
Xerophyta · Kew POWO · Kew Plants of the World Online
Xerophyta
Sign in to saveXerophyta is a genus of flowering plants in the family Velloziaceae. It was named in 1789 by de Jussieu. It is native to Africa, Madagascar, and the Arabian Peninsula.
Species
GENUS
- KingdomPlantae
- PhylumTracheophyta
- ClassLiliopsida
- OrderPandanales
- FamilyVelloziaceae
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Wikidata facts
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- taxon name
- Xerophyta
- Commons category
- Xerophyta
- taxon common name
- 黑炭木属
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Xerophyta is a genus of flowering plants in the family Velloziaceae. It was named in 1789 by de Jussieu. It is native to Africa, Madagascar, and the Arabian Peninsula.
Some species in this genus are poikilochlorophyllous plants. This means that during dry climatic conditions, they lose chlorophyll and cease photosynthesis and transpiration. Thus they are extremely tolerant of desiccation . Hence the name Xerophyta, from Ancient Greek ξηρός (xeros, "dry") and φυτά (phutá), plural of φυτόν (phutón, “plant”).