Chlorocyathus is a small genus of flowering plants in the dogbane family Apocynaceae (subfamily Periplocoideae), order Gentianales. First described in 1887 by Daniel Oliver, the genus is native to southern Africa, with species occurring in Mozambique and the Eastern Cape of South Africa. It contains two recognized species: the type species Chlorocyathus monteiroae from Maputo Bay, Mozambique, and Chlorocyathus lobulata from the Bathurst District of South Africa's Cape Province. A third species formerly placed here, Chlorocyathus welwitschii, has been reclassified into the related genus Raphionacme. The genus was taxonomically revised in 2008 by H.J.T. Venter.
Distribution
Chlorocyathus is native to southern Africa, with a limited range along the southeastern coast of the continent. Chlorocyathus monteiroae occurs at Maputo Bay (formerly Delagoa Bay) in southern Mozambique, while Chlorocyathus lobulata is found in the Bathurst District of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.
Taxonomy
Chlorocyathus belongs to the family Apocynaceae, subfamily Periplocoideae. The genus was first described in 1887 by Daniel Oliver. It was taxonomically revised in 2008 by H.J.T. Venter in the South African Journal of Botany. One species formerly placed in Chlorocyathus — C. welwitschii — has been moved to the genus Raphionacme as Raphionacme welwitschii. GBIF records two descendant species under this genus.
History
Chlorocyathus was first described in 1887 by the British botanist Daniel Oliver (abbreviated Oliv. in botanical nomenclature), based on the type species Chlorocyathus monteiroae collected from the Maputo Bay area of Mozambique. The genus received a comprehensive taxonomic revision over a century later, in 2008, by H.J.T. Venter, published in the South African Journal of Botany.
