| Your Home Page | Contact Us |

• Taxonomy
• Genera
• Bibliography
• Footnotes
• Sources
• Keep Exploring

Taxonomy

Genera

Abisara

Abisara is a genus of butterflies. [more]

At least 123 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Abisara.

More info about the Genus Abisara may be found here.

Agapanthus

Agapanthus ("Lily of the Nile") is a genus of flower plants with six to ten species depending on how the different species are classified. They are all herbaceous perennial plants native to South Africa. They have been placed either in the family Alliaceae, or separated into their own monogeneric family Agapanthaceae (e.g. Indices Nominum Supragenericorum Plantarum Vascularium). [more]

At least 514 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Agapanthus.

More info about the Genus Agapanthus may be found here.

Agave

Plants short-stemmed pachycauls, perennial, often flowering after 8-20+ years, monocarpic or polycarpic, acaulescent or caulescent, scapose, forming succulent rosettes on thick, fibrous-rooted crowns, often rhizomatous. Stems aboveground, unbranched or, less often, branched. Leaves evergreen in rosette; blade light green to green and occasionally with lighter patterns of white (€œcross-zoned€�) or imprinted with white (€œbud-prints€�), linear-lanceolate to ovate, firm to rigid, often thick and fleshy, margins entire, filiferous, or armed with marginal teeth and short to long, sharp-pointed apical spine. Scapes, with inflorescences, much exceeding foliage. Inflorescences terminal atop a semiwoody stalk, spicate, racemose, or paniculate, open to dense, bracteate, occasionally bulbiferous, with flowers borne singly, in pairs, or in umbellike clusters of 2-40+ on peduncles or the lateral branches borne by the peduncle. Flowers protandrous, erect or recurved, showy; perianth mostly yellow, infrequently whitish or reddish, funnelform to tubular; tepals 6, connate basally into tube atop a typically constricted neck; limb lobes erect or curved, equal to unequal in length and/or width, linear to oblong or deltate, often papillate at recurved or hooded apex; stamens 6, exserted, attached atop or within perianth tube; filaments mostly filiform; anthers versatile, linear; ovary inferior, greenish at anthesis, 3-locular, succulent, thick-walled, ovules numerous; style subulate; stigma 3-lobed, glandular, capitate, papillate. Fruits capsular, oblong to ovoid, mostly thick walled and fleshy, dehiscence loculicidal. Seeds black, flattened, obovoid, becoming globose distally. x = 30 (5 large, 25 small) .^[1] [more]

At least 1,050 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Agave.

More info about the Genus Agave may be found here.

Allium

Herbs, perennial, scapose, from tunicate bulbs, with onion odor and taste. Bulbs solitary or clustered, dividing at base, or on rhizomes, reforming annually; outer coats generally brown or gray, smooth, fibrous, or with cellular reticulation (generally important in identification) ; inner coats membranous. Leaves generally withering from tip by anthesis, usually persistent, 1-12, basal; blade usually linear, terete, channeled, or flat (carinate in A. sativum, A. praecox, A. tuberosum, A. rotundum, A. neapolitanum, A. triquetrum, A. unifolium, and A. lacunosum), straight or ± falcate (coiled or circinate in A. nevadense and A. atrorubens), broader in A. victorialis and A. tricoccum, not petiolate (except in A. tricoccum and A. victorialis) . Scape usually persistent, terete or flattened. Inflorescences umbellate, flowering centripetally (centrifugally in A. schoenoprasum), sometimes replaced totally or partially by bulbils, subtended by spathe bracts; bracts conspicuous, ± fused, usually 3+-veined, equaling pedicel except in some introduced species, membranous. Flowers erect (pendent in A. triquetrum) ; tepals 6, in 2 similar whorls, ± distinct, petallike, usually becoming becoming dry and persisting; stamens 6, epipetalous; filaments in all but 1 native species broad at base, fused into ring (some introduced species and A. victorialis appendaged), linear, generally glabrous (A. rotundum and A. hoffmanii papillose to ciliate proximally) ; anthers and pollen variously colored; ovary superior, 3-lobed, sometimes crested with processes, 3-locular, usually 2 ovules per locule (6-8 in A. nigrum), crest processes 3 or 6, smooth except in A. haematochiton, A. sharsmithiae, and A. lacunosum; style 1; stigma capitate to ± 3-lobed; pedicel erect or spreading (lax in A. triquetrum) . Fruits capsular, dehiscence loculicidal. Seeds black, obovoid, finely cellular-reticulate, cells smooth or minutely roughened, with 1-8 papillae, without caruncle except in A. triquetrum. x = 7, 8, 9.^[2] [more]

At least 2,758 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Allium.

More info about the Genus Allium may be found here.

Alstroemeria

Herbs, perennial, from fascicles of fusiform tubers. Stems mostly simple; fertile stems to 1 m or more; sterile stems shorter, more leafy. Leaves alternate; petiole often twisted so as to invert leaf; blade parallel-veined, linear to ovate, margins entire. Inflorescences terminal, umbellate [or 1-flowered]. Flowers slightly zygomorphic; tepals 6, distinct, red, orange, purple, green, or white, frequently spotted, to 5 cm; stamens 6, inserted on perianth base, declinate, usually unequal; ovary inferior; style slender; stigma 3-lobed, filiform. Fruits capsular, 3-valved, dehiscence loculicidal.^[3] [more]

At least 774 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Alstroemeria.

More info about the Genus Alstroemeria may be found here.

Androsace

Herbs perennial, annual, or biennial, acaulescent, rarely caulescent with ascending or decumbent shoots from a caudex. Leaves forming a rosette, rarely alternate; rosettes solitary or clustered, forming lax mats or compact cushions. Inflorescences umbellate, rarely a solitary flower, with bracts. Flowers 5-merous, homostylous. Calyx campanulate to subglobose, shallowly to deeply lobed. Corolla white, pink, purple, or dark red, rarely yellow; tube usually ± inflated, ca. as long as to shorter than calyx; throat constricted; lobes entire or emarginate. Stamens included, inserted on corolla tube; filaments very short; anthers ovate, apex obtuse. Style not longer than corolla tube. Capsule subglobose, dehiscing nearly to base. Seeds few to many.^[4] [more]

At least 515 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Androsace.

More info about the Genus Androsace may be found here.

Anthemis

Annuals (biennials) [perennials, subshrubs], mostly 5-90 cm (often aromatic). Stems 1-5+, erect to decumbent, usually branched, strigillose or strigoso-sericeous to villous (hairs medifixed), glabrescent [glabrous or sericeous to lanate]. Leaves mostly cauline; alternate; petiolate or sessile; blades ± obovate to spatulate, 1-3-pinnately lobed, ultimate margins dentate to lobed, faces glabrous or strigillose to villous [glabrous or sericeous to lanate]. Heads radiate [discoid], borne singly or in lax, corymbiform arrays (peduncles sometimes clavate and/or curved in fruit). Involucres obconic to hemispheric or broader, 5-13[-20] mm diam. Phyllaries persistent, mostly 21-35+ in 3-5 series, distinct, deltate to lanceolate, oblong, or elliptic, unequal, margins and apices (hyaline and colorless or brownish [black]) scarious. Receptacles hemispheric to narrowly conic, paleate (wholly or only distally) ; paleae ± flat, scarious to indurate (subulate or elliptic to obovate with mucronate to acuminate-spinose tips). Ray florets [0 or 2-]5-20[-30+], pistillate and fertile or styliferous and sterile; corollas usually white, rarely yellow or pink, laminae mostly oblong (tubes sometimes hairy). Disc florets (60-) 100-300+, bisexual, fertile; corollas usually yellow, rarely pink, tubes ± cylindric (usually proximally dilated, ± spongy in fruit, sometimes hairy, not saccate), throats funnelform, lobes 5, ± triangular (abaxially minutely crested). Cypselae obovoid to obconic or turbinate (circular or 4-angled in cross section), ribs usually 9-10 (0) and smooth or tuberculate, faces glabrous (pericarps with myxogenic cells) ; pappi 0 or coroniform. x = 9.^[5] [more]

At least 794 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Anthemis.

More info about the Genus Anthemis may be found here.

Aphelandra

Aphelandra is a genus of about 170 species of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae, native to tropical regions of the Americas. [more]

At least 341 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Aphelandra.

More info about the Genus Aphelandra may be found here.

Artemisia

Annuals, biennials, perennials, subshrubs, or shrubs, 3-350 cm (usually, rarely not, aromatic) . Stems 1-10+, usually erect, usually branched, glabrous or hairy (hairs basi- or medifixed) . Leaves basal or basal and cauline; alternate; petiolate or sessile; blades filiform, linear, lanceolate, ovate, elliptic, oblong, oblanceolate, obovate, cuneate, flabellate, or spatulate, usually pinnately and/or palmately lobed, sometimes apically ± 3-lobed or -toothed, or entire, faces glabrous or hairy (hairs multicelled and filled with aromatic terpenoids and/or 1-celled and hollow, dolabriform, T-shaped) . Heads usually discoid, sometimes disciform (subradiate in A. bigelovii), in relatively broad, paniculiform arrays, or in relatively narrow, racemiform or spiciform arrays. Involucres campanulate, globose, ovoid, or turbinate, 1.5-8 mm diam. Phyllaries persistent, 2-20+ in 4-7 series, distinct, (usually green to whitish green, rarely stramineous) ovate to lanceolate, unequal, margins and apices (usually green or white, rarely dark brown or black) ± scarious (abaxial faces glabrous or hairy) . Receptacles flat, convex, or conic (glabrous or hairy), epaleate (except paleate in A. palmeri) . Ray florets 0 (peripheral pistillate florets in disciform heads usually 1-20, their corollas filiform; corollas of 1-3 pistillate florets in heads of A. bigelovii sometimes ± 2-lobed, weakly raylike) . Disc florets 2-20(-30+), bisexual and fertile, or functionally staminate; corollas (glabrous or ± hirtellous) usually pale yellow, rarely red, tubes ± cylindric, throats subglobose or funnelform, lobes 5, ± deltate. Cypselae (brown) fusiform, ribs 0 (and faces finely striate) or 2-5, faces glabrous or hairy (not villous), often gland-dotted (pericarps sometimes with myxogenic cells, without resin sacs; embryo sac development monosporic) ; pappi usually 0 (coroniform in A. californica and A. papposa, sometimes on outer in A. rothrockii) . x = 9.^[6] [more]

At least 1,625 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Artemisia.

More info about the Genus Artemisia may be found here.

Asparagus

Herbs, shrubs, or vines, perennial, from rhizomes, usually with fusiform tubers, often with fernlike appearance. Stems photosynthetic, erect, spreading or climbing, branched; cladophylls solitary or fasciculate, in nodes of reduced, scarious leaves. Leaves small, scale-like, membranous, or sometimes spiny with hardened base, subtending cladophylls. Inflorescences axillary or terminal, racemose, or umbellate, paired or solitary; racemes short. Flowers bisexual or unisexual; perianth greenish, white, or yellowish, campanulate to rotate; tepals 6, distinct or shortly connate basally, equal; stamens 6, distinct, equal; anthers versatile, 2-locular, dehiscence introrse; ovary superior, 3-locular, septal nectaries present; style 3-branched distally; pedicel with conspicuous joint. Fruits baccate, red or purplish black, globose, often with tepals persisting at base. Seeds 1-6, black, globose to angular. x = 10.^[7] [more]

At least 475 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Asparagus.

More info about the Genus Asparagus may be found here.

Astrantia

Astrantia is a genus of herbaceous plants in the family Apiaceae, endemic to Central, Eastern and Southern Europe and the Caucasus. There are 8 or 9 species, which have aromatic roots, palmate leaves, and decorative flowers. They are commonly known as great masterwort, which may be confused with masterwort, Peucedanum ostruthium. [more]

At least 150 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Astrantia.

More info about the Genus Astrantia may be found here.

Berberis

Shrubs or subshrubs, evergreen or deciduous, 0.1-4.5(-8) m, glabrous or with tomentose stems. Rhizomes present or absent, short or long, not nodose. Stems branched or unbranched, monomorphic or dimorphic, i.e., all elongate or with elongate primary stems and short axillary spur shoots. Leaves alternate, sometimes leaves of elongate shoots reduced to spines and foliage leaves borne only on short shoots; foliage leaves simple or 1-odd-pinnately compound; petioles usually present. Simple leaves: blade narrowly elliptic, oblanceolate, or obovate, 1.2-7.5 cm. Compound leaves: rachis, when present, with or without swollen articulations; leaflet blades lanceolate to orbiculate, margins entire, toothed, spinose, or spinose-lobed; venation pinnate or leaflets 3-6-veined from base. Inflorescences terminal, usually racemes, rarely umbels or flowers solitary. Flowers 3-merous, 3-8 mm; bracteoles caducous, 3, scalelike; sepals falling immediately after anthesis, 6, yellow; petals 6, yellow, nectariferous; stamens 6; anthers dehiscing by valves; pollen exine punctate; ovary symmetrically club-shaped; placentation subbasal; style central. Fruits berries, spheric to cylindric-ovoid or ellipsoid, usually juicy, sometimes dry, at maturity. Seeds 1-10, tan to red-brown or black; aril absent. x = 14.^[8] [more]

At least 1,382 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Berberis.

More info about the Genus Berberis may be found here.

Bletilla

At least 50 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Bletilla.

More info about the Genus Bletilla may be found here.

Bomarea

Bomarea is one of the two major genera in the plant family Alstroemeriaceae. Most occur in the Andes. Several species are occasionally found as garden plants. [more]

At least 197 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Bomarea.

More info about the Genus Bomarea may be found here.

Calypso

Herbs, perennial, rather succulent. Roots few, slender, fleshy. Stems scapose; corm slender to stout, fleshy; sheathing bracts usually 2, partially cloaking stem. Leaves produced in autumn, withering spring, solitary, arising from corm, plicate, leathery. Inflorescences terminal, each with 1 flower, arising from corm; floral bract with color of stem or sepals, reduced to prominent. Flowers solitary, resupinate, horizontal to slightly nodding, large, showy; sepals and petals ascending to erect; lip slipper-shaped, with basal orifice and 2 horns near apex, margin of lip dilated, forming bearded, apronlike lamina; pollinarium solitary; pollinia 4, flattened, superposed in 2 pairs flanking axis of pollinarium; viscidia large, quadrangular; stigma concave. Fruits capsules.^[9] [more]

At least 26 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Calypso.

More info about the Genus Calypso may be found here.

Cercidium

Parkinsonia (syn. Cercidium) is a genus of about 12 species of in the family Fabaceae, native to semi-desert regions of Africa and the Americas. [more]

At least 23 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Cercidium.

More info about the Genus Cercidium may be found here.

Chamaecyparis

Trees (rarely shrubs). Branchlets terete or rhombic in cross section, in fan-shaped or pinnately flattened sprays. Leaves opposite in 4 ranks. Adult leaves usually appressed, lateral and facial pairs similar, closely overlapping, scalelike, free portion of long-shoot leaves to ca. 7 mm; abaxial glands present or absent, circular to linear. Pollen cones with 2--3 pairs of sporophylls, each sporophyll with 2--4 pollen sacs. Seed cones maturing and opening in 1--2 years, nearly globose, glaucous, 4--12 mm; scales persistent, 2--5(--6) pairs, valvate, peltate or basifixed, thick and woody, terminal pair often fused. Seeds 1--4 per cone scale, lenticular, equally 2-winged; cotyledons 2--3. x = 11.^[10] [more]

At least 711 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Chamaecyparis.

More info about the Genus Chamaecyparis may be found here.

Chelone

At least 98 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Chelone.

More info about the Genus Chelone may be found here.

Chimonanthus

Chimonanthus (wintersweet) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Calycanthaceae, endemic to China. The genus includes three to six species depending on taxonomic interpretation; three are accepted by the Draft Flora of China. The name means winter flower in Greek. [more]

At least 39 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Chimonanthus.

More info about the Genus Chimonanthus may be found here.

Chirita

Herbs, perennial or rarely annual, terrestrial or epipetric, often rhizomatous, stemless or with simple or branched stems. Leaves few to many, basal or along stem and opposite, seldom in whorls of 3 or alternate, unequal to equal in a pair; leaf