Psydrax

The genus was named by Joseph Gaertner in 1788 in his book, De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum.[1] Psydrax is a Greek word meaning a blister or bump. Gaertner may have chosen this name to refer to the warty fruit or the pimply seeds of some species.[2] The name was hardly ever used after Gaertner proposed it because most authors placed these species in Canthium. Psydrax was reinstated in 1985 and 37 African species were transferred to it from Canthium.[3] The monospecific genus Mesoptera was also sunk into Psydrax.[4] Psydrax was shown to be monophyletic in a molecular phylogenetic study.[5] It is closely related to Afrocanthium, Cyclophyllum and Keetia, genera that have been segregated from Canthium.[5][6]

• World Checklist of Rubiaceae
• Psydrax At: De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum At: Google Books
• De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum at Internet Archive
• Psydrax At: Plant Name Query At: IPNI
• CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names: M-Q At: Botany & Plant Science At: Life Science At: CRC Press
• Psydrax At:Index Nominum Genericorum At: References At: NMNH Department of Botany
• Psydrax At: List of Genera At: Rubiaceae At: List of families At: Families and Genera in GRIN At: Queries At: GRIN taxonomy for plants

• Psydrax in West African plants – A Photo Guide.