Aulacocalyx is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae.Hooker, Joseph Dalton. 1873. Hooker's Icones Plantarum; or Figures, with brief Descriptive Characters and Remarks of New or Rare Plants 12: t. 1126 Aulacocalyx are shrubs or trees, which normally have white flowers. The genus is found in tropical Africa.
Aulacocalyx was described in 1873, and has eleven species.
Taxonomy Joseph Dalton Hooker described Aulacocalyx in 1873. He placed it in the tribe Alberteae, as he believed it to have one ovule in each locule. Ronald William John Keay later moved it to the tribe Gardenieae, after recognising that it had multiple ovules in each locule. In 1986, it was moved to its own tribe, Aulacocalyceae.
In 1958, the genus Dorothea was synonymised with Aulacocalyx. Heinsenia was formerly considered a subgenus of Aulacocalyx.
Species Eleven species are accepted as of . Aulacocalyx camerooniana Sonké & S.E.Dawson - Cameroon Aulacocalyx caudata (Hiern) Keay - Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea Aulacocalyx divergens (Hutch. & Dalziel) Keay - Ghana, Guinée, Liberia, Sierra Leone Aulacocalyx jasminiflora Hook.f. - widespread from Liberia to Zambia Aulacocalyx jasminiflora subsp. jasminiflora Aulacocalyx jasminiflora subsp. kivuensis E.Figueiredo - eastern Zaire (Congo-Kinshasa) Aulacocalyx lamprophylla K.Krause - Cameroon Aulacocalyx laxiflora E.M.A.Petit - Tanzania, Zambia, Zaire (Congo-Kinshasa) Aulacocalyx lujae De Wild. - Congo-Brazzaville, Zaire (Congo-Kinshasa) Aulacocalyx mapiana (Hiern) Bridson & Figueiredo - Cameroon Aulacocalyx pallens (Hiern) Bridson& Figueiredo - Gabon, São Tomé and Príncipe, Zaire (Congo-Kinshasa) Aulacocalyx pallens subsp. letestui (Pellegr.) Figueiredo - Gabon, Zaire (Congo-Kinshasa) Aulacocalyx pallens subsp. pallens - São Tomé and Príncipe Aulacocalyx subulata (N.Hallé) Figueiredo - Gabon Aulacocalyx subulata subsp. glabra Figueiredo Aulacocalyx subulata subsp. subulata Aulacocalyx talbotii (Wernham) Keay - Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo-Brazzaville
Distribution Aulacocalyx is found in West Africa, including São Tomé. Most species are found in the Guineo-Congolian rainforests, at elevations of up to .
Description Aulacocalyx are shrubs or trees that grows up high. The branches are usually striped.
The leaves are arranged oppositely, and have stems. The leaves are elliptical, ovate, or obovate, and sometimes have domatia.
The inflorescence has one to many flowers. The calyx has five lobes. The corolla is usually white, but can be grayish-green or yellow. The corolla usually has five lobes.
The fruit is round, dark brown to black when dry, and has a persistent calyx. The seeds are black when dry.
References
External links Aulacocalyx in the World Checklist of Rubiaceae