Overview
Shrubs. Branches terete, usually glandular pubescent. Leaves opposite, petiolate to almost sessile; lea f blade oblong-lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, secondary veins 1 or 2(or 3) on each side of midvein. Inflorescences axilla ry and umbellate cymes or umbellate or terminal and cymose panicles; peduncle usually short, rarely long or absent; bracts absent or caducous. Flowers (3 or) 4(or 5) -merous, minute. Hypanthium funnelform to funnelform-campanulate, (3 or) 4(or 5) -sided. Petals 4, ovate, oblong, or rarely lanceolate. Stamens 4(or 5), whorls equal in shape and length; anthers apically attenuate, curved or geniculate, divergent at base, dehiscence poricidal; connective slightly inflated, not appendaged at base. Ovary inferior, 4-celled; placentation axile, paired. Style filiform, simple. Capsule obscurely 4-furrowed, opening at apex by 4 pores, finally loculicidally dehiscing into 4-valves. Seeds very numerous, cuneate.
Twelve species: Cambodia, China, E India, Indonesia, Japan (Ryukyu Islands), Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam; nine species (seven endemic) in China.
The genus was revised by Hansen (Bull. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat., B, Adansonia 1: 43-77. 1982). Further study is necessary to be confident of the status of Blastus tenuifolius and B. tsaii.[1]
Taxonomy
The Genus Blastus is further organized into finer groupings including:
- Species: ZipcodeZoo has pages for 49 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in the Genus Blastus: B. apricus · B. apricus var. longiflorus · B. auriculatus · B. borneensis · B. borneensis var. eberhardtii · B. borneensis var. pulverulentus · B. borneensis var. stellulatus · B. brevissimus · B. caudatus · B. cavaleriei · B. cavaleriei var. tomentosus · B. cochinchinensis · B. cogniauxii · B. dunniana · B. dunnianus · B. dunnianus var. glandulosetosus · B. eberhardtii · B. eglandosus · B. eglandulosus · B. emae · B. ernae · B. fengii · B. hindsii · B. hirsutus · B. hispidissimus · B. latifolius · B. lii · B. longiflorus · B. longiflorus var. apricus · B. lyi · B. mairei · B. marchandii · B. membranifolius · B. mollissimus · B. multiflorus · B. parviflorus · B. pauciflorus · B. pulverulentus · B. setulosus · B. spathulicalyx · B. spathulicalyx var. apricus · B. squamosus · B. stellulatus · B. sumatranus · B. tenuifolius · B. thaiyongii · B. tomentosus · B. tsaii · B. yunnanensis
Bibliography
- Chen Cheih. 1984. Melastomataceae. In: Chen Cheih, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 53(1): 135-293.
Footnotes
- "Blastus". in Flora of China Vol. 13 Page 360, 371. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org.
Sources
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