Ellisiophyllum is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Plantaginaceae, within the order Lamiales. It comprises a single species, Ellisiophyllum pinnatum (Wall. ex Benth.) Makino. The genus itself was described by Carl Johann Maximowicz, published in the Bulletin de l'Académie Impériale des Sciences de St.-Pétersbourg (16: 223) in 1871, while the accepted species name was first published in the Botanical Magazine (Tokyo), volume 20, page 91, in 1906.
The genus name Ellisiophyllum honours John Ellis (1710-1776), a British linen merchant and naturalist, combined with the Greek "phyllum," meaning leaf. The species epithet "pinnata" comes from the Latin for "feather-like," a reference to the shape of the leaves.
Ellisiophyllum pinnatum has a broad native distribution stretching from the central Himalayas to New Guinea, and has been recorded in central and southern China, the central and eastern Himalayas, Japan, Nepal, New Guinea, the Philippines, and Taiwan. Three infraspecific taxa are currently accepted: subspecies bhutanense, restricted to the eastern Himalayas; subspecies pinnatum, spanning the central and eastern Himalayas, central and southern China, Taiwan, the Philippines, and New Guinea; and variety reptans, found in western Honshu and Shikoku in Japan.
Within the GBIF backbone taxonomy, the genus is placed in family Plantaginaceae and order Lamiales, alongside its six recorded infrageneric taxa.
Etymology
The genus name Ellisiophyllum honours John Ellis (1710-1776), a British linen merchant and naturalist, combined with the Greek "phyllum," meaning leaf. The species epithet "pinnata" is Latin for "feather-like," referring to the shape of the leaves.
Distribution
Ellisiophyllum pinnatum, the genus's sole species, ranges from the central Himalayas to New Guinea, occurring in central and southern China, the central and eastern Himalayas, Japan, Nepal, New Guinea, the Philippines, and Taiwan. Three infraspecific taxa occupy narrower ranges within this: subsp. bhutanense in the eastern Himalayas, subsp. pinnatum across the central/eastern Himalayas, China, Taiwan, the Philippines and New Guinea, and var. reptans in western Honshu and Shikoku, Japan.
Taxonomy Notes
GBIF accepts the genus as Ellisiophyllum Maxim., published in Bull. Acad. Petersb. 16: 223 (1871), placed in family Plantaginaceae, order Lamiales. The genus is monotypic; its sole species, Ellisiophyllum pinnatum (Wall. ex Benth.) Makino, was published in Bot. Mag. (Tokyo) 20: 91 (1906). Three subdivisions are accepted: subsp. bhutanense R.R.Mill, subsp. pinnatum, and var. reptans (Maxim.) T.Yamaz.
