Schaefferia (plant) explained

Schaefferia is a genus of flowering shrubs and small trees in the family Celastraceae. The generic name honours German mycologist and clergyman Jacob Christian Schäffer (1718–1790).^[1] Members of the genus are found in the Neotropics. The plants are dioecious, with flowers that are unisexual due to abortion. The flowers are usually clustered in the leaf axil, although they are solitary in some species. The calyx of the flowers has four lobes, and the corolla consists of four petals. The ovary consists of two locules; each locule contains a single ovule which develops into a single seed. The fruit is a drupe.^[2]

Species

Acevedo-Rodríguez reports 16 species in the genus.^[2] Missouri Botanical Garden's TROPICOS database lists the following species:^[3]

Schaefferia albiflora Sessé & Moc. Schaefferia angustifolia Urb. & Ekman Schaefferia argentinensis Speg. Schaefferia cuneifolia A.Gray  - Desert yaupon Schaefferia elliptica Lundell Schaefferia ephedroides Urb. Schaefferia frutescens Jacq.  - Florida boxwood Schaefferia lanceifolia Lundell

Schaefferia lottiae Lundell Schaefferia oaxacana Standl. Schaefferia ovatifolia Lundell Schaefferia pilosa Standl. Schaefferia serrata Loes. Schaefferia shrevei Lundell Schaefferia stenophylla Standl. Schaefferia viridescens DC.

Formerly placed here

• Drypetes lateriflora (Sw.) Krug & Urb. (as S. lateriflora Sw.)^[4]

Notes and References

1. Book: Austin, Daniel F. . Florida Ethnobotany . CRC Press . 2004 . 978-0-8493-2332-4 . 1030.
2. Book: Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro . Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez . Flora of St. John U.S. Virgin Islands . Memoirs of the New York Botanical Garden, Volume 78 . 1996 . 0-89327-402-X . registration .
3. Web site: Schaefferia Jacq. . TROPICOS . Missouri Botanical Garden . 2009-09-24.
4. Web site: GRIN Species Records of Schaefferia . Germplasm Resources Information Network . United States Department of Agriculture . 2010-09-07.