Carpolobia
Plant genus in the family Polygalaceae
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Carpolobia is a genus of plants in the milkwort family (Polygalaceae) that are native to tropical Africa and Madagascar.[1] It was first written about in 1831 by George Don, at which point 4 species were identified.[2][3] In 1849, the number of accepted species went down to 2. The other 2 became part of the legume family.[4] The two species that remained, C. alba and C. lutea, were described as closely resembling each other.[5] It was initially in the Polygaleae tribe before being split off in 1992 along with the genus Atroxima to form the new tribe of Carpolobieae.[6]
| Carpolobia | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Polygalaceae |
| Tribe: | Carpolobieae |
| Genus: | Carpolobia G.Don (1831) |
| Synonyms[1] | |
|
Falya Desc. (1957) | |
Description
Carpolobia are shrubs, small trees, or lianas. They produce flowers with 5 petals.[1] Its fruit are smooth, drupaceous, and uni- to tri-locular. They are 2 by 2.5 by 2.5 centimetres (0.79 by 0.98 by 0.98 in) and yellow to red-orange at maturity.[1][7] The fruit's endocarp and exocarp are thin and its mesocarp is fleshy.[7]
Species
As of April 2024, there are 5 accepted species:[1]
- Carpolobia alba G.Don
- Carpolobia gabonica Breteler
- Carpolobia goetzei Gürke
- Carpolobia gossweileri (Exell) E.M.A.Petit
- Carpolobia lutea G.Don
