33. Neillia D. Don, Prodr. Fl. Nepal. 228. 1825.
[For Patrick Neill, 1776–1851, Scottish printer, naturalist, and secretary of the Caledonian Horticultural Society]
Alan S. Weakley, Robert A. S. Wright
Stephanandra Siebold & Zuccarini
Shrubs, 2.5–25[–40] dm. Stems 1–20+, arching, sometimes rooting at tips; bark red-brown [to greenish]; glabrous or slightly hairy [to densely yellow-brown pubescent when young]. Leaves deciduous, cauline; stipules persistent [deciduous], ovate-lanceolate to elliptic, margins remotely to strongly serrate; petiole present; blade ovate, 2–6[–12] cm, herbaceous, margins flat, incised or lobed, lobes [3–]7–11, poorly or well developed, singly or doubly serrate, venation palmate, abaxial surface glabrous or sparsely hairy (especially on main veins), adaxial glabrous or sparsely hairy. Inflorescences terminal, sometimes also axillary, 3–70+-flowered, racemes or panicles to corymbs; bracts present ˂deciduous˃; bracteoles absent; ˂peduncles present˃. Pedicels present. Flowers [3–]4–5[–10] mm diam.; hypanthium cup-shaped [obconic, campanulate], [2–]3–5[–12] mm, glabrous or sparsely hairy [glandular-pubescent, densely hairy]; sepals 5, ascending, triangular to oblong [elliptic]; petals 5, white [pink or reddish], obovate; stamens [5–]10[–30] in 1[–2] whorl(s), shorter than [approximately equal to] petals; carpels 1[–5]; ovules 2[–10]. Fruits follicles [aggregated], 1, obliquely subglobose [ellipsoid or cylindric], 2–3[–5] mm diam., dehiscent from base, ˂enclosed in or protruding from hypanthium˃, glabrous or sparsely to moderately pilose [glandular-pubescent, densely hairy]; hypanthium persistent; sepals persistent, ascending to erect. Seeds 1[–4]. x = 9.
Species 15–20 (1 in the flora): introduced, Virginia; Asia; introduced also in Europe.
Neillia has traditionally been considered to be one of three genera of Neillieae, the others being Physocarpus and Stephanandra. Few, if any, consistent morphologic differences exist between Neillia and Stephanandra, and a molecular phylogenetic analysis by Oh S. H. and D. Potter (2005) strongly suggested that Stephanandra originated from within Neillia, perhaps by hybridization of the two main lineages. The authors follow Oh (2006) in treating Neillia more broadly to include Stephanandra. Various members of Neillia are cultivated horticulturally in North America. Only N. incisa appears to have naturalized (and apparently only sparingly); but other species have the potential to do so.
SELECTED REFERENCE Oh, S. H. 2006. Neillia includes Stephanandra. Novon 16: 91–95.
