Edgeworthia

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 botanist and official in the Bengal Civil Service, then stationed in India, and for his half-sister, writer Maria Edgeworth.^[2]

Edgeworthia
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

Trichotomous branching

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, leading to its Japanese name mitsumata (三椏, three-fork).^[4] This trait is shared with no other known flowering plant.^[5]

Species

Species list from both GRIN^[6] and ThePlantList^[7]

Image	Scientific name	Distribution
	Edgeworthia albiflora Nakai	Sichuan, China
	Edgeworthia chrysantha Lindl.	Myanmar, south and southwestern China[8]
	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

References

1. In: Plantarum vascularium genera: secundum ordines naturales digesta eorumque differentiae et affinitates tabulis diagnostacis expositae. 1: 330. 1841. "Name - !Edgeworthia Meisn". Tropicos. Saint Louis, Missouri: Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
2.  In: Denkschriften der Regensburgischen Botanischen Gesellschaft. Regensburg. iii. (1841) 280. t. 6. "Plant Name Details for Genus Edgeworthia". IPNI. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
3.  The type species, E. gardneri was taken from its basionym, Daphne gardneri (which was first published in Asiatic Researches 13: 388, pl. 9. 1820.) "Name - Daphne gardneri Wall". Tropicos. Saint Louis, Missouri: Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
4. "Paper | Echizen Washi Village -japanese washi paper-".
5. Iwamoto, A.; Matsumura, Y.; Ohba, H.; Murata, J.; Imaichi, R. (2005-08-01). "Development and structure of trichotomous branching in Edgeworthia chrysantha (Thymelaeaceae)". American Journal of Botany. 92 (8): 1350–1358. doi:10.3732/ajb.92.8.1350. ISSN 0002-9122. PMID 21646155.
6. GRIN. "Species in GRIN for genus Edgeworthia". Taxonomy for Plants. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland: USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Archived from the original on December 11, 2012. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
7. "Query for Edgeworthia". ThePlantList. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
8. "Edgeworthia chrysantha Lindl. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science".