Parsonsia is a genus of woody in the family Apocynaceae. Species occur throughout Indomalaya, Australasia and Melanesia.[
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Description
The leaf are opposite, the shape and size of juvenile leaves often bearing little resemblance to the adult leaves.[
The flowers are green, white, cream, yellow, orange, red, pink or brown, sometimes with contrasting markings. These are followed by elongated pod-like capsules, the two follicles eventually separating to reveal numerous seeds with long, silky hairs.][
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Taxonomy
The genus was named and described in 1810 by botanist Robert Brown in his paper On the Asclepiadeae published in Memoirs of the Wernerian Natural History Society .[ He named the genus in honour of James Parsons (1705–1770), an English physician and Fellow of the Royal Society.]
The generic name Parsonsia R.Br. (1810) is conserved name against the earlier homonym Parsonsia P.Browne which was given to a genus in the family Lythraceae. The latter genus is now included in Cuphea.
Parsonsia is closely related to Artia and Prestonia
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Species
Accepted species[
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- formerly included
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Parsonsia balansae Baill. = Artia balansae (Baill.) Pichon ex Guillaumin
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Parsonsia barbata Blume = Parameria laevigata (Juss.) Moldenke
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Parsonsia brachycarpa Baill. = Artia brachycarpa (Baill.) Boiteau
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Parsonsia bracteata Hook. & Arn. = Mandevilla pentlandiana (DC.) Woodson
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Parsonsia corymbosa (Jacq.) R.Br. ex Steud. = Pinochia corymbosa (Jacq.) M.E.Endress & B.F.Hansen
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Parsonsia diversifolia (Warb.) Markgr. = Lyonsia diversifolia Warb.
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Parsonsia floribunda (Sw.) R.Br. ex Steud. = Pinochia floribunda (Sw.) M.E.Endress & B.F.Hansen
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Parsonsia francii Guillaumin = Artia francii (Guillaumin) Pichon
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Parsonsia galeottiana Baill. = Thenardia galeottiana Baill.
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Parsonsia javanica Blume 1826 not (Blume) K. Schum 1895 = Urceola javanica (Blume) Boerl.
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Parsonsia leptocarpa Hook. & Arn. = Forsteronia leptocarpa (Hook. & Arn.) A.DC.
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Parsonsia lifuana Baill. = Artia lifuana (Baill.) Pichon ex Guillaumin
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Parsonsia myrtifolia (Poir.) Roem. & Schult. = Landolphia myrtifolia (Poir.) Markgr.
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Parsonsia ovata Wall. ex G.Don = Pottsia laxiflora (Blume) Kuntze
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Parsonsia spicata (Jacq.) R.Br. ex Steud. = Forsteronia spicata (Jacq.) G.Mey.
Cultivation
A species from New Zealand, Parsonsia variablis (Variable-leaved Parsonsia), was introduced into cultivation in England in 1847 as a greenhouse plant and was noted to have a sweet scent, however the flowers were regarded as "not very showy".[
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