List of Cucurbitales of South Africa
The Cucurbitales are an order of flowering plants, included in the rosid group of dicotyledons with a cosmopolitan distribution, particularly diverse in the tropics. The order includes shrubs and trees, together with many herbs and climbers. One major characteristic of the Cucurbitales is the presence of unisexual flowers, mostly pentacyclic, with thick pointed petals (whenever present).[1] The pollination is usually performed by insects, but wind pollination is also present (in Coriariaceae and Datiscaceae).
The order consists of roughly 2600 species in eight families. The largest families are Begoniaceae (begonia family) with around 1500 species and Cucurbitaceae (gourd family) with around 900 species. These two families include the only economically important plants. Specifically, the Cucurbitaceae (gourd family) include some food species, such as squash, pumpkin (both from Cucurbita), watermelon (Citrullus vulgaris), and cucumber and melons (Cucumis). The Begoniaceae are known for their horticultural species, of which there are over 130 with many more varieties.
The anthophytes are a grouping of plant taxa bearing flower-like reproductive structures. They were formerly thought to be a clade comprising plants bearing flower-like structures. The group contained the angiosperms - the extant flowering plants, such as roses and grasses - as well as the Gnetales and the extinct Bennettitales.[2]
23,420 species of vascular plant have been recorded in South Africa, making it the sixth most species-rich country in the world and the most species-rich country on the African continent. Of these, 153 species are considered to be threatened.[3] Nine biomes have been described in South Africa: Fynbos, Succulent Karoo, desert, Nama Karoo, grassland, savanna, Albany thickets, the Indian Ocean coastal belt, and forests.[4]
The 2018 South African National Biodiversity Institute's National Biodiversity Assessment plant checklist lists 35,130 taxa in the phyla Anthocerotophyta (hornworts (6)), Anthophyta (flowering plants (33534)), Bryophyta (mosses (685)), Cycadophyta (cycads (42)), Lycopodiophyta (Lycophytes(45)), Marchantiophyta (liverworts (376)), Pinophyta (conifers (33)), and Pteridophyta (cryptogams (408)).[5]
Two families are represented in the literature. Listed taxa include species, subspecies, varieties, and forms as recorded, some of which have subsequently been allocated to other taxa as synonyms, in which cases the accepted taxon is appended to the listing. Multiple entries under alternative names reflect taxonomic revision over time.
Begoniaceae[]
Family: Begoniaceae,[5]
Begonia[]
Genus Begonia:[5]
- Begonia cucullata Willd. not indigenous, naturalised
- Begonia dregei Otto & A.Dietr. endemic
- Hook.f. endemic
- Link, not indigenous, naturalised
- Steud. endemic
- Irmsch. indigenous
- Begonia sonderiana Irmsch. var. transgrediens Irmsch. accepted as Irmsch. present
- Begonia sutherlandii Hook.f. indigenous
- Begonia sutherlandii Hook.f. subsp. sutherlandii, indigenous
Cucurbitaceae[]
- Family: Cucurbitaceae,[5]
Acanthosicyos[]
Genus Acanthosicyos:[5]
- Acanthosicyos horridus Welw. ex Hook.f. indigenous
- Acanthosicyos naudinianus (Sond.) C.Jeffrey, indigenous
Citrullus[]
Genus Citrullus:[5]
- Citrullus ecirrhosus Cogn. indigenous
- Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai, indigenous
Coccinia[]
Genus Coccinia:[5]
- (A.Rich.) Cogn. indigenous
- Cogn. indigenous
- Naudin ex C.Huber, indigenous
- (Sond.) Cogn. accepted as Naudin ex C.Huber, present
- (Thunb.) Cogn. endemic
- Cogn. indigenous
- Coccinia sessilifolia (Sond.) Cogn. indigenous
- A.Meeuse, endemic
Corallocarpus[]
Genus Corallocarpus:[5]
- (Hook.f.) A.Meeuse, indigenous
- Cogn. indigenous
- Cogn. indigenous
- Cogn. indigenous
Ctenolepis[]
Genus Ctenolepis:[5]
- (Stocks) Hook.f. indigenous
Cucumella[]
Genus Cucumella:[5]
- (Cogn.) C.Jeffrey, accepted as Cogn.
- (Merxm.) C.Jeffrey, accepted as (Merxm.) Ghebret. & Thulin, indigenous
- (Cogn.) C.Jeffrey, accepted as (Cogn.) Ghebret. & Thulin, indigenous
- J.H.Kirkbr. accepted as (J.H.Kirkbr.) Ghebret. & Thulin
Cucumis[]
Genus Cucumis:[5]
- L.f. indigenous
- Cucumis anguria L. indigenous
- Cucumis anguria L. var. longaculeatus J.H.Kirkbr. indigenous
- Cucumis ficifolius A.Rich., indigenous
- Naudin, endemic
- Sond. indigenous
- Cucumis humifructus Stent, indigenous
- A.Meeuse, indigenous
- Cucumis maderaspatanus L. indigenous
- C.Jeffrey, indigenous
- Cucumis melo L. indigenous
- Cucumis melo L. subsp. agrestis (Naudin) Pangalo, indigenous
- Cucumis melo L. subsp. melo, indigenous
- Cucumis metuliferus E.Mey. ex Naudin, indigenous
- Cucumis myriocarpus Naudin, indigenous
- Cucumis myriocarpus Naudin subsp. leptodermis (Schweick.) C.Jeffrey & P.Halliday, indigenous
- Cucumis myriocarpus Naudin subsp. myriocarpus, indigenous
- H.Schaef. indigenous
- Cucumis prophetarum L., indigenous
- R.Fern. & A.Fern. indigenous
- E.Mey. ex Sond. indigenous
- Peyr. indigenous
- Sond. indigenous
Diplocyclos[]
Genus Diplocyclos:[5]
- Diplocyclos palmatus (L.) C.Jeffrey, not indigenous, naturalised, invasive
Gerrardanthus[]
Genus Gerrardanthus:[5]
- Gerrardanthus macrorhizus Harv. ex Hook.f. indigenous
- Hook.f. endemic
Kedrostis[]
Genus Kedrostis:[5]
- Kedrostis africana (L.) Cogn. indigenous
- (Sond.) A.Meeuse, indigenous
- Bremek. indigenous
- (Jacq.) Cogn. indigenous
- (Naudin) Cogn. accepted as (Forssk.) C.Jeffrey, indigenous
- (Forssk.) C.Jeffrey, indigenous
- C.Jeffrey, accepted as C.Jeffrey, present
- C.Jeffrey, indigenous
- (Lam.) Cogn. indigenous
- Kedrostis nana (Lam.) Cogn. var. nana, endemic
- Kedrostis nana (Lam.) Cogn. var. schlechteri (Cogn.) A.Meeuse, endemic
- Kedrostis nana (Lam.) Cogn. var. zeyheri (Schrad.) A.Meeuse, endemic
- Bruyns, endemic
Lagenaria[]
Genus Lagenaria:[5]
- Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl. indigenous
- Lagenaria sphaerica (Sond.) Naudin, indigenous
Momordica[]
Genus Momordica:[5]
- Momordica balsamina L. indigenous
- Baill. indigenous
- Klotzsch, indigenous
- Momordica charantia L. not indigenous, naturalised
- Momordica foetida Schumach. indigenous
- Bremek. indigenous
Mukia[]
Genus :[5]
- Mukia maderaspatana (L.) M.Roem. accepted as Cucumis maderaspatanus L. indigenous
Oreosyce[]
Genus Oreosyce:[5]
- Hook.f. accepted as H.Schaef. indigenous
Peponium[]
Genus Peponium:[5]
- (Sond.) Engl. indigenous
- (Naudin) Engl. endemic
Pilogyne[]
Genus :[5]
- (Cogn.) W.J.de Wilde & Duyfjes, indigenous
- (Cogn.) W.J.de Wilde & Duyfjes, indigenous
Trochomeria[]
Genus Trochomeria:[5]
- (Sond.) Hook.f. indigenous
- Harv. indigenous
- (Sond.) Hook.f. indigenous
- Trochomeria macrocarpa (Sond.) Hook.f. subsp. macrocarpa, indigenous
- (Harv. ex Sond.) Cogn. indigenous
Zehneria[]
- (Cogn.) R.Fern. & A.Fern. accepted as (Cogn.) W.J.de Wilde & Duyfjes, indigenous
- (Cogn.) J.H.Ross, accepted as (Cogn.) W.J.de Wilde & Duyfjes, indigenous
- Zehneria scabra (L.f.) Sond. subsp. scabra, accepted as (L.f.) W.J.de Wilde & Duyfjes, indigenous
References[]
- ^ Matthews ML, Endress PK (2004). "Comparative floral structure and systematics in Cucurbitales (Corynocarpaceae, Coriariaceae, Tetramelaceae, Datiscaceae, Begoniaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Anisophylleaceae)". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 145 (2): 129–185. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2003.00281.x.
- ^ Doyle, J. A.; Donoghue, M. J. (1986). "Seed plant phylogeny and the origin of the angiosperms - an experimental cladistic approach". Botanical Review. 52 (4): 321–431. doi:10.1007/bf02861082. S2CID 44844947.
- ^ Butler, Rhett A. (1 July 2019). "Total number of plant species by country". Mongabay. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
- ^ "Vegetation of South Africa". PlantZAfrica.com. SA National Biodiversity Institute. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v "species_checklist_20180710.csv". South African National Biodiversity Institute. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
- South African plant biodiversity lists
- Cucurbitales