Haptanthus

Taxobox
name = "Haptanthus hazlettii"


image_caption =
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo = unplaced
familia = Haptanthaceae
genus = "Haptanthus"
species = "H. hazlettii"
binomial = "Haptanthus hazlettii"
binomial_authority = C. Nelson

Haptanthaceae is a monotypic family of flowering plants, the sole genus is "Haptanthus" containing the sole species "Haptanthus hazlettii", shrubs only known at the locality of Matarras, Arizona Municipality, Atlántida Department in Honduras.

"Haptanthus" has placed in its own family Haptanthaceae C. Nelson by Shipunov 2005, but is considered among unplaced taxa (taxa "incertae sedis") by APG (Stevens, P. F. , [http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/research/APweb/ Angiosperm Phylogeny Website, 2001 onwards] ) and others (including Goldberg) for insufficient data: fruits and seeds are still unknown. Haston "et al." 2007 (also known as LAPG II) recognized this taxon (Haptanthaceae). [cite journal| last =Haston, E.| first = Richardson, J. E., Stevens, P. F., Chase, M. W., Harris, D. J. | title = A linear sequence of Angiosperm Phylogeny Group II families| journal = Taxon| volume = 56| issue = 1| year = 2007| pages = 7–12| doi = ] Goldberg (from Smithsonian Institution) has preferred not assign it to any family, after compare it with many other families, the most probable were Flacourtiaceae and Euphorbiaceae. "Haptanthus" is a true taxonomic enigma.

Several attempts were made to recollect material from "Haptanthus", but they failed.

"Haptanthus" may be a tragic example of species that not even were still completely known by Science and which are already extinct.

References

* Nelson S., C. (2001). Plantas descritas originalmente de Honduras y sus nomenclaturas equivalentes actuales. "Ceiba" 42(1): 1–71. ( [http://www.zamorano.edu/biblioteca/600007.pdf available online] ) [In Spanish] [original description of the family on page 33]
* Doust, A. N. & Stevens, P. F.(2005). A Reinterpretation of the Staminate Flowers of "Haptanthus"."Systematic Botany" 30(4): 779–785.( [http://www.umsl.edu/~bioadous/page9/assets/Doust%20SystBot%202005.pdf available online] )
* Shipunov, A. B. (2003). The system of flowering plants from a synthetic point of view. "Zhurnal Obshchei Biologii" 64: 501–510. [In Russian]
* Goldberg, A. & Alden, H. A. (2005). Taxonomy of "Haptanthus" Goldberg & C. Nelson. "Systematic Botany" 30: 773-778.
* Goldberg, A. & Nelson S., C. (1989). "Haptanthus", a new dicotyledonous genus from Honduras. "Systematic Botany" 14: 16-19.
* Shipunov, A. B.(2005). Systema Angiospermarum, v.4.8.( [http://herba.msu.ru/shipunov/ang/current/syang.pdf available online] )

External links

* [http://mobot.mobot.org/cgi-bin/search_vast?onda=N00000001 Tropicos-Flora Mesoamericana at Missouri Botanical Garden website, with photos of the exsiccatae]