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 Chionanthus pygmaeus
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About 80 (including species sometimes placed in Linociera); see text |
Chionanthus (pronounced /ˌkaɪ.ɵˈnænθəs/[1]) is a genus of about 80 species of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae.
The genus has a wide distribution primarily in the tropics and subtropics, but with two species extending north into temperate regions, one (C. retusus) in eastern Asia and one (C. virginicus) in eastern North America. Most of the tropical species are evergreen, while the two temperate species are deciduous; some botanists restrict Chionanthus to the two deciduous, temperate species, treating the evergreen species in a separate genus Linociera, but apart from leaf persistence, there is no other consistent difference between them.[2][3]
They are shrubs and small to medium-sized trees growing to 3-25 m tall. The leaves are opposite, simple. The flowers are produced in feathery panicles, with a corolla subdivided into four slender lobes; they are white, pale yellow, or tinged pink. The fruit is a drupe containing a single seed.
- Selected species
- Chionanthus albidiflorus Thwaites. Sri Lanka.
- Chionanthus axillaris R.Br. Australia (Queensland).
- Chionanthus axilliflorus (Griseb.) Stearn. Caribbean.
- Chionanthus brachythyrsus (Merrill) P.S.Green. Southern China (Hainan), Vietnam.
- Chionanthus caudatus (Collett & Hemsley) Bahadur & Gaur. Myanmar.
- Chionanthus compactus Sw. Caribbean.
- Chionanthus domingensis Lam. Caribbean.
- Chionanthus foveolatus (E.Mey.) Stearn (Pock Ironwood). Southern Africa.
- Chionanthus guangxiensis B.M.Miao. Southeastern China (Guangxi).
- Chionanthus hainanensis (Merrill & Chun) B.M.Miao. Southern China (Hainan).
- Chionanthus henryanus P.S.Green. Southwestern China, Myanmar.
- Chionanthus holdridgei (Camp & Monachino) Stearn. Caribbean.
- Chionanthus intermedius (Wight) F.Muell. India.
- Chionanthus ligustrinus (Sw.) Pers. Caribbean.
- Chionanthus longiflorus (H.L.Li) B.M.Miao. Southwestern China (Yunnan).
- Chionanthus picrophloia F.Muell. Australia (Queensland).
- Chionanthus pubescens Kunth. Ecuador, Peru.
- Chionanthus pygmaeus Small (Pygmy Fringetree). Southeastern United States (Florida).
- Chionanthus quadristamineus F.Muell. Australia (Norfolk Island).
- Chionanthus ramiflorus Roxburgh. Australia (Queensland), southern China, India, Nepal, Vietnam.
- Chionanthus retusus Lindley & Paxton (Chinese Fringetree). China, Japan, Korea.
- Chionanthus sleumeri (C.T.White) Stearn. Australia (Queensland).
- Chionanthus virginicus L. (White Fringetree). Eastern United States.
References
- ^ Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607
- ^ "Chionanthus". Flora of China. http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=106706.
- ^ Stearn, William T. (1976), "Union of Chionanthus and Linociera (Oleaceae)", Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 63: 355, doi:
External links
- Germplasm Resources Information Network: Chionanthus
- "Chionanthus". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government. http://www.anbg.gov.au/cgi-bin/apni?taxon_id=10413.
- USDA Plants Profile: Chionanthus
- University of Pretoria: Chionanthus foveolatus
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