Cymopterus

Cymopterus
Cymopterus newberryi
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Apiales
Family: Apiaceae
Tribe: Selineae
Genus: Cymopterus
Raf., 1819
species

35-50, see text

Cymopterus is a genus of perennial plants in the family Apiaceae native to western North America. They are commonly known as the springparsleys.[1] They are mostly stemless, taprooted perennial herbs with leaves at ground level and flowering scapes bearing yellow, white, or purple flowers.[2]

Systematics

The taxonomy of this genus is confused even after many decades of study.[3] Authors have organized it in different ways, sometimes including several closely related Apiaceae genera within it, as the delimitations of the genus and its relationship with others are unclear.[3] It is very polyphyletic, and its limits are not well supported by evidence.[3] Genera recently segregated from Cymopterus include Vesper, six plants with morphological characters that are well-defined and easily separated from Cymopterus; the group has been separated before, but was reintegrated during repeated reorganizations of the genus.[4]

There are perhaps 35[5] to 50[2] species in the genus, but the count changes constantly.

Species include:[1][6][7]

Cymopterus nivalis

Formerly included here

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cymopterus.
  1. 1 2 Cymopterus. USDA PLANTS.
  2. 1 2 Cymopterus. The Jepson eFlora 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 Sun, F. and S. R. Downie. (2004). A molecular systematic investigation of Cymopterus and its allies (Apiaceae) based on phylogenetic analyses of nuclear (ITS) and plastid (rps16 intron) DNA sequences. South African Journal of Botany 70(3), 407-16.
  4. Hartman, R. L. and G. L. Nesom. (2012). Taxonomy of the genus Vesper (Apiaceae). Phytoneuron 94 1-9.
  5. Downie, S. R., et al. (2002). Polyphyly of the spring-parsleys (Cymopterus): molecular and morphological evidence suggests complex relationships among the perennial endemic genera of western North American Apiaceae. Canadian Journal of Botany 80(12), 1295-1324.
  6. GRIN Species Records of Cymopterus. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).
  7. Cymopterus. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).
  8. Cymopterus terebinthinus. Calflora 2013.
  9. Pteryxia terebinthina. USDA PLANTS.

Further reading

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 2/4/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.