Cosmocalyx

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Cladus: Lamiids
Ordo: Gentianales

Familia: Rubiaceae
Subfamilia: Cinchonoideae
Tribus: Hamelieae
Genus: Cosmocalyx
Species: C. spectabilis
Name

Cosmocalyx Standl., Publ. Field Columb. Mus., Bot. Ser. 8: 56. (1930)

monotypic taxon

References

Standley, P.C. 1930. Publications of the Field Museum of Natural History, Botanical Series 8(1): 56.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2019. Cosmocalyx in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2019 Mar. 11. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2019. Cosmocalyx. Published online. Accessed: Mar. 11 2019.
Tropicos.org 2019. Cosmocalyx. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 11 Mar. 2019.
Tropicos.org: Rubiaceae: Cosmocalyx. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 2019 Mar. 11.

Cosmocalyx is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. The genus contains only one species, viz. Cosmocalyx spectabilis, which is found in Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala.[1]

Description

Cosmocalyx spectabilis is a slender tree, up to 15 m (49 ft) in height and 20 cm (7.9 in) in diameter (dbh). After anthesis, one of the four calyx lobes expands into a reddish, leaf-like structure called a calycophyll. These facilitate dispersal of the fruit by wind. The fruit is a cylindrical indehiscent bilocular capsule. Each locule contains one basally inserted seed. This combination of characters distinguishes Cosmocalyx from other genera in Rubiaceae.[2]
Systematics

Cosmocalyx was named by Paul Standley in 1930.[3] The generic name is derived from the Ancient Greek words, kosmos, meaning "order", and kalyx, "a calyx".[4]

Cosmocalyx is placed with Deppea, Hoffmannia, Hamelia and several other genera in the tribe Hamelieae. Relationships within this tribe are uncertain.[5]
References

"Cosmocalyx in the World Checklist of Rubiaceae". Retrieved 13 June 2014.
Delprete PG (1998). "Notes on calycophyllous Rubiaceae. Part III. Systematic position of the monotypic Mexican genus Cosmocalyx and notes on the calycophyll development". Brittonia. 50 (3): 309–317. doi:10.2307/2807774.
Cosmocalyx page 56. In: Paul C. Standley. 1930. "Studies of American Plants – III". Field Museum of Natural History. Botanical series. 8(1):3-73.
Quattrocchi U (2000). CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names. Vol. 1. Boca Raton, New York, Washington DC, London: CRC Press. ISBN 978-0-8493-2675-2.
Manns U, Bremer B (2010). "Towards a better understanding of intertribal relationships and stable tribal delimitations within Cinchonoideae s.s. (Rubiaceae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 56 (1): 21–39. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2010.04.002. PMID 20382247.