Heteropyxis

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Rosids
Cladus: Eurosids II
Ordo: Myrtales

Familia: Myrtaceae
Subfamilia: Psiloxyloideae
Tribus: Heteropyxideae
Genus: Heteropyxis
Species: H. canescens – H. dehniae – H. natalensis
Name

Heteropyxis Harv., Thes. Cap. 2: 18 (1863) nom. cons.

Type species: Heteropyxis natalensis Harv., Thes. Cap. 2: 18 (1863)
References

Harvey, W.H. 1863. Thesaurus Capensis 2: 18.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2016. Heteropyxis in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2016 December 28. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2016. Heteropyxis. Published online. Accessed: 28 December 2016.

Heteropyxis is a genus which includes three species of small evergreen trees. It was previously placed along in family Heteropyxidaceae, but is now placed basally within Myrtaceae. The species of Heteropyxis are native to southern Africa.

Heteropyxxis natalensis, commonly known as lavender tree or laventelboom, ranges from Zimbabwe through Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal of South Africa. It is a slender, upright tree which grows 5–7 metres in height, at forest margins, rocky outcrops, hillsides, and termite mounds. It bears panicles of fragrant flowers, cream to pale yellow in colour, from December to March.

Many classification schemes place Heteropyxis within family Myrtaceae. Recent embryological and DNA analyses seem to indicate that Heteropyxis and Psiloxylon, the sole member of family Psiloxylaceae are sister taxa to the Myrtaceae, but diverged before the origin of the common ancestor of the Myrtaceae.
References

Tobe, Hiroshi and Raven, Peter H. "Embryology and Systematic Position of Heteropyxis (Myrtales)". American Journal of Botany, Vol. 74, No. 2 (Feb., 1987), pp. 197–208.