Pitraea is a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Verbenaceae.[2] It only contains one known species, Pitraea cuneato-ovata (Cav.) Caro[1]
Pitraea | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Lamiales |
Family: | Verbenaceae |
Genus: | Pitraea Turcz. |
Synonyms[1] | |
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Its native range is southern South America. It is found in (north-eastern and north-western) Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, (central and northern) Chile and Peru.[1]
The genus name of Pitraea is in honour of Adolf Samoilovich Pitra (1830–1889), a Russian professor of botany in Kharkiv.[3] The genus has 2 known synonyms; Castelia Cav. and Phelloderma Miers.[2] The Latin specific epithet of cuneato-ovata is derived from cuneate meaning wedge-shaped and ovate from ovum meaning.[4] The genus was first described and published in Bull. Soc. Imp. Naturalistes Moscou Vol.35 (II) on page 328 in 1862.[2] Then the species was published in Kurtziana Vol.1 on page 274 in 1961.[1]