Edgeworthia (paper bush) is a genus of plants in the family Thymelaeaceae. When the genus was first described, it was published twice in the same year (1841), in two separate publications: Plantarum vascularium genera: secundum ordines naturales digesta eorumque differentiae et affinitates tabulis diagnostacis expositae;[1] and Denkschriften der Regensburgischen Botanischen Gesellschaft.[2] The genus was named in honour of Michael Pakenham Edgeworth, an Irish-born botanist and official in the Bengal Civil Service, then stationed in India, and for his half-sister, writer Maria Edgeworth.[2]
Edgeworthia | |
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E. chrysantha (synon. E. papyrifera, E. tomentosa) | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Malvales |
Family: | Thymelaeaceae |
Subfamily: | Thymelaeoideae |
Genus: | Edgeworthia Meisn.[1][2] |
Type species | |
Edgeworthia gardneri [3] | |
Species | |
See text |
At least one member of the genus, Edgeworthia chrysantha, has the extremely unusual ability to branch trichotomously - the apical meristem forming the end of each stem splits into three sections at once. This trait is shared with no other known flowering plant.[4]
Species list from both GRIN[5] and ThePlantList[6]
Image | Scientific name | Distribution |
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Edgeworthia albiflora Nakai | Sichuan, China | |
Edgeworthia chrysantha Lindl. | Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Henan, Hunan, Jiangxi, Yunnan, Zhejiang provinces of China | |
Edgeworthia eriosolenoides K.M.Feng & S.C.Huang | SE Yunnan, China | |
Edgeworthia gardneri (Wall.) Meisn. | Bhutan, India, N Myanmar, Nepal, China(E Xizang, NW Yunnan), Vietnam | |
Edgeworthia longipes Lace | Myanmar, India |