Canephora

This article is about flowering plants. For the bagworm moth genus including e.g. Canephora hirsuta, see Canephora (moth). For the ancient Greek honorific, see Kanephoros.

Canephora is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae, indigenous to Madagascar.^[1][2]

Canephora
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Gentianales
Family:	Rubiaceae
Subfamily:	Ixoroideae
Tribe:	Octotropideae
Genus:	Canephora Juss.
Type species
Canephora madagascariensis J.F.Gmel.

Description

The name Canephora, "basket bearer", refers to both the flattened peduncle topped by a "hollowed apex bearing flowers" and to the ritual office for unmarried young women in ancient Greece, as bearer of a sacred basket full of offerings during processions at festivals.^[3]

Canephora is unique in Rubiaceae in having peduncles transformed into flattened, green axes called phylloclades.^[4]

Canephora madagascariensis has bright white, campanulate flowers and apparently edible, red fruits, locally known as "hazongalala".^[5]

Species

Currently, five species are recognized, but several new species await description.^[4]

• Canephora angustifolia Wernham
• Canephora goudotii Wernham
• Canephora humblotii Drake
• Canephora madagascariensis J.F.Gmel.
• Canephora maroana A.DC.