Euptelea Temporal range:
| |
---|---|
Euptelea polyandra | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Ranunculales |
Family: |
Eupteleaceae K.Wilh. [1] |
Genus: |
Euptelea Siebold & Zucc. |
Species | |
Euptelea is a genus of two species [2] of flowering plants in the monogeneric family Eupteleaceae. The genus is found from Assam east through China to Japan, and consists of shrubs or small trees:
The genus was previously placed in the family Trochodendraceae, but the family Eupteleaceae has been recognized by many taxonomists. The APG IV system (2016; [1] unchanged from the APG III system of 2009, [3] the APG II system of 2003 and the APG system of 1998), recognizes it and places it in the order Ranunculales, in the clade eudicots. The family consists of a single genus Euptelea, with two species, native to eastern Asia.
Euptelea polyandra is used as a food plant by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the engrailed.
The flowers lack sepals and petals. The anthers are basifixed, and the leaves are arranged in whorls. [4]
The fossil range of the genus extends back to the Paleocene epoch, during much of the Cenozoic it was distributed widely over the Northern Hemisphere. [5]