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Phyllanthus fluitans
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Division:
Magnoliophyta
Class:
Magnoliopsida
Order:
Malpighiales
Family:
Phyllanthaceae
Tribe:
Subtribe:
Genus:
Species:
fluitans
Binomial name
Phyllanthus fluitans

Phyllanthus fluitans Müll.Arg., 1863

A floating fresh-water aquatic plant popular in water gardens and aquariums for its reddish leaves and roots.


Phyllanthus is the largest genus in the family Phyllantheae. Phyllanthus has a remarkable diversity of growth forms including annual and perennial herbaceous, arborescent, climbing, floating aquatic, pachycaulous, and phyllocladous. It has a wide variety of floral morphologies and chromosome number and has one of the widest varieties of pollen types of any plant genus. Despite their variety almost all Phyllanthus species express a specific type of growth called "phyllanthoid branching" in which the leaves on the main (vertical) plant axes are reduced to scales called "cataphylls" while leaves on the other axes—plagiotropic (horizontal), deciduous and floriferous (flower-bearing)—develop normally. Phyllanthus is distributed in all tropical and subtropical regions on Earth. Leafflower is the common name for all Phyllanthus species. The circumscription of this genus has been so confusing that in the 1990s, a major reorganization of Phyllanthus was carried out, while (as of 2007) a new reorganization based on genetic analysis is underway.

Taxonomy of Genus Phyllanthus

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Phyllanthus is currently divided into ten subgenera defined by G. L. Webster in 1994 and 68 sections and sub-sections

Phyllanthus
 
Indian gooseberry, Phyllanthus emblica
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Division:
Class:
Order:
Family:
Tribe:
Subtribe:
Genus:
Phyllanthus

Diversity
About 800 species
Accepted taxonomy of Phyllanthus prior to 2006
subgenus section subsection
Isocladus Anisolobium
Antipodanthus
Loxopodium
Macraea
Paraphyllanthus
Kirganelia Anisonema
Aporosella
Chorisandra
Cicca
Ciccopsis
Flueggeopsis
Floribundi
Menarda
Pentandra
Pseudomenarda
Emblica Emblica
Microglochidion
Pityrocladus
Phyllanthus Phyllanthus Almadenses
Clausseniani
Niruri
Odontadenii
Pentaphylli
Swartziani
Choretropsis
Urinaria
Cyclanthera Cyclanthera
Callitrichoides
Eriococcus Eriococcus
Emblicastrum
Eriococcodes
Scepasma
Conami Apolepis
Brazzaeani
Hylaeanthus
Nothoclema
Xylophylla Xylophylla
Asterandra
Brachycladus
Ciccastrum
Elutanthos
Epistylium
Glyptothamnus
Hemiphyllanthus
Omphacodes
Orbicularia
Oxalistylis
Thamnocharis
Williamia
Phyllanthodendron
Gomphidium Gomphidium
Adenoglochidion
Ardisianthus
Calodictyon
Eleutherogynium
Paragomphidium
unassigned Bivia
Ceramanthus
Cluytiopsis
Hedycarpidium
Hemicicca
Lysiandra
Heteroglochidion
Meiandroglochidion
Nymphanthus
Pentaglochidion
Physoglochidion
Polyandroglochidion


WEBSTER, G. L. 1994. Synopsis of the genera and suprageneric taxa of Euphorbiaceae. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 81: 33–144.