Celastrus

Celastrus, commonly known as staff vine, staff tree or bittersweet, is the type genus of the family Celastraceae; it contains over 40 species of shrubs and vines, which have a wide distribution in East Asia, Australasia, Africa, and the Americas.

Description

The leaves are alternate and simple, ovoid, and typically long. The flowers are small, white, pink or greenish, and borne in long panicles; the fruit is a three-valved berry.

In North America, they are known as bittersweet, presumably a result of confusion with the unrelated bittersweet (Solanum dulcamara) by early colonists. C. orbiculatus is a serious invasive weed in much of eastern North America.

Species

Plants of the World Online includes:

1. Celastrus aculeatus <small>Merr.</small>
2. Celastrus angulatus <small>Maxim.</small>
3. Celastrus australis <small>Harv. & F.Muell.</small> – Australian staff vine
4. Celastrus caseariifolius <small>Lundell</small>
5. Celastrus cuneatus <small>(Rehder & E.H.Wilson) C.Y.Cheng & T.C.Kao</small>
6. Celastrus flagellaris <small>Rupr.</small>
7. Celastrus franchetianus <small>Loes.</small>
8. Celastrus gemmatus <small>Loes.</small>
9. Celastrus glaucophyllus <small>Rehder & E.H.Wilson</small>
10. Celastrus grenadensis <small>Urb.</small>
11. Celastrus hindsii <small>Benth.</small>
12. Celastrus hirsutus <small>H.F.Comber</small>
13. Celastrus homaliifolius <small>P.S.Hsu</small>
14. Celastrus hookeri <small>Prain</small>
15. Celastrus hypoleucoides <small>P.L.Chiu</small>
16. Celastrus hypoleucus <small>(Oliv.) Warb. ex Loes.</small>
17. Celastrus kusanoi <small>Hayata</small>
18. Celastrus lenticellatus <small>Lundell</small>
19. Celastrus madagascariensis <small>Loes.</small>
20. Celastrus membranifolius <small>Prain</small>
21. Celastrus microcarpus <small>D.Don</small>
22. Celastrus monospermoides <small>Loes.</small>
23. Celastrus monospermus <small>Roxb.</small>
24. Celastrus novoguineensis <small>Merr. & L.M.Perry</small>
25. Celastrus oblanceifolius <small>Chen H.Wang & P.C.Tsoong</small>
26. Celastrus obovatifolius <small>X.Y.Mu & Z.X.Zhang</small>
27. Celastrus orbiculatus <small>Thunb.</small> – Oriental bittersweet
28. Celastrus panamensis <small>Lundell</small>
29. Celastrus paniculatus <small>Willd.</small> – black oil plant, climbing staff tree, or intellect tree
30. Celastrus pringlei <small>Rose</small>
31. Celastrus punctatus <small>Thunb.</small>
32. Celastrus richii <small>A.Gray</small>
33. Celastrus rosthornianus <small>Loes.</small>
34. Celastrus rugosus <small>Rehder & E.H.Wilson</small>
35. Celastrus scandens <small>L.</small> – American bittersweet
36. Celastrus stephanotiifolius <small>(Makino) Makino</small>
37. Celastrus stylosus <small>Wall.</small>
38. Celastrus subspicatus <small>Hook.</small>
39. Celastrus tonkinensis <small>Pit.</small>
40. Celastrus vaniotii <small>(H.Lév.) Rehder</small>
41. Celastrus virens <small>(F.T.Wang & T.Tang) C.Y.Cheng & T.C.Kao</small>
42. Celastrus vulcanicola <small>Donn.Sm.</small>
43. Celastrus yuloensis <small>X.Y.Mu</small>
44. Celastrus zhejiangensis <small>P.L.Chiu, G.Y.Li & Z.H.Chen</small>

References

External links