Diarthron
Diarthron is a genus of flowering plants in the Thymelaeaceae family. The exact limits of the genus are debated, and some related plants have been moved in or out over time.
What it is like
- Types: annual and perennial herbs and small shrubs.
- Flowers: lack petals; typically four (sometimes five) sepals fused at the base into a tube, with colors that can be reddish, white, or green.
- Reproduction: the ovary has a single chamber.
- Fruit: dry, with the seed inside a thin, glossy black covering (pericarp).
Where it grows
- About 16 species are found from southern European Russia and the Caucasus across Western and Central Asia to China, Mongolia, Korea, and the Russian Far East.
Taxonomy in brief
- The boundaries of Diarthron are not settled. In 1982, many species were added to Diarthron by transferring them from related genera, but later work questioned this single-group idea.
- DNA studies place Diarthron in a small group related to Thymelaea and Daphne, though only a few species are typically compared in each genus.
- Diarthron was first described in 1832 by Nikolai Turczaninow for the species Diarthron linifolium.
- Today, about 16 species are accepted.
Related genera in the same family include Edgeworthia, Wikstroemia, Stellera, Thymelaea, and Daphne.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 19:36 (CET).