Chionanthus L.

Type species: Chionanthus virginicus L.

Synonyms (links to GRIN): Bonamica, Campanolea, Ceranthus, Cylindria, Dekindtia, Freyeria, Linociera, Majepea, Mayepea, Minutia, Minuta, Thouinia, Tessarandra

Distribution: Tropical and subtropical Africa, America, E Asia (China) and Australia

Number of species: about 80

Description (from Flora of China): Trees or shrubs, usually evergreen. Leaves opposite, simple, petiolate; leaf blade entire. Inflorescences axillary or rarely terminal panicles, sometimes cymes, umbels, heads, racemes, or fascicles. Flowers bisexual. Calyx small, 4-toothed or 4-lobed. Corolla white or yellow, 4-parted; lobes almost free to base or united into a very short tube or joined in pairs at base, valvate in bud. Stamens 2 (4 in Ch. fluminensis), inserted at base of corolla lobes; anthers elliptic or long elliptic, subextrorse. Ovules 2 in each locule, pendulous. Style short; stigma entire or 2-cleft. Fruit a drupe; endocarp bony. Seeds usually 1; endosperm fleshy or absent; radicle upward.

Links to species lists

• Description of Chionanthus with a key to the species treated in Flora of China
• Chionanthus in the Australian Plant Name Index (APNI) database
• Chionanthus extracted from the GRIN database
• Chionanthus extracted from the BONAP (Biota of North America Program)
• Chionanthus in Flora de Los Andes
• Chionanthus in Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Ecuador
• Chionanthus in Flora of Zimbabwe
• Chionanthus in Flora Zambesiaca

Images

• My images of Chionanthus virginicus (two of leaves and fruits) and Chionanthus retusus (flowering)
• Chionanthus obtusifolius from Vascular Plants of Madagascar (MOBOT)
• Chionanthus pubescens
• Chionanthus pubescens (flowers) from Sistema de Información Botánica Andina
• Chionanthus pygmaeus from Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants
• Chionanthus retusus from The Tsukuba Botanical Garden (Japan)
• Chionanthus retusus from Desert Tropicals Home Page
• Chionanthus retusus and Ch. virginicus from Vascular Plant Image Library, Digital Flora of Texas
• Chionanthus virginicus from Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants
• Chionanthus compacta from The Virtual Field Herbarium

References

• Camp, W. H. & Monachino, J. 1939. Caribbean studies I. Two new Linocieras and a review of the Antillean species. Lloydia 2: 219-224.
• Ellis, J. L. & Ray, L. N. 1994. Chionanthus sumatranus Bl. - An extended distribution up to north Andamans? J. Econ. Taxon. Bot. 18(3): 645-651.
• Green, P. S. 1966. The genus Linociera (Oleaceae) in New Caledonia. J. Arnold Arb. 47: 319-322.
• Green, P. S. 1979. Chionanthus retusus. Bot. Mag. 182: 145-148, t. ns785.
• Green, P. S. 1985. A new combination in Chionanthus (Oleaceae) from southern India. Bull. Bot. Surv. India 76: 123-124.
• Green, P. S. 1993. A revision of Chionanthus (Oleaceae) in S. America and the description of Priogymnanthus, gen. nov. Kew Bull. 49(2): 261-286.
• Green, P. S. 1995. A new name and combination in Chionanthus (Oleaceae). Kew Bull. 50(2): 326.
• Green, P. S. 1996. Taxonomic notes on Asiatic Chionanthus (Oleaceae). Kew Bull. 51: 765-770.
• Hong-Wa, C & Besnard, G. 2013. Intricate patterns of phylogenetic relationships in the olive family as inferred from multi-locus plastid and nuclear DNA sequence analyses: A close-up on Chionanthus and Noronhia (Oleaceae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 67: 367–378.
• Kiew, R. 1979. The genus Chionanthus L. (Oleaceae) in Malesia. I. The Malayan species. Malays. For. 42: 259-279.
• Kiew, R. 1980. The genus Chionanthus L. (Oleaceae) in Malesia. II. The Sarawak species. Malays. For. 43: 362-392.
• Kiew, R. 1981. The genus Chionanthus L. (Oleaceae) in Malesia. III. The Sabah species. Malays. For. 44: 143-162.
• Kiew, R. 1983. Two unusual Chionanthus species from Borneo and the position of Myxopyrum in the Oleaceae. J. Arnold Arb. 64: 619-626.
• Kiew, R. 1984. Notes on the systematy of Malayan species of Chionanthus (Oleaceae). Gard. Bull., Singapore 37: 209-212.
• Kiew, R. 1998. Name changes for Malesian species of Chionanthus (Oleaceae). Blumea 43: 471-477.
• Kiew, R. & Ibrahim, C. S. 1982. Comparative study of leaf anatomy of Malaysian species of Chionanthus and Olea (Oleaceae) with special reference to foliar sclerids. Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 84: 79-101.
• Kolb, K. L. & Gomes, S. M. A. & Lombardi, J. A. 2020. Leaf anatomy as a tool for the identification of Brazilian native species of Chionanthus (Oleaceae). Flora 226: 151590.
• Lakshminarayana, K. & Devi, H. M. 1985. Embryology of Linociera intermedia Wt. (Oleaceae). J. Jap. Bot. 60(4): 97-105.
• Lombardi, J. A. 2006. Chionanthus greenii (Oleaceae), a new species from Minas Gerais, Brazil. Kew Bull. 61: 179-182.
• Lozano, G. & Fuertes, J. 1992. Two new species of Chionanthus L. (Oleaceae) from Colombia. Anales Jard. Bot. Madrid 50(2): 195-200.
• Nair, K. K. N. & Janardhanan, K. P. 1981. Species of Chionanthus Sw. (=Linociera Sw.) in the Indo-Burmese region. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 78: 330-332.
• Panigrahi, G. 1985. The genus Chionanthus L. (Oleaceae) in the Indian region. Indian J. Forest 8: 51-60.
• Rehder, A. 1904. The pseudo-monoclinism of Chionanthus virginica. Rhodora 6(61): 18-20.
• Sargent, C. S. 1894. Chionanthus. Silva N. Am. 6: 59-62, pl. 277, 278.
• Soejima, A. & Maki, M. & Ueda, K. 1998. Genetic variation in relic and isolated populations of Chionanthus retusus (Oleaceae) of Tsushima Island and the Tono region, Japan. Genes and genetic systems 73(1): 29-37.
• Song, J-H & Oak, M-K & Hong, S-P. 2016. Morphological traits in an androdioecious species, Chionanthus retusus (Oleaceae). Flora 223: 129-137.
• Srivastava, S. K. & Kapoor, S. L. 1982. Chionanthus montanus, new record (Oleaceae): A new record for Indian flora. Geophytology 12(1): 69-72.
• Srivastava, S. K. & Goel, A. K. 1989. Chionanthus roxburghii (Oleaceae) in Andaman Nicobar Islands (India). J. Econ. Taxon. Bot. 13(1): 25-27.
• Srivastava, S. K. & Kapoor, S. L. 1991. Chionanthus Linn. (Oleaceae) in India. J. Econ. Taxon. Bot. 15: 129-141.
• Stearn, W. T. 1976. Union of Chionanthus and Linociera (Oleaceae). Ann. Miss. Bot. Gard. 63: 355-357.
• Stearn, W. T. 1979. Three new West Indian species of Chionanthus (Oleaceae). Bot. Notiser 132: 57-60.
• Stearn, W. T. 1980. African species of Chionanthus L. (Oleaceae) hitherto included in Linociera Swartz. Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 80: 191-206.
• Stearn, W. T. 1995. Chionanthus sleumeri (Oleaceae), a Queensland rain-forest species. Kew Bulletin 50(4): 817-818.
• Suzuki, M. 1974. Chionanthus mesozoica sp. nov., a dicotyledonous wood from the Lower Cretaceous of Chosi, Chiba Prefecture, with references to comparison with recent Chionanthus. J. Jap. Bot. 49: 47-53.
• Ueda, K. 1996. Androdioecism in Chinonanthus retusus (Oleaceae) J. Phytogeogr. & Taxon. 44: 93-94.

Maintained by Eva Wallander | Last updated: 2022-04-03