Lepidobotrys is a flowering plant genus in the family Lepidobotryaceae. It contains only one species, Lepidobotrys staudtii.Klaus Kubitzky. "Lepidobotryaceae" In: Klaus Kubitzki (ed.). The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants vol.VI. Springer-Verlag: Berlin, Heidelberg, Germany (2004). L. staudtii is a small African tree, ranging from Cameroon eastward to Ethiopia.Vernon H. Heywood, Richard K. Brummitt, Ole Seberg, and Alastair Culham. Flowering Plant Families of the World. Firefly Books: Ontario, Canada. (2007).
The tannin 3,4,5-tri-O-galloylquinic acid is found in L. staudtii.3,4,5-tri-O-galloylquinic acid on home.ncifcrf.gov
Taxonomic history Lepidobotrys staudtii was named and described by Adolf Engler in 1902 and placed by him in the family Linaceae.Adolf Engler (May 1902). section: Linaceae africanae In: "Beitrage zur Flora von Afrika" In: Botanische Jahrbücher für Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie 32(1):108 (see External links below) It was regarded as somewhat of an anomaly and during the 20th century, was assigned to various families by different authors. Hans G. HallierHans G. Hallier. Lepidobotrys Engl.: "Die Oxalidaceen und die Geraniaceen" Beihefte zum Botanischen Centralblatt 39(2):163. and Reinhard KnuthReinhard G.P. Knuth. "Oxalidaceae" In: Adolf Engler and Karl Prantl. Die Naturlichen Pflanzenfamilien ed.2 volume 19a:40-41. put it in Oxalidaceae. In 1950, Jean Leonard became the first to put it in a family by itself, which he thought to be close to Linaceae.Jean J.G. Leonard (Jun1950). "Lepidobotrys Engl., type d'une famille nouvelle de Spermatophytes: les Lepidobotryaceae" Bulletin du Jardin botanique de l'Etat a Bruxelles 20(1):38. Arthur Cronquist, agreeing with Hallier and Knuth, put it in Oxalidaceae.Arthur Cronquist. An Integrated System of Classification of Flowering Plants. Columbia University Press: New York 1981. Adding to the confusion was the lack of any strong basis for placing these and related families into orders.
Etymology Lepidobotrys is derived from Greek, meaning 'scale-cluster'. The name is in reference to the cone-like arrangement of its bracts, which extend under the flowers.Gledhill, David (2008). "The Names of Plants". Cambridge University Press. (hardback), (paperback). pp 234
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