Rubioideae

Dog weed Opercularia vaginata, from Porteous Park.

Belongs within: Rubiaceae.
Contains: Coussareeae, Morindeae, Psychotrieae, Spermacoceae, Paederieae, Coprosma.

The Rubioideae is a large clade within the plant family Rubiaceae, members of which have valvate aestivation, an indumentum of septated hairs, and contain raphides (calcium oxalate crystals). Subgroups of the Rubioideae include the Ophiorrhizeae, characterised by the production of dry fruits containing many very small 'dust' seeds (Bremer & Manen 2000).

Characters (from Bremer & Manen 2000): Shrubs, herbs, or less commonly trees. Raphides present. Heterostylous flowers common. Stipules entire, bifid or often fimbriate. Corolla aestivation always valvate. Ovary 1-12-1ocular, most often 2-1ocular either with many or with single ovules in each locule, more rarely two or few in each locule. Fruits dry or fleshy, dehiscent or indehiscent.

<==Rubioideae (see below for synonymy)
    |  i. s.: Henriquesia Spruce ex Benth. 1854 KC01 [Henriquesieae T00]
    |         Lathraeocarpeae BM00
    |--Ophiorrhizeae [Ophiorrhizoideae, Pomazoteae] BM00
    |    |  i. s.: Coptophyllum [incl. Pomazota] BM00
    |    |         Spiradiclis BM00
    |    |--Neurocalyx zeylanicus BM00
    |    `--+--Xanthophytum [incl. Paedicalyx, Xanthophytopsis] BM00
    |       |    |--X. capitellatum BM00
    |       |    `--X. ferrugineum H03
    |       `--+--Lerchea bracteata BM00
    |          `--Ophiorrhiza BM00
    |               |--O. mungos BM00
    |               `--O. treutleri D07
    `--+--Urophylleae [Pauridiantheae] BM00
       |    |  i. s.: Amphidasya ambigua BM00
       |    |         Commitheca liebrachtsiana BM00
       |    |         Maschalocorymbus corymbosus BM00
       |    |--Pravinaria leucocarpa BM00
       |    `--+--Praravinia BM00
       |       |    |--P. densiflora BM00
       |       |    `--P. suberosa BM00
       |       `--+--Pauridiantha paucinervis BM00
       |          `--Urophyllum ellipticum BM00
       `--+--+--Perama [Perameae] BM00
          |  `--Lasiantheae [Dressleriopsideae] BM00
          |       |--Trichostachys BM00
          |       |--Metabolus [incl. Allaeophania] BM00
          |       `--Lasianthus pedunculatus BM00
          `--+--Coussareeae BM00
             `--+--+--Craterispermum [Craterispermeae] BM00
                |  |    `--C. brachynematum BM00
                |  `--+--Morindeae BM00
                |     `--+--Psychotrieae BM00
                |        `--+--Gaertnereae BM00
                |           |    |--Gaertnera BM00
                |           |    `--Pagamea BM00
                |           `--Schradereae BM00
                |                |--Schradera subandina BM00
                |                |--Lecananthus BM00
                |                `--Leucocodon BM00
                `--+--Danaideae BM00
                   |    |--Danais xanthorrhoea BM00
                   |    |--Schismatoclada BM00
                   |    `--Payera BM00
                   `--+--Spermacoceae BM00
                      `--+--+--Paederieae BM00
                         |  `--Argostemmateae BM00
                         |       |--Argostemma hookeri BM00
                         |       `--Mycetia malayana BM00
                         `--Anthospermeae [Durringtonieae, Opercularieae] BM00
                              |  i. s.: Carpacoce BM00
                              |         Galopina circaeoides BM00
                              |         Nenax BM00
                              |         Nertera Banks & Sol. ex Gaertn. 1788 BM00, A61
                              |           |--*N. depressa Banks & Sol. ex Gaertn. 1788 (see below for synonymy) A61
                              |           |    |--N. d. var. depressa A61
                              |           |    `--N. d. var. papuana A61
                              |           |--N. balfouriana Cockayne 1911 A61
                              |           |--N. ciliata Kirk 1899 A61
                              |           |--N. cunninghamii Hooker 1853 [incl. N. papillosa Colenso 1896] A61
                              |           |--N. dichondraefolia (Cunn.) Hooker 1853 (see below for synonymy) A61
                              |           |--N. granadensis (Mutis) Druce 1917 (see below for synonymy) A61
                              |           |--N. reptans A61
                              |           |--N. scapanioides Lange 1868 A61
                              |           `--N. setulosa Hooker 1853 [incl. N. pusilla Colenso 1884] A61
                              |         Durringtonia BM00
                              |         Eleutheranthus BM00
                              |         Leptostigma [incl. Corynula] BM00
                              |         Normandia BM00
                              |         Peratanthe ekmanii BM00, J87
                              |         Pomax umbellata BM00, BR65
                              |--+--Anthospermum herbaceum BM00
                              |  `--Phyllis L. 1753 BM00, KC01
                              |       `--P. nobla BM00
                              `--+--Coprosma BM00
                                 `--Opercularia Gaerth. 1788 BM00, KC01
                                      |--O. apiciflora GK00
                                      |--O. aspera H87
                                      |--O. hispidula RL05
                                      |--O. ovata BR65
                                      |--O. rubioides GK00
                                      |--O. scabrida BR65
                                      |--O. spermacocea KM08
                                      |--O. turpis [incl. O. varia var. rigidior] BR65
                                      |--O. vaginata BM00
                                      `--O. varia BR65

*Nertera depressa Banks & Sol. ex Gaertn. 1788 [incl. N. montana Colenso 1896] A61

Nertera dichondraefolia (Cunn.) Hooker 1853 [=Geophila dichondraefolia Cunn. 1839; incl. N. gracilis Raoul 1844] A61

Nertera granadensis (Mutis) Druce 1917 [=Gomozia granadensis Mutis in Linn. f. 1781] A61

Rubioideae [Anthospermoideae, Aparinoideae, Cephaelidoideae, Coccocypseloideae, Gaertnerieae, Gaertneroideae, Hedyotidoideae, Manettioideae, Opercularioideae, Paederioideae, Pomazotoideae, Richardioideae, Spermacocceae, Spermacocoideae, Urophylloideae]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[A61] Allan, H. H. 1961. Flora of New Zealand vol. 1. Indigenous Tracheophyta: Psilopsida, Lycopsida, Filicopsida, Gymnospermae, Dicotyledones. R. E. Owen, Government Printer: Wellington (New Zealand).

[BR65] Black, J. M., & E. L. Robertson. 1965. Flora of South Australia. Part IV. Oleaceae–Compositae. W. L. Hawes, Government Printer: Adelaide.

[BM00] Bremer, B., & J.-F. Manen. 2000. Phylogeny and classification of the subfamily Rubioideae (Rubiaceae). Plant Systematics and Evolution 225: 43–72.

[D07] Dash, S. S. 2007. Useful plants of Kabi Sacred Grove, Sikkim. Bulletin of the Botanical Survey of India 49 (1-4): 79–88.

[GK00] Gibson, N., & G. J. Keighery. 2000. Flora and vegetation of the Byenup-Muir reserve system, south-west Western Australia. CALMScience 3 (3): 323–402.

[H87] Haviland, E. 1887. Flowering seasons of Australian plants. No. I—List of plants indigenous in the neighbourhood of Sydney, flowering during July. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, series 2, 1 (4): 1049–1051.

[H03] Heads, M. 2003. Ericaceae in Malesia: vicariance biogeography, terrane tectonics and ecology. Telopea 10 (1): 311–449.

[J87] Judd, W. S. 1987. Floristic study of Morne La Visite and Pic Macaya National Parks, Haiti. Bulletin of the Florida State Museum—Biological Sciences 32 (1): 1–136.

[KM08] Keighery, G. J., & W. Muir. 2008. Vegetation and vascular flora of Faure Island, Shark Bay, Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 75: 11–19.

[KC01] Kirk, P. M., P. F. Cannon, J. C. David & J. A. Stalpers. 2001. Ainsworth & Bisby's Dictionary of the Fungi 9^th ed. CAB International: Wallingford (UK).

[RL05] Rafferty, C., & B. B. Lamont. 2005. Selective feeding by macropods on vegetation regenerating following fire. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 88 (4): 155–165.

[T00] Thorne, R. F. 2000. The classification and geography of the flowering plants: dicotyledons of the class Angiospermae (subclasses Magnoliidae, Ranunculidae, Caryophyllidae, Dilleniidae, Rosidae, Asteridae, and Lamiidae). The Botanical Review 66: 441–647.

Last updated: 22 March 2020.