Roepera
Roepera is a genus of flowering plants in the family Zygophyllaceae, subfamily Zygophylloideae. It is native to Australia and south-western Africa, from Angola to South Africa.
Description
Species of Roepera are shrubs, subshrubs or herbaceous plants. The shrubby species may be up to tall. The leaves are opposite, with or without petioles, and have one or two leaflets. The flowers have four or five sepals, which persist in the fruit, and four or five petals of various colours. The eight to ten stamens usually have undivided appendages. The ovary has four or five locules. The fruit is usually a capsule, or more rarely a winged schizocarp. The seeds are mucilaginous and have a more-or-less well developed aril.
Taxonomy
The genus Roepera was first published by Adrien-Henri de Jussieu in 1825, for two Australian species of Zygophyllum. However, de Jussieu did not actually publish the two new combinations, Roepera billardierei and Roepera fruticulosa. These were published by George Don in 1831. The genus was rarely used until the 21st century, the two species being kept in Zygophyllum. Molecular phylogenetic studies in 2000 and 2003 showed that the genus Zygophyllum, as then circumscribed, was polyphyletic. In 2003, Beier et al. resurrected Roepera as part of revising Zygophyllum to make it monophyletic. About 60 former Zygophyllum species were placed in Roepera. The genus is placed in subfamily Zygophylloideae.
Species
, Plants of the World Online recognized 60 species:Roepera ammophila Beier & ThulinRoepera angustifolia Beier & ThulinRoepera apiculata Beier & ThulinRoepera aurantiaca Lindl.Roepera billardierei G.DonRoepera botulifolia Beier & ThulinRoepera compressa Beier & ThulinRoepera confluens Beier & ThulinRoepera cordifolia Beier & ThulinRoepera crassissima Beier & ThulinRoepera crenata Beier & ThulinRoepera cuneifolia Beier & ThulinRoepera debilis Beier & ThulinRoepera divaricata Beier & ThulinRoepera eichleri Beier & ThulinRoepera emarginata Beier & ThulinRoepera eremaea Beier & ThulinRoepera flava Beier & ThulinRoepera flexuosa Beier & ThulinRoepera foetida Beier & ThulinRoepera fruticulosa G.DonRoepera fulva Beier & ThulinRoepera fuscata Beier & ThulinRoepera glauca Beier & ThulinRoepera halophila Beier & ThulinRoepera hirticaulis Beier & ThulinRoepera horrida Beier & ThulinRoepera howittii Beier & ThulinRoepera humillima Beier & ThulinRoepera hybrida Beier & ThulinRoepera incrustata Beier & ThulinRoepera iodocarpa Beier & ThulinRoepera kochii Beier & ThulinRoepera leptopetala Beier & ThulinRoepera leucoclada Beier & ThulinRoepera lichtensteiniana Beier & ThulinRoepera lobulata Beier & ThulinRoepera macrocarpos Beier & ThulinRoepera maculata Beier & ThulinRoepera maritima Beier & ThulinRoepera marliesiae Beier & ThulinRoepera microphylla Beier & ThulinRoepera morgsana Beier & ThulinRoepera orbiculata Beier & ThulinRoepera ovata Beier & ThulinRoepera prismatotheca Beier & ThulinRoepera pubescens Beier & ThulinRoepera pygmaea Beier & ThulinRoepera reticulata Beier & ThulinRoepera retivalvis Beier & ThulinRoepera rogersii Beier & ThulinRoepera rowelliae Beier & ThulinRoepera schreiberiana Beier & ThulinRoepera sessilifolia Beier & ThulinRoepera similis Beier & ThulinRoepera sphaerocarpa Beier & ThulinRoepera spinosa Beier & ThulinRoepera teretifolia Beier & ThulinRoepera tesquorum Beier & ThulinRoepera tetraptera Beier & Thulin
Distribution
Roepera has a discontinuous distribution. Species are native to Australia, and to the western side of southern Africa. The genus appears to have originated in Africa, and dispersed into Australia about. Species are found in warm and arid areas.