Elatostema

Elatostema
Elatostema umbellatum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Urticaceae
Genus: Elatostema
J.R.Forst. & G.Forst.
Species

See text

Elatostema is a genus of flowering plants containing approximately 350 known species in the nettle family Urticaceae,[1] native to tropical forest clearings throughout Australasia, Asia and Africa.[2] There may be as many as 1,000 species of this little-known genus, which is susceptible to deforestation and other forms of human exploitation. Some species, for instance the recently discovered E. fengshanense, show unusual adaptations to growing in deep shade in caves. DNA analysis suggests that the three genera Elastostema, Pellionia, and Pilea be grouped together as one.[3]

E. repens and E. pulchra are cultivated as houseplants in temperate regions.

Selected Species

References

  1. Wei & Wang (2009). "A NEW SPECIES OF ELATOSTEMA (URTICACEAE) FROM GUANGXI PROVINCE, CHINA" (PDF). Harvard Papers in Botany. 14 (2): 183–185. doi:10.3100/025.014.0210. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  2. RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN 1405332964.
  3. http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/species-of-the-day/biodiversity/endangered-species/elatostema-fengshanense/index.html
  4. 1 2 http://www.pensoft.net/journals/phytokeys/article/2022/
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