Vauquelinia Explained

Vauquelinia, commonly known as the rosewoods, is a genus of the rose family, Rosaceae. It consists of two species of shrubs found in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. The genus was named for French chemist Louis Nicolas Vauquelin (1763-1829). The nectar provided by these plants is commonly fed on by wasps such as Polistes instabilis.

V. californica is of some interest as an ornamental.

Taxonomy

Vauquelinia, along with Lindleya and Kageneckia were formerly placed in family Quillajaceae, and have dry dehiscent fruit.^[1] Unlike the pome-fruited members of tribe Maleae within the Rosaceae, which share a base chromosome number of 17 with Lindleya and Kageneckia, Vauquelinia has a base chromosome number of 15.^[2]

Species

, four species and some subspecies were recognized:^{[3] [4] [5]}

• Vauquelinia angustifolia Rydb.
• Vauquelinia australis Standl.
• Vauquelinia californica (Torr.) Sarg. - Arizona rosewood
  • Vauquelinia californica ssp. californica
  • Vauquelinia californica ssp. pauciflora (Standl.) Hess & Henrickson
• Vauquelinia corymbosa Humb. & Bonpl. - slimleaf rosewood
  • Vauquelinia corymbosa ssp. angustifolia (Rydb.) Hess & Henrickson
  • Vauquelinia corymbosa ssp. corymbosa

Notes and References

1. Evans, R.C.. Campbell, C.S.. 2002. The origin of the apple subfamily (Rosaceae: Maloideae) is clarified by DNA sequence data from duplicated GBSSI Genes. American Journal of Botany. 89. 9. 1478–1484. 10.3732/ajb.89.9.1478. 21665749.
2. Campbell, C.S. . Evans, R.C. . Morgan, D.R. . Dickinson, T.A. . Arsenault, M.P. . 2007. Phylogeny of subtribe Pyrinae (formerly the Maloideae, Rosaceae): Limited resolution of a complex evolutionary history. Plant Systematics and Evolution. 266. 1–2. 119–145. 10.1007/s00606-007-0545-y. 2007PSyEv.266..119C . 10.1.1.453.8954 .
3. Web site: Vauquelinia Corrêa ex Humb. & Bonpl. . Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2021-06-13 .
4. Web site: GRIN Species Records of Vauquelinia . Germplasm Resources Information Network . United States Department of Agriculture . 2012-04-19.
5. Web site: Classification for Kingdom Plantae Down to Genus Vauquelinia Corrêa ex Bonpl. . PLANTS Database . United States Department of Agriculture . 2012-04-19.