Crossopetalum


Crossopetalum, commonly known as Christmas-berries or maiden berries, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Celastraceae. It comprises about 30-40 species.

Description

Crossopetalum taxa are shrubs or trees, with opposite or whorled persistent leaves with petiole and stipules. Inflorescences are axillary, regrouping white, pale green, reddish, or purplish radially symmetric flowers, with four sepals, four petals, and a four-carpellate pistil. Intrastaminal nectaries are annular and fleshy. Fruits are red drupes, with one-two seeds per fruit.

Etymology

The etymology of the genus name Crossopetalum derives from the two Ancient Greek words , meaning "fringe", and , meaning "leaf of a flower". It alludes to the fimbriate petals of the type species.
The synonym name Myginda is a taxonomic anagram derived from the name of the :wikt:confamilial|confamilial genus Gyminda. The latter name is a taxonomic patronym honoring Franz von Mygind, a Danish-Austrian court official, who traveled to Barbados, collected plants with herbarium specimens hosted in the Hungarian Natural History Museum in Budapest, and was a friend of Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin.

Systematics

According to Plants of the World Online, 36 species are recognized.