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Clethra

Genus of flowering plants From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Clethra
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Clethra is a genus of flowering shrubs or small trees described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753.[1][6]

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Clethra alnifolia 'Ruby spice'

Clethra is one of two genera in the family Clethraceae (the other being Purdiaea). The species may be evergreen or deciduous, and all bear flowers in clusters (inflorescences), which correspond to racemes or panicles. The flowers are quite small, white or pinkish, and each bear five free petals, numerous stamens, and a three-chambered seed capsule. The leaves, simple, ovate, and alternate or opposite, bear characteristic stellate hairs. The seeds are very small and numerous.[7]

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Distribution

Clethra species are native to a variety of habitats, including swamps, woodland, and rocky sites[8] from temperate to tropical climates in eastern and southeastern Asia, Malesia, North and South America, and one species (C. arborea) on the island of Madeira.[2]

Fossil record

Several fossil fruits and seeds of †Clethra cimbrica have been described from middle Miocene strata of the Fasterholt area near Silkeborg in Central Jutland, Denmark.[9]

Species

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The number of species accepted varies between different authorities depending on taxonomic interpretation, but with a recent trend to reduce the number recognised as distinct. The recent Flora of China (series)[10] has cut the number accepted for China from 35 to seven species, and the US Department of Agriculture[11] recognises only two in the United States, synonymising C. tomentosa with C. alnifolia. The following are accepted by the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families:[2]

  • Clethra acuminata – mountain pepper bush; S Appalachians (Alabama to Pennsylvania)
  • Clethra alcoceriHidalgo, Jalisco
  • Clethra alexandriJamaica
  • Clethra alnifolia – sweet pepper bush; S + E United States (Texas to Maine)
  • Clethra arborea – lily of the valley tree; Madeira, Canary Islands†, Azores
  • Clethra arfakanaNew Guinea
  • Clethra barbinervis – Japanese sweet shrub; SE China, Korea, Japan
  • Clethra bodinieri – S China
  • Clethra canescens – Philippines, E + C Indonesia, New Guinea
  • Clethra castaneifolia – Peru
  • Clethra chiapensisChiapas
  • Clethra consimilisPanama, Costa Rica
  • Clethra conzattianaOaxaca
  • Clethra crispaEcuador
  • Clethra cubensisCuba
  • Clethra cuneata – Peru, Bolivia
  • Clethra delavayi – SW China, Assam, Myanmar, Bhutan, Vietnam
  • Clethra elongataPeru, Bolivia
  • Clethra fabri – S China, Vietnam
  • Clethra fagifolia – Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela
  • Clethra fargesii – C China
  • Clethra ferruginea – Peru
  • Clethra fimbriata – Peru, Ecuador, Colombia
  • Clethra formosa – Costa Rica
  • Clethra fragrans – Jalisco, Michoacán, Guerrero
  • Clethra galeottianaPuebla, Oaxaca, Chiapas
  • Clethra gelida – Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras
  • Clethra guyanensisGuyana, Venezuela
  • Clethra hartwegii – C + S Mexico
  • Clethra hendersonii – Peninsular Malaysia
  • Clethra hirsutovillosaGuerrero
  • Clethra hondurensisTabasco to Costa Rica
  • Clethra javanicaJava, Bali, Lombok, Timor
  • Clethra kaipoensis – SE China
  • Clethra kebarensis – New Guinea
  • Clethra licanioides – Guatemala, Honduras
  • Clethra longispicata J.J.Sm.Borneo, Philippines, Sulawesi, Maluku
  • Clethra luzmariaeOaxaca
  • Clethra macrophyllaVeracruz, Puebla
  • Clethra mexicana – C + S Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad
  • Clethra oaxacanaOaxaca
  • Clethra obovata – Ecuador, Peru
  • Clethra occidentalis – Jamaica
  • Clethra oleoides – C + S Mexico, Central America
  • Clethra ovalifolia – Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru
  • Clethra pachecoanaChiapas to Honduras
  • Clethra pachyphylla – Borneo
  • Clethra papuana – New Guinea
  • Clethra paralelinervia – Ecuador
  • Clethra × parvifolia – Chiapas
  • Clethra pedicellaris – Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
  • Clethra peruviana – Ecuador, Peru
  • Clethra petelotii – Vietnam, Yunnan
  • Clethra poilaneiLaos
  • Clethra pringlei – Mexican summersweet – Mexico
  • Clethra pulgarensisPalawan
  • Clethra purpusii – Oaxaca, Chiapas
  • Clethra pyrogena – Panama, Costa Rica
  • Clethra repanda – Colombia, Venezuela
  • Clethra retivenia – Peru
  • Clethra revoluta – Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru
  • Clethra rosei – Mexico
  • Clethra rugosa – Colombia, Ecuador
  • Clethra scabra – Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, NW Argentina
  • Clethra skutchii – Guatemala
  • Clethra sleumeriana – Hunan
  • Clethra suaveolens – S Mexico, Central America
  • Clethra sumatranaSumatra
  • Clethra sumbawaensisLesser Sunda Islands
  • Clethra symingtoniiPerak
  • Clethra talamancana – Costa Rica
  • Clethra tomentella – Philippines
  • Clethra tutensis – Panama
  • Clethra tuxtlensisVeracruz
  • Clethra uleana – S Brazil
  • Clethra vicentina – S Mexico, Central America
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References

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