Tropicos | Name - !Crusea Cham. & Schltdl.

!Crusea Cham. & Schltdl.

Flora Data (Last Modified On 9/4/2013)

Genus	Crusea Cham. & Schlecht.
PlaceOfPublication	Linnaea 5: 165. 1830.
Note	TYPE: C. rubra (Jacq.) Cham. & Schlecht.
Description	Herbs, often perennial, the stems usually 4-angled. Leaves mostly lanceolate, the lateral nerves conspicuous; petioles adnate to the stipular sheath, the latter setiferous. Inflorescences capitate, surrounded by foliaceous bracts. Flowers with the 4 calycine lobes alternating with minute glands, the calyx persistent in fruit; corolla funnelform, glabrous within, the 4 lobes valvate; ovary 2-celled, the ovules 1 per locule. Fruits capsular, didymous, the mericarps or cocci indehis- cent, thin, the endocarp transparent, smooth, ecostate, the ventral face grooved, narrow, the flanks of endosperm folded against the deep hilar ridge, the seeds 1 per locule, the testa cells contorted.
Habit	Herbs
Distribution	extends from "Southern Arizona and New Mexico through Mexico and Central America to northern Pan- ama.
Reference	Anderson, W. R. 1972. A monograph of the genus Crusea (Rubiaceae). Mem. N.Y. Bot. Garden 22(4): 128.
Key	a. Corolla red, rose or violet; calycine cup 3-4 mm long; anthers ca. 3 mm long ...... 1. C. coccinea var. chiriquiensis aa. Corolla white; calycine cup less than 1 mm long; anthers ca. 1 mm long ...... 2. C. longiflora