Citronella (genus)

Not to be confused with Cymbopogon, from which citronella oil is produced.

Citronella
Citronella mucronata
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Aquifoliales
Family: Cardiopteridaceae
Genus: Citronella
D.Don
Synonyms[1]
  • Chariessa Miq.
  • Briquetina J.F.Macbr.

Citronella aka Andreea is a genus of trees and shrubs in the family Cardiopteridaceae described as a genus in 1832.[2][3] It is native to tropical regions of South and Central America, insular Southeast Asia, Australia, and islands of the western Pacific.[1] The genus was formerly treated as belonging to the family Icacinaceae.[4][5]

Few species have been cultivated. Citronella mucronata, from Chile, is remarkable for its hardiness compared to other members of this genus. It is one of the most well-known of the species and has been introduced to Europe.[6][7]

  1. ^ a b Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. ^ Don, David. 1832. Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal 13: 243-244 description in Latin, commentary in English
  3. ^ Tropicos, Citronella D.Don
  4. ^ Howard R. A. 1942d Studies of the Icacinaceae. V. A revision of the genus Citronella D. Don. Contributions from the Gray Herbarium of Harvard University 142: 60-89
  5. ^ Genus Citronella from Encyclopedia of Chilean Flora
  6. ^ "Chilean plants cultivated in Spain" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-03-20. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
  7. ^ Mabberley, D. 1997. The Plant-Book. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom. 858p.