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Taxonomy

Genera

Abies

Trees evergreen, crown usually spirelike to conic, sometimes flat to round topped in age. Bark initially thin, smooth, bearing resin blisters, in age furrowed and/or flaking in plates. Branches whorled, irregular internodal branches occasionally produced by epicormic sprouting (growing from a dormant bud) ; short (spur) shoots absent; leaf scars prominent, ± circular to broadly elliptic, flush with twig surface, slightly depressed, or slightly raised evenly all around. Buds ovate or oblong, resinous or not, apex rounded or pointed. Leaves borne singly, persisting 5 or more years, spirally arranged but often proximally twisted so as to appear either 1-ranked (pointing up like toothbrush bristles) or 2-ranked, sessile, typically constricted and often twisted above the somewhat broadened base, sheath absent; leaves on vegetative branches flattened, frequently grooved adaxially, usually notched to rounded at apex; leaves on fertile branches sometimes appearing 4-sided, upright, sharp-pointed to rounded at apex; resin canals 2. Cones borne on year-old twigs. Pollen cones grouped, ovate or oblong-cylindric, leaving gall-like protuberances after falling, yellow to red, green, blue, or purple. Seed cones maturing in 1 season, erect, ovoid to oblong-cylindric or cylindric, not falling whole but scale by scale, cone axis persisting as an erect "spike" on branch; scales shed individually, fan-shaped, lacking apophysis and umbo; bracts included to exserted. Seeds winged, the wing-seed juncture bearing resin sac; cotyledons 4--10. x =12.^[1] [more]

At least 517 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Abies.

More info about the Genus Abies may be found here.

Abisara

Abisara is a genus of butterflies. [more]

At least 123 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Abisara.

More info about the Genus Abisara may be found here.

Abutilon

Herbs, subshrubs, shrubs, or small trees. Stipules usually caducous; leaf blade usually entire (lobed in A. pictum), palmately veined, base cordate, margin crenate or serrate. Flowers axillary or subterminal, solitary, paired or in small cymes, often aggregated into terminal panicles. Epicalyx absent. Calyx campanulate, lobes 5. Corolla mostly yellow or orange (red in A. roseum), often with dark center, campanulate to wheel-shaped, rarely ± tubular (A. pictum) ; petals 5, basally connate and adnate to filament tube. Anthers many, clustered at filament tube apex. Ovary (5-) 7-20-loculed; ovules 2-9 per carpel; style branches as many as carpels. Fruit a schizocarp, often blackish when mature, subglobose to hemispherical; mericarps (5-) 7-20, eventually dehiscent, apex rounded or acute, sometimes 2-awned, pericarp leathery. Seeds reniform, glabrous or slightly pubescent.^[2] [more]

At least 849 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Abutilon.

More info about the Genus Abutilon may be found here.

Acacia

Trees, shrubs, rarely herbs, often prickly or spinose. Leaves bipinnate; leaflets small and numerous or leaves reduced to phyllodes; petiolar glands often present; stipules generally spinescent. Inflorescence cylindric spike or globose head; peduncle solitary axillary or fasciculate or paniculate at the end of branches; bracts often two, scale like, situated on the peduncle at various levels. Flowers small, 3-5-merous, bisexual or plants polygamous. Calyx campanulate, dentate, lobed or polysepalous. Petals usually more or less united, rarely absent. Stamens indefinite, free or shortly and irregularly connate at the base; anthers small, eglandular. Ovary sessile or stipitate, with 2 or more ovules. Fruit ovate to linear, straight, arcuate or contorted, membranous to woody, rarely articulated or moniliform. Seed large, with a filiform funicle or fleshy aril.^[3] [more]

At least 2,914 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Acacia.

More info about the Genus Acacia may be found here.

Acantholimon

Shrublets, usually thorny, pulvinate, often subglobose, many-branched. Leaves borne on current year's branches, crowded, sessile, persistent on old branches after withering; spring leaves at base of current year's branches and similar or different from summer leaves; leaf blade linear, linear-needlelike, or linear subulate, usually very shallowly obdeltate to subcomplanate in cross section, apex usually pointed to awned. Inflorescences borne in axil of spring leaves at base of current year's branches, branched or unbranched; spikes pedunculate, with 2--8 spikelets, arranged in 2 rows, sometimes rachis undeveloped with spike or spikelets axillary; spikelets 1--5-flowered; bracts distinctly shorter than bractlet of first flower, margin membranous; first bractlet similar to bract, margin broadly membranous. Calyx funnelform or rarely subtubular; tube straight or occasionally basally oblique, inconspicuously herbaceous along ribs and scarious between ribs; limb purple, pink, or white, broad, scarious, 5- or 10-lobed. Corolla slightly exserted from calyx; petals basally slightly connate. Stamens adnate to corolla base. Ovary linear-cylindrical, apex attenuate. Styles 5, free, glabrous; stigmas depressed capitate. Capsules oblong-filiform.^[4] [more]

At least 419 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Acantholimon.

More info about the Genus Acantholimon may be found here.

Acer

At least 2,630 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Acer.

More info about the Genus Acer may be found here.

Achimenes

Achimenes is a genus of about 25 species of tropical and subtropical rhizomatous perennial herbs in the flowering plant family Gesneriaceae. They have a multitude of common names such as Magic Flowers, Widow's Tears, Cupid's Bower, or Hot Water Plant. The plant's name comes from the Greek word meaning "suffer from cold." [more]

At least 403 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Achimenes.

More info about the Genus Achimenes may be found here.

Acoelorrhaphe

Acoelorrhaphe is a genus of palms, comprising the single species Acoelorrhaphe wrightii (Paurotis palm, also known as the Everglades palm, Madiera palm and Silver saw palmetto). [more]

At least 4 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Acoelorrhaphe.

More info about the Genus Acoelorrhaphe may be found here.

Aconitum

Herbs, perennial, from tubers or elongate, fascicled roots. Leaves basal and cauline, proximal leaves petiolate, distal leaves sessile or nearly so; cauline leaves alternate. Leaf blade palmately divided into 3-7 segments, ultimate segments narrowly elliptic or lanceolate to linear, margins incised and toothed. Inflorescences terminal, sometimes also axillary, 1-32(-more) racemes or panicles, to 28 cm; bracts leaflike, not forming involucre. Flowers bisexual, bilaterally symmetric; sepals not persistent in fruit; lower sepals (pendents) 2, plane, 6-20 mm; lateral sepals 2, round-reniform; upper sepal (hood) 1, saccate, arched, crescent-shaped or hemispheric to rounded-conic or tall and cylindric, usually beaked, 10-50 mm; petals 2, distinct, bearing near apex a capitate to coiled spur, concealed in hood, long-clawed; nectary present, on spur; stamens 25-50; filaments with base expanded; staminodes absent between stamens and pistils; pistils 3(-5), simple; ovules 10-20 per pistil; style present. Fruits follicles, aggregate, sessile, oblong, sides prominently transversely veined; beak terminal, straight, 2-3 mm. Seeds deltoid, usually with small, transverse, membranous lamellae. x =8.^[5] [more]

At least 1,259 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Aconitum.

More info about the Genus Aconitum may be found here.

Adenophora

Adenophora is a genus of flowering plant within the family Campanulaceae. [more]

At least 284 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Adenophora.

More info about the Genus Adenophora may be found here.

Adiantum

Plants terrestrial or on rock. Stems short- to long-creeping or suberect, branched; scales deep tawny yellow to dark reddish brown [black], concolored or bicolored, linear-lanceolate to lanceolate, margins entire, erose-ciliate, or minutely dentate. Leaves monomorphic to somewhat dimorphic, densely clustered to closely spaced [distant], 15--110 cm. Petiole chestnut brown to dark purple or blackish, with single groove adaxially, glabrous, hispid, or strigose, with 1 or 2 vascular bundles. Blade lanceolate, ovate, trowel-shaped, or fan-shaped, 1--4(--9) -pinnate proximally, membranaceous to papery, both surfaces commonly glabrous (2 species with scattered hairs), adaxially dull or shiny, not striate; rachis straight or flexuous. Ultimate segments subsessile to short-stalked (stalks terminating in cupulelike swelling at base of pinna in A. tenerum ), round, fan-shaped, rhombic, or oblong, 3--29 mm wide; base truncate to cuneate, free from costa; stalk dark, often lustrous; fertile segments with marginal lobes recurved to form false indusia. Veins of ultimate segments conspicuous, free, ± dichotomously forking near base and well above segment base [anastomosing in a few tropical species], parallel distally. False indusia light gray-green or brown to dark brown, narrow, 0.6--1 mm wide, marginal, concealing sporangia until sporangia dehisce. Sporangia submarginal, borne along or sometimes also between veins on abaxial surface of false indusium, paraphyses and glands absent. Spores yellow or yellowish brown, tetrahedral-globose, trilete, rugulate to rugose or tuberculate, equatorial ridge absent. x = 29, 30.^[6] [more]

At least 968 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Adiantum.

More info about the Genus Adiantum may be found here.

Aesculus

Trees or shrubs, deciduous. Winter buds large, viscid resinous or not, with several pairs of imbricate scales; scales abaxially glabrous or sparsely puberulent. Leaf blade 5-11-foliolate; leaflet blades without scattered, conspicuous glands, margin crenate to serrate or compoundly so. Thyrse cylindric or conic; branches simple; bracts absent. Flowers often large and showy. Sepals connate to form a tubular to campanulate calyx tube. Petals often unequal, base clawed, limb obovate, oblong, oblanceolate, or spatulate. Ovary without a gynophore; style long, slender; stigma depressed globose, entire or obscurely lobed. Capsule depressed globose to pyriform, without a long gynophore, often 1-seeded; pericarp usually smooth, often dotted, rarely verrucose or prickly. Seeds depressed globose to pyriform, large (2-7 cm) ; testa brown; hilum large, pale, occupying 1/3-1/2 of seed. x = 20.^[7] [more]

At least 224 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Aesculus.

More info about the Genus Aesculus may be found here.

Aethionema

Perennial or annual herbs, often woody below, branched, erect or suberect, leafy, glabrous or rarely papillose. Leaves simple, usually sessile or subsessile, oblong or linear, glaucous. Racemes corymbose, usually many flowered, ebracteate. Flowers mediocre, rose, lilac or white, rarely yellowish; pedicls filiform, usually spreading in fruit. Sepals oblong, obtuse, rounded at apex; inner ±saccate at base; outer often somewhat hooded at apex. Petals obovate, cuneate or clawed, rarely oblong; claw 1-3-nerved. Stamens 6; filaments of longer stamens append-aged, dilated or linear; anthers often apiculate, ovate-orbicular. Lateral nectar glands in pairs, minute, semiglobose; middle usually absent. Ovary ± ellipsoid with narrowly flattened margin, 1-2-locular with 1-2 (rarely 3-4) ovules in each locule; stigma capitate, sub-sessile or on distinct short style. Siliculae ovate, elliptic or suborbicular, laterally flattened, usually winged, dehiscent, (rarely heterocarpic with dehiscent and indehiscent fruits), 1-4-seeded; apex generally deeply notched or emarginate; wing entire or variously dentate; seed ovate, brown, often minutely papillose; radicle incumbent, oblique or accumbent.^[8] [more]

At least 164 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Aethionema.

More info about the Genus Aethionema may be found here.

Agapanthus

Agapanthus ("Lily of the Nile") is a genus of flower plants with six to ten species depending on how the different species are classified. They are all herbaceous perennial plants native to South Africa. They have been placed either in the family Alliaceae, or separated into their own monogeneric family Agapanthaceae (e.g. Indices Nominum Supragenericorum Plantarum Vascularium). [more]

At least 514 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Agapanthus.

More info about the Genus Agapanthus may be found here.

Agave

Plants short-stemmed pachycauls, perennial, often flowering after 8-20+ years, monocarpic or polycarpic, acaulescent or caulescent, scapose, forming succulent rosettes on thick, fibrous-rooted crowns, often rhizomatous. Stems aboveground, unbranched or, less often, branched. Leaves evergreen in rosette; blade light green to green and occasionally with lighter patterns of white (€œcross-zoned€�) or imprinted with white (€œbud-prints€�), linear-lanceolate to ovate, firm to rigid, often thick and fleshy, margins entire, filiferous, or armed with marginal teeth and short to long, sharp-pointed apical spine. Scapes, with inflorescences, much exceeding foliage. Inflorescences terminal atop a semiwoody stalk, spicate, racemos