

Many members of the genus were formerly classified under the genus Securinega.

Species[2]
  1. Flueggea acicularis - S China
  2. Flueggea acidoton - West Indies
  3. Flueggea anatolica - S Turkey
  4. Flueggea elliptica - Ecuador
  5. Flueggea flexuosa - Philippines, Maluku, New Guinea, SW Pacific
  6. Flueggea gracilis - Hainan, Palawan, Borneo, Malaysia, S Thailand
  7. Flueggea jullienii - Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam
  8. Flueggea leucopyrus - Socotra, Sajid Island, S India, Sri Lanka, Sichuan, Yunnan
  9. Flueggea monticola - Sichuan, Yunnan
  10. Flueggea neowawraea - Hawaii
  11. Flueggea schuechiana - Pernambuco
  12. Flueggea spirei - Laos
  13. Flueggea suffruticosa - Siberia, Mongolia, China, Korea, Japan
  14. Flueggea tinctoria - Spain, Portugal
  15. Flueggea verrucosa - Cape Province, KwaZulu-Natal
  16. Flueggea virosa - Africa, Madagascar, SW + S + SE Asia, Mascarenes, N Australia
Formerly included[2]

moved to other genera (Leptopus Margaritaria Meineckia Ophiopogon )

  1. F. anceps - Ophiopogon japonicus
  2. F. angulata Raf. 1838 not (Schumach. & Thonn.) Schrank 1828 - Ophiopogon japonicus
  3. F. bailloniana - Margaritaria discoidea var. triplosphaera
  4. F. capillipes - Leptopus chinensis
  5. F. dracaenoides - Ophiopogon dracaenoides
  6. F. dubia - Ophiopogon intermedius
  7. F. eglandulosa - Margaritaria anomala
  8. F. fagifolia - Margaritaria discoidea var. fagifolia
  9. F. griffithii - Ophiopogon intermedius
  10. F. hilariana - Meineckia neogranatensis subsp. hilariana
  11. F. intermedia - Ophiopogon intermedius
  12. F. jaburan - Ophiopogon jaburan
  13. F. jacquemontiana - Ophiopogon intermedius
  14. F. japonica (Thunb.) Rich. not 1807 (Miq.) Pax 1890 - Ophiopogon japonicus
  15. F. major - Margaritaria anomala
  16. F. meineckia - Meineckia phyllanthoides
  17. F. nitida - Margaritaria discoidea var. nitida
  18. F. obovata Baill. 1861 not (Willd.) Wall. ex Fern.-Vill. 1880 - Margaritaria discoidea var. triplosphaera
  19. F. prolifera - Ophiopogon caulescens
  20. F. trichogynis - Meineckia trichogynis
  21. F. wallichiana Kunth 1825 not Baill. 1858 - Ophiopogon intermedius

References edit

  1. ^ 1874 illustration from tab. 54 of D. Brandis, Illustrations of the Forest Flora of North-West and Central India, 1874
  2. ^ a b c d Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  3. ^ Willdenow, Carl Ludwig von. 1806. Species Plantarum. Editio quarta 4(2): 637
  4. ^ Willdenow, Carl Ludwig von. 1806. Species Plantarum. Editio quarta 4(2): 757–758
  5. ^ Tropicos, genus Flueggea Willd.
  6. ^ Govaerts, R., Frodin, D.G. & Radcliffe-Smith, A. (2000). World Checklist and Bibliography of Euphorbiaceae (and Pandaceae) 1-4: 1-1622. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  7. ^ Barker, C. & van Welzen, P.C. (2010). Flueggea (Euphorbiaceae s. l. or Phyllanthaceae) in Malesia. Systematic Botany 35: 541-551.
  8. ^ a b Flora of China Vol. 11 Page 177 白饭树属 bai fan shu shu Flueggea Willdenow, Sp. Pl. 4: 637, 757. 1805.
  9. ^ Schatz, G. E., S. Andriambololonera, Andrianarivelo, M. W. Callmander, Faranirina, P. P. Lowry, P. B. Phillipson, Rabarimanarivo, J. I. Raharilala, Rajaonary, Rakotonirina, R. H. Ramananjanahary, B. Ramandimbisoa, A. Randrianasolo, N. Ravololomanana, Z.S. Rogers, C.M. Taylor & G. A. Wahlert. 2011. Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Madagascar. Monographs in systematic botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden
  10. ^ Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali (eds). 1980-2005. Flora of Pakistan University. of Karachi, Karachi.
  11. ^ Webster, Grady L. (1984). "A Revision of Flueggea (Euphorbiaceae)". Allertonia. 3 (4): 259–312. JSTOR 23188162.
  12. ^ Zhou, Li; Zhao, Bing-Xin; Jiang, Ren-Wang; Huang, Xiao-Jun; Wu, Zhen-Long; Wang, Ying; Ye, Wen-Cai (3 June 2014). "Securinega alkaloids from the fruits of Flueggea suffruticosa". Journal of Asian Natural Products Research. 16 (6). Informa UK Limited: 593–601. doi:10.1080/10286020.2014.930443. ISSN 1028-6020. PMID 24957326. S2CID 722367.
  13. ^ "Flueggea suffruticosa (Pall.) Baill". Catalog of Life. Retrieved 11 May 2020.