Gnidia

Gnidia
Gnidia tomentosa
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malvales
Family: Thymelaeaceae
Subfamily: Thymelaeoideae
Genus: Gnidia
L. (1753)
Species[1]

104, see text

Synonyms[1]
  • Arthrosolen C.A.Mey. (1843)
  • Basutica Phillips (1944)
  • Canalia F.W.Schmidt (1793)
  • Craspedostoma Domke (1934)
  • Dessenia Adans. (1763)
  • Epichrocantha Eckl. & Zeyh. ex Meisn. (1857), not validly publ.
  • Gnidiopsis Tiegh. (1893)
  • Nectandra P.J.Bergius (1767), nom. rej.
  • Pseudognidia E.Phillips (1944)
  • Rhytidosolen Tiegh. (1893)
  • Struthia Royen ex L. (1758)
  • Struthiolopsis E.Phillips (1944)
  • Thymelina Hoffmanns. (1824)
  • Trimeiandra Raf. (1838)

Gnidia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Thymelaeaceae. It is distributed in tropical and southern Africa and Madagascar;[1] more than half of all the species are endemic to South Africa.[2] Gnidia was named for Knidos, an Ancient Greek city located in modern-day Turkey.[3]

These are perennial herbs and shrubs, sometimes with rhizomes. Most species have alternately arranged leaves, and a few have opposite leaves. The leaves are undivided and unlobed. The inflorescence is a head of a few to many flowers. The calyx is cylindrical and the colored lobes may alternate with the petals; some species lack petals.[3] Many species are similar in appearance and difficult to tell apart.[4]

Molecular analyses have provided evidence that the genus is polyphyletic, made up of four different lineages. They are related to the four genera Struthiola, Drapetes, Lasiosiphon, and Pimelea.[5]

Formerly 140 to 160 species were classified in the genus.[2][3][6] Many have been reassigned to other genera and Plants of the World Online currently accepts 104 species.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d "Gnidia L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  2. ^ a b Rogers, Z. S. (2006). A new species of Malagasy Gnidia and the lectotypification of Octolepis decalepis (Thymelaeaceae). Adansonia, sér. 3(28), 155-60.
  3. ^ a b c Hyde, M. A., et al. Gnidia. Flora of Zimbabwe. 2013.
  4. ^ Beaumont, A. J., et al. (2001). Patterns of diversity among involucral bracts, inflorescences and flowers in Gnidia (Thymelaeaceae). Systematics and Geography of Plants 71(2), 419-31.
  5. ^ Beaumont, A. J., et al. (2009). Gnidia (Thymelaeaceae) is not monophyletic: taxonomic implications for Thymelaeoideae and a partial new generic taxonomy for Gnidia. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 160(4), 402-17. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00988.x
  6. ^ Bhandurge, P., et al. (2013). The Gnidia genus: A review. Asian Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences 3(19), 1-31.