Pseudolithos
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Pseudolithos migiurtinus plant in cultivation | |
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Genus: | Pseudolithos P.R.O.Bally
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Pseudolithos is a genus of succulent flowering plants of the family Apocynaceae, indigenous to Somalia, Yeman and Oman.
Description and naming
The plants were first described as a genus in 1965; the name "Pseudo-lithos" means "false-stone" and refers to their pebble-like appearance. All species in this genus are highly succulent, highly reduced, and exhibit tessellation on their stems' surface. Their small flowers appear on the spherical body's surface.[1][2]
- Species[3]
- Pseudolithos caput-viperae Lavranos - Somalia
- Pseudolithos cubiformis (P.R.O. Bally) P.R.O. Bally - N Somalia
- Pseudolithos dodsonianus (Lavranos) Bruyns & Meve - Somalia & Oman
- Pseudolithos horwoodii P.R.O. Bally & Lavranos - Somalia
- Pseudolithos mccoyi Lavranos - Yemen & Oman
- Pseudolithos migiurtinus (Chiov.) P.R.O. Bally - S + C Somalia
- Pseudolithos sphaericus (P.R.O. Bally) P.R.O. Bally - N Somalia
Taxonomy
Phylogenetic studies have shown the genus to be monophyletic, and most closely related to the widespread Caralluma stapeliads of North Africa. Marginally more distantly related is a sister branch comprising the genera Echidnopsis and Rhytidocaulon.[4]
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References
- ^ "Tropicos - Name - Pseudolithos P.R.O. Bally". tropicos.org.
- ^ "Notes Pseudolithos - Quaqua". asclepiad-exhibition.org.
- ^ "Search results — The Plant List". theplantlist.org.
- ^ P. Bruyns, C. Klak, P. Hanacek: Evolution of the stapeliads (Apocynaceae-Asclepiadoideae) - repeated major radiation across Africa in an Old World group. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 2014. v. 77, no. 1, p. 251--263. ISSN 1055-7903.