Phylica is a genus of plants in the family Rhamnaceae. It contains about 150 species,[1] the majority of which are restricted to South Africa, where they form part of the fynbos.[2] A few species occur in other parts of southern Africa, and on islands including Madagascar, the Mascarene Islands, Île Amsterdam, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha,[1] and Gough Island. Phylica piloburmensis from the Burmese amber of Myanmar, dating to around 99 million years ago during the mid-Cretaceous, was originally described as the oldest fossil member of the genus,[3] but subsequent studies contested its assignment to the genus Phylica[4] and even to the family Rhamnaceae,[5] with one study placing it in the separate genus Nothophylica.[5]

Phylica
Phylica pubescens
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rhamnaceae
Tribe: Phyliceae
Genus: Phylica
L.
Phylica rosmarinifolia

Species

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Species in the genus Phylica include:[1][6]

References

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  1. ^ a b c James E. Richardson; Michael F. Fay; Quentin C. B. Cronk; Mark W. Chase (2003). "Species delimitation and the origin of populations in island representatives of Phylica (Rhamnaceae)". Evolution. 57 (4): 816–827. doi:10.1554/0014-3820(2003)057[0816:SDATOO]2.0.CO;2. JSTOR 3094618. PMID 12778551.
  2. ^ James E. Richardson; Frans M. Weitz; Michael F. Fay; Quentin C. B. Cronk; H. Peter Linder; Gail Reeves; Mark W. Chase (2001). "Phylogenetic analysis of Phylica L. (Rhamnaceae) with an emphasis on island species: evidence from plastid trnL-F and nuclear internal transcribed spacer (ribosomal) DNA sequences". Taxon. 50 (2): 405–427. doi:10.2307/1223889. JSTOR 1223889.
  3. ^ Shi, Chao; Wang, Shuo; Cai, Hao-hong; Zhang, Hong-rui; Long, Xiao-xuan; Tihelka, Erik; Song, Wei-cai; Feng, Qi; Jiang, Ri-xin; Cai, Chen-yang; Lombard, Natasha (2022-01-31). "Fire-prone Rhamnaceae with South African affinities in Cretaceous Myanmar amber". Nature Plants. 8 (2): 125–135. doi:10.1038/s41477-021-01091-w. ISSN 2055-0278. PMID 35102275. S2CID 246443363.
  4. ^ Oskolski, Alexei A.; Morris, Benjamin B.; Severova, Elena E.; Sokoloff, Dmitry D. (2024). "Flowers from Myanmar amber confirm the Cretaceous age of Rhamnaceae but not of the extant genus Phylica". Nature Plants. 10 (2): 219–222. Bibcode:2024NatPl..10..219O. doi:10.1038/s41477-023-01591-x. PMID 38278949.
  5. ^ a b Beurel, Simon; Bachelier, Julien B.; Schmidt, Alexander R.; Sadowski, Eva-Maria (2024). "Novel three-dimensional reconstructions of presumed Phylica (Rhamnaceae) from Cretaceous amber suggest Lauralean affinities". Nature Plants. 10 (2): 223–227. Bibcode:2024NatPl..10..223B. doi:10.1038/s41477-023-01592-w. PMID 38278948.
  6. ^ "African Plant Database". Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques, Ville de Genève. Retrieved June 18, 2010.