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Genus of legumes From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pueraria is a genus of 15–20[2] species of legumes native to south, east, and southeast Asia and to New Guinea and northern Australia.[1] The best known member is kudzu, also called Japanese arrowroot.[3][4] The genus is named after 19th century Swiss botanist Marc Nicolas Puerari.
| Pueraria | |
|---|---|
| |
| Pueraria phaseoloides | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Faboideae |
| Clade: | Millettioids |
| Tribe: | Phaseoleae |
| Subtribe: | Glycininae |
| Genus: | Pueraria DC. (1825) |
| Species[1] | |
|
18; see text | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Plants in the genus are lianas, shrubs, or climbing herbs, usually with large tuberous roots. Typical habitats include seasonally-dry tropical and subtropical forest, rain forest, forest margins, and scrub vegetation, often on limestone outcrops and in rocky areas.[1]
The genus, as traditionally circumscribed, is polyphyletic, with different species being more related to other species in the tribe Phaseoleae.[5] Current research, reproduced below, splits the genus into five clades, one of which defines the current monophyletic genus.[6]
The genus Pueraria is highly polyphyletic; the below list is divided by clade following the result of A.N.Egan & B.Pan (2016).[6] In 2015, the authors validly published their proposal in Phytotaxa.[7] As of February 2022[update], Kew Plants of the World Online database accepts these names.[1]
Pueraria sensu stricto includes the vast majority of species in the genus. They fall into a single clade sister to or containing Nogra.[6]
The following are not included in the 2016 study due to insufficient material for sequencing. They are accepted by POWO.[6][1]
The following are not included in Egan et al. 2016 for other reasons, but are accepted by Kew POWO:[1]
The rest of the genus fall into four clades, sorted by distance from the main clade:[6]
P. edulis, P. montana, and N. phaseoloides make up what is known as kudzu. The morphological differences between these species are subtle.[12]
The following names are not accepted even before Egan 2016 but have seen valid publication:
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