Leea

Taxobox | name = Leea

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image_caption = "Leea rubra"
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo = Vitales
familia = Leeaceae
genus = "Leea"
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision =About 70, including:
*"Leea adwivedica"
*"Leea aequata"
*"Leea amabilis"
*"Leea asiatica"
*"Leea aspera"
*"Leea coccinea"
*"Leea glabra"
*"Leea guineensis"
*"Leea hirta"
*"Leea indica"
*"Leea krukoffiana"
*"Leea macrophylla"
*"Leea manillensis"
*"Leea philippinensis"
*"Leea rubra"
*"Leea sambucina"

"Leea" is a genus of plants that are distributed throughout Northern and eastern Australia, New Guinea, South and Southeast Asia and parts of Africa. It is the only genus in the family Leeaceae. "Leea" contains approximately 70 species and has often also been placed in the Vitaceae family. The APG II system places "Leea" in the subfamily Leeoideae (Vitaceae). [Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). [http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/Research/APweb/orders/vitalesweb.html#Vitaceae Vitaceae] . Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 7, May 2006.] "Leea" is placed in its own family based on morphological differences between Leeaceae and Vitaceae. These differences include ovule number per locule (two in Vitaceae and one in Leeaceae), carpel number (two in Vitaceae and three in Leeaceae), and the absence or presence of a staminoidal tube (present in Leeaceae) and floral disc (present in Vitaceae). Pollen structure has also been examined for taxonomic demarcation, though studies have concluded that the pollen of Leeaceae and Vitaceae suggests the families should remain separate while other studies conclude that "Leea" should be included in Vitaceae. [Gerrath, J.M., Lacroix, C.R., and Posluszny, U. (1990). [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0006-8071(199006)151:2%3C210:TDMOLG%3E2.0.CO;2-3 The developmental morphology of "Leea guineensis"] . "Botanical Gazette", 151(2): 210-220.]

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