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Daphne

(Genus)

Overview

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Shrubs or subshrubs, evergreen or deciduous. Branches glabrous or pubescent. Leaves mostly alternate, sometimes opposite; petiole short. Inflorescence usually terminal, sometimes axillary, capitate or shortly racemose, sometimes paniculate, racemose, or spicate, with or without involucre; peduncle short or absent. Flowers bisexual or unisexual (plants sometimes dioecious), 4- or 5-merous. Calyx tube white, pink, or yellow, rarely mauve, campanulate, cylindric, or slightly funnel-shaped, exterior glabrous or pubescent; lobes 4 or 5, erect or spreading, alternately longer and shorter. Petaloid appendages absent. Stamens twice as many as calyx lobes, in two series; filaments short or absent; anthers oblong, included; connectives indistinct. Disk absent or annular, cup-shaped, sometimes elongated on one side. Ovary usually sessile or sl ightly stipitate, ovoid, 1-loculed; style terminal, short; stigma capitate. Fruit a succulent berry or dry and leathery, sometimes enclosed by persistent calyx, sometimes naked, usually red or yellow. Seed testa crustaceous, endosperm scanty or absent; cotyledons fleshy.

About 95 species: Asia, Europe; 52 species (41 endemic) in China.

Species of Daphne have long been valued by gardeners for their extremely fragrant flowers.[1]

Taxonomy

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The Genus Daphne is further organized into finer groupings including:

Bibliography

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Footnotes

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  1. Yinzheng Wang, Michael G. Gilbert, Brian F. Mathew & Christopher Brickell "Daphne". in Flora of China Vol. 13 Page 213, 215, 223, 230, 246. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org.

Sources

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Last Revised: August 24, 2012
2012/08/24 14:32:43