Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 30, 2026

Myrothamnus

Myrothamnus is a genus of flowering plants, consisting of two species of small xerophytic shrubs, in the southern parts of tropical Africa and in Madagascar. Myrothamnus is recognized as the only genus in the family Myrothamnaceae.

Last revised
Jun 30, 2026
Read time
≈ 2 min
Length
409 w
Citations
8
Source
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Myrothamnus
M. flabellifolia2
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Embryophytes
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Spermatophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Gunnerales
Family: Myrothamnaceae
Nied.1
Genus: Myrothamnus
Welw.
Species
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Myrothamnus is a genus of flowering plants, consisting of two species3 of small xerophytic shrubs, in the southern parts of tropical Africa and in Madagascar. Myrothamnus is recognized as the only genus in the family Myrothamnaceae.

Myrothamnaceae was included in the order Hamamelidales in the Cronquist system.4 Molecular systematic studies have suggested that Myrothamnus is not closely related to Hamamelidaceae nor any other family included in that order, but rather is closely related to the morphologically very different Gunnera. In the APG II system (2003) the genus is assigned to family Gunneraceae or to the optionally recognized segregate family Myrothamnaceae.5 In the APG III system (2009) and APG IV system (2016) the narrower circumscription is preferred, and these two families are considered distinct.16

Species

Species of Myrothamnus are dioecious shrubs.7

References

References

  1. THE ANGIOSPERM PHYLOGENY GROUP (October 29, 2009). "An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 161 (2): 105–121. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00996.x. hdl:10654/18083.
  2. Myrothamnus flabellifolia, illustration from Vegetation der Erde (1915) v. 9 Band III, Heft 1. Fig. 187. by Adolf Engler (1844-1930)
  3. Christenhusz, M. J. M. & Byng, J. W. (2016). "The number of known plants species in the world and its annual increase". Phytotaxa. 261 (3): 201–217. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.261.3.1.
  4. Cronquist, Arthur (1981). An integrated system of classification of flowering plants. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-03880-5.
  5. THE ANGIOSPERM PHYLOGENY GROUP (April 2003). "An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG II". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 141 (4): 399–436. doi:10.1046/j.1095-8339.2003.t01-1-00158.x.
  6. Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2016). "An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG IV". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 181 (1): 1–20. doi:10.1111/boj.12385. ISSN 0024-4074.
  7. Kubitzki, K. (1993). "Myrothamnaceae". Flowering Plants · Dicotyledons. pp. 468–469. doi:10.1007/978-3-662-02899-5_54. ISBN 978-3-642-08141-5.
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