Grubbia
Encyclopedia
Grubbia is a genus
of flowering plant
s in the family
Grubbiaceae. The genus has three species
, all endemic to the Cape Floristic Region
of South Africa
. They are shrub
s that grow to 1.5 m (4.9 ft) tall, with tiny flower
s and slender, leathery leaves
. The fruit
is a syncarp
.
Grubbia was named
by Peter Jonas Bergius in 1767 in a Swedish
journal
entitled Kongliga Vetenskaps Academiens Handlingar. The generic name honors the Swedish
botanist Michael Grubb.
Grubbia was revised by Sherwin Carlquist
in 1977. Grubbia gracilis, Grubbia hirsuta, and Grubbia pinifolia had all been recognized, at least by some authors, at species rank
, but Carlquist treated them as subspecies
or varieties
of Grubbia rosmarinifolia. Some authors had recognized a second genus, Strobilocarpus, in the family Grubbiaceae, but Carlquist assigned its two species, Strobilocarpus rourkei and Strobilocarpus tomentosa to Grubbia.
Molecular phylogenetic studies
have shown that Grubbia is sister to Curtisia
, another genus from South Africa. It has been suggested that Grubbia and Curtisia might be combined into a single family. This was not followed by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group
in the APG III system
of 2009.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
s in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Grubbiaceae. The genus has three species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
, all endemic to the Cape Floristic Region
Cape floristic region
The Cape Floristic Region is a floristic region located near the southern tip of South Africa. It is the only floristic region of the Cape Floristic Kingdom, and includes only one floristic province, known as the Cape Floristic Province.The Cape Floristic Region, the smallest of the six recognised...
of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. They are shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s that grow to 1.5 m (4.9 ft) tall, with tiny flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s and slender, leathery leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
. The fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
is a syncarp
Multiple fruit
Multiple fruits are fruits that are formed from a cluster of flowers . Each flower in the inflorescence produces a fruit, but these mature into a single mass...
.
Grubbia was named
Botanical name
A botanical name is a formal scientific name conforming to the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature and, if it concerns a plant cultigen, the additional cultivar and/or Group epithets must conform to the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants...
by Peter Jonas Bergius in 1767 in a Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
journal
Scientific journal
In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. There are thousands of scientific journals in publication, and many more have been published at various points in the past...
entitled Kongliga Vetenskaps Academiens Handlingar. The generic name honors the Swedish
Swedes
Swedes are a Scandinavian nation and ethnic group native to Sweden, mostly inhabiting Sweden and the other Nordic countries, with descendants living in a number of countries.-Etymology:...
botanist Michael Grubb.
Grubbia was revised by Sherwin Carlquist
Sherwin Carlquist
Sherwin Carlquist is an American botanist and photographer. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1952 and a Ph.D. in botany in 1956, also at Berkeley. Carlquist did a postdoctoral study at Harvard University from 1955 to 1956. After his postdoctoral...
in 1977. Grubbia gracilis, Grubbia hirsuta, and Grubbia pinifolia had all been recognized, at least by some authors, at species rank
Taxonomic rank
In biological classification, rank is the level in a taxonomic hierarchy. Examples of taxonomic ranks are species, genus, family, and class. Each rank subsumes under it a number of less general categories...
, but Carlquist treated them as subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
or varieties
Variety (biology)
In botanical nomenclature, variety is a taxonomic rank below that of species: as such, it gets a three-part infraspecific name....
of Grubbia rosmarinifolia. Some authors had recognized a second genus, Strobilocarpus, in the family Grubbiaceae, but Carlquist assigned its two species, Strobilocarpus rourkei and Strobilocarpus tomentosa to Grubbia.
Molecular phylogenetic studies
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
have shown that Grubbia is sister to Curtisia
Curtisia
Curtisia dentata is a flowering tree from Southern Africa...
, another genus from South Africa. It has been suggested that Grubbia and Curtisia might be combined into a single family. This was not followed by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group
Angiosperm Phylogeny Group
The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, or APG, refers to an informal international group of systematic botanists who came together to try to establish a consensus on the taxonomy of flowering plants that would reflect new knowledge about plant relationships discovered through phylogenetic studies., three...
in the APG III system
APG III system
The APG III system of flowering plant classification is the third version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy...
of 2009.
External links
- http://www.ipni.org/ipni/advPlantNameSearch.do;jsessionid=E86CD63A3F107BEDA26D8AB673EEF6E0?find_family=&find_genus=Grubbia+&find_species=&find_infrafamily=&find_infragenus=&find_infraspecies=&find_authorAbbrev=&find_includePublicationAuthors=on&find_includePublicationAuthors=off&find_includeBasionymAuthors=on&find_includeBasionymAuthors=off&find_publicationTitle=&find_isAPNIRecord=on&find_isAPNIRecord=false&find_isGCIRecord=on&find_isGCIRecord=false&find_isIKRecord=on&find_isIKRecord=false&find_rankToReturn=all&output_format=normal&find_sortByFamily=on&find_sortByFamily=off&query_type=by_query&back_page=plantsearchGrubbia] At: Plant Names At: IPNI
- CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names: D-L At: Botany & Plant Science At: Life Science At: CRC Press
- Grubbia At: Index Nominum Genericorum At: References At: NMNH Department of Botany At: Research and Collections At: Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
- Grubbia (exact) At: Names At: Tropicos At: Science and Conservation At: Missouri Botanical Garden
- Grubbia At: List of Genera At: Grubbiaceae At: List of Families At: Families and Genera in GRIN At: Queries At: GRIN taxonomy for plants
- Grubbia At: Grubbiaceae At: Cornales At: Asteridae At: core eudicots (Gunneridae) At: Eudicotyledoneae In: ··· Embryophyta At: Streptophytina At: Streptophyta At: Viridiplantae At: Eukaryota At: Taxonomy At: UniProt