Flabellaria

Flabellaria
Temporal range: Cretaceous - Oligocene
Fossil of Flabellaria mediterranea on display at the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Malpighiaceae
Genus: Flabellaria
Cav., 1790
Species
  • Flabellaria paniculata Cav. 1790

Flabellaria is a genus in the Malpighiaceae, a family of about 75 genera of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales. Flabellaria includes one variable species, Flabellaria paniculata.

Etymology

The genus name Flabellaria comes from the Latin word flabellum meaning small fan, referring to the shape of the samara. [1]

Synonyms

Fossil record

This genus is known in the fossil record from the Cretaceous to the Eocene (age range: from 70.6 to 33.9 million years ago.). [2]

Description

Flabellaria paniculata, the only living species in this genus, can reach a length of 3–15 metres (9.8–49.2 ft). These plants are woody vine, with paniculate, lateral and terminal inflorescences up to 20 cm. long. Flowers are radially symmetrical, about 1 centimeter in diameter, with white and spatulate petals.[3] [4]

Distribution and habitat

Flabellaria paniculata is widely distributed in equatorial Africa in thickets, woodlands, and forests, especially along rivers, at an altitude of 1,150–1,650 metres (3,770–5,410 ft). [1][5][6]

Bibliography

References

  1. 1 2 3 Tropicos
  2. ↑ Fossilworks
  3. ↑ Herbarium Malpighiaceae - description, taxonomy, phylogeny, and nomenclature
  4. ↑ Global Plants
  5. ↑ The Plant List
  6. ↑ African Plants Database


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 7/4/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.