Ekmanianthe
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| Ekmanianthe | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Bignoniaceae |
| Clade: | Crescentiina |
| Clade: | Tabebuia alliance |
| Genus: | Ekmanianthe Urban |
| Type species | |
| Ekmanianthe longiflora (Grisebach) Urban | |
| Species | |
Ekmanianthe is a genus of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae endemic to the Greater Antilles. It is most closely related to Tabebuia and has sometimes been included within it.[1][2]
Species
Both species of Ekmanianthe were originally described in 1866 by August Grisebach, who placed them in the genus Tecoma.[3][4] In 1915, Nathaniel Lord Britton placed them in Tabebuia.[2] In 1924, Ignatz Urban, recognizing their distinctiveness, erected the new genus Ekmanianthe in the journal now known as Feddes Repertorium, which was at that time edited by Friedrich Karl Georg Fedde.[5] Ekmanianthe was named for the Swedish botanist Erik Leonard Ekman (1883-1931)."Anthe" is derived from a Greek word for "flower".[6]
It consists of two species of trees,[7] both of which are considered Endangered by the IUCN Red List:[8][9]
- Ekmanianthe longiflora grows to 18 m (59 ft) in height and is native to Hispaniola (the Dominican Republic and Haiti) and the rocky uplands of central Cuba. The type species for Ekmanianthe is E. longiflora.[10]
- Ekmanianthe actinophylla is a smaller tree, to 10 m (33 ft) in height, and it only occurs in western Cuba, where it is known as "roble caimán" (English: "caiman oak"), for the resemblance of its trunk bark to the hide of a caiman.[11] "Roble" is a Spanish name that is also applied to Tabebuia.
Neither of the species of Ekmanianthe is known in cultivation.
Evolution
The evolution of Ekmanianthe is in some ways parallel to that of the Asian tribe Oroxyleae.[11] The bat-pollinated Oroxylum has actinomorphic flowers with five fertile stamens. The hawkmoth-pollinated Nyctocalos has elongate flowers and most of the species have only four fertile stamens.