Helwingia
The genus Helwingia consists of shrubs or rarely small trees native to eastern Asia, the Himalayas, and northern Indochina. It is the only genus in the family Helwingiaceae.
Description
The plants have alternate, evergreen or deciduous leaves and small inflorescences that are epiphyllous. During development, the flowers appear separate from the leaves,, eventually fusing with the leaf midrib. Flowers are small and yellow-green or purple, followed by red or black berries. Plants are dioecious.Epiphyllous inflorescences
This trait is rather unusual among plants. This atypical floral position upon a leaf is believed to be an adaption to insect pollination. Pollinators which are too large to be supported by the floral pedicels, land on the leaf surface and can pollinate the flowers, which would not be able to support the pollinators on their own.Taxonomy
The APG II classification places them in the order Aquifoliales, along with the hollies and Phyllonomaceae, which also has epiphyllous flowers.The family Helwingiaceae does not exist in the
Cronquist classification, which places this genus in the Cornaceae. Helwingia has also previously been placed in the Araliaceae.
The family is named for botanist Georg Andreas Helwing.
Species
Species adapted from the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families:Helwingia chinensis Batalin - Thailand, Myanmar, China: Gansu, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Tibet, Yunnan
Helwingia himalaica Hook.f. & Thomson ex C.B.Clarke - Thailand, Myanmar, Bhutan, Nepal, India: Assam, Sikkim, China: Tibet, Chongqing, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan, Yunnan
Helwingia japonica F.Dietr. - Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Myanmar, Bhutan, Vietnam, India: Assam, Sikkim, China: Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang
Helwingia omeiensis H.Hara & S.Kuros. - China: Gansu, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan