Purdiaea is a genus

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 11-19 species 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...

 Clethraceae

Clethraceae

Clethraceae is a small family of flowering plants in the order Ericales, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Asia and the Americas, with one species also on Madeira...

. It is one of two genera in this family, and was formerly classified in the related family Cyrillaceae

Cyrillaceae

Cyrillaceae is a small family of flowering plants in the order Ericales, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Americas. The family comprises two genera, each with a single species, Cyrilla racemiflora and Cliftonia monophylla....

. Purdiaea is native to tropical regions of the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

 (with the highest species diversity on Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

), Central America

Central America

Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...

 and northern South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

, further south than the related genus Clethra

Clethra

Clethra is a genus of between 30-70 species of flowering shrubs or small trees. It is one of two genera in the family Clethraceae...

, the only other genus of this family.

The genus is composed of 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 and small tree

Tree

A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...

s with alternating leaves.

Selected species

• Purdiaea belizensis (A.C.Sm. & Standl.) J.L.Thomas – "Belize purdiaea," Central America.
• Purdiaea cubensis (A.Rich.) Urb. – "Cuban purdiaea," "Clavellina," SE USA, Cuba.
• Purdiaea ekmanii Vict. – Cuba
• Purdiaea microphylla Britton
  Nathaniel Lord Britton
  Nathaniel Lord Britton was an American botanist and taxonomist who founded the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, New York. Britton was born in New Dorp in Staten Island, New York...
  
   & P.Wilson – Cuba
• Purdiaea nipensis Vict. & León – Cuba
• Purdiaea nutans G.Planch. – Venezuela
• Purdiaea ophiticola Vict. – Cuba
• Purdiaea shaferi Britton – Cuba
• Purdiaea stenopetala Griseb. – Cuba
• Purdiaea tereosepala J.L.Thomas – Cuba
• Purdiaea velutina Britton & P.Wilson – Cuba