Amischotolype is a genus of perennial monocotyledonous flowering plants in the Commelinaceae. It is found in Central Africa and from India through Southeast Asia to New Guinea,[2][3][4] with the great majority or species found in Asia.[5]

The name is derived from the Ancient Greek words αμισχος, meaning 'unstalked', and τολυπη, meaning 'tangle'.[1] The genus is characterised by its rather compact inflorescences which are composed on two or more cincinni that pierce through the base of the leaf sheath, and also by its seeds that are embedded in red arils. Flowers are actinomorphic, and anthers release their pollen either through a pore at the tip or slits down the sides. They are typically encountered in forest understories. The closely related genus Porandra, which consists of three Asian species, is considered by Robert Faden, a leading authority on the family, to be "doubtfully distinct" from Amischotolype.[3] Analysis of DNA sequences has shown that Amischotolype is most closely related to the genus Coleotrype, while these two are in turn most closely related to the genus Cyanotis plus its very close relative Belosynapsis. These four genera form a clade that is found only in the Old World, while all of its immediate ancestors are present only in the New World.[4][6]

Species[2]

References

  1. ^ a b Hasskarl, J.K. (1863). "Adumbrationes Commelinacearum quarundam, quas in Africae orientalis littore, Mozambique reperit Prof. Peters et amplius in hujus opere "Reise etc." descripsit". Flora (in Latin). 46 (25): 385–393.
  2. ^ a b c Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  3. ^ a b Faden, Robert B. (1998), "Commelinaceae", in Kubitzki, Klaus (ed.), The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants, vol. 4, Berlin: Springer, pp. 109–128, ISBN 3-540-64061-4
  4. ^ a b Hong, Deyuan; DeFillipps, Robert A. (2000), "Amischotolype", in Wu, Z. Y.; Raven, P.H.; Hong, D.Y. (ed.), Flora of China, vol. 24, Beijing: Science Press; St. Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden Press, p. 23{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ Duistermaat, H. (2012). A taxonomic revision of Amischotolype (Commelinaceae) in Asia. Gardens' Bulletin Singapore 64: 51-131.
  6. ^ Evans, Timothy M.; Sytsma, Kenneth J.; Faden, Robert B.; Givnish, Thomas J. (2003), "Phylogenetic Relationships in the Commelinaceae: II. A Cladistic Analysis of rbcL Sequences and Morphology", Systematic Botany, 28 (2): 270–292, doi:10.1043/0363-6445-28.2.270{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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