Atractocarpus
Introduction '''''Atractocarpus''''' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. Its members are commonly known as native gardenias in Australia. The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek terms ''atractos'' "spindle", and ''karpos'' "fruit", from the spindle-shaped fruit of the type species.
Taxonomy Defined by botanists Rudolf Schlechter and Kurt Krause in 1908, the type species is ''Atractocarpus  bracteatus'', which is found only on New Caledonia. Subsequently, several other species were described from New Caledonia.Meanwhile, the genera ''Randia'' and ''Gardenia'' had been used as wastebasket taxa, where many species that had been difficult to place had been placed by default. Several Australian species of the genus ''Randia'' were found to be not closely related to Neotropical species and  were transferred in a review of the genera by Australian botanist Christopher Puttock in 1999; these include several garden plant species such as ''A. benthamianus'', ''A. chartaceus'', and ''A. fitzalanii''.Puttock also proposed that the genera ''Sukunia'', ''Trukia'', ''Neofranciella'', and ''Sulitia'' (the last two consisting of once species each) be sunk into ''Atractocarpus''. The resulting genus now contains around forty species, with seven found in Australia, and others in the Federated States of Micronesia, the Philippines, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Fiji, Tonga, and east to Tahiti. All species are found in a type of lowland rainforest known as mesophyll vine forests, as well as swamp forests and vine thickets.
Species The following 40 species are accepted by Plants of the World Online * ''Atractocarpus aragoensis'' * ''Atractocarpus artensis'' * ''Atractocarpus baladicus'' * ''Atractocarpus benthamianus'' * ''Atractocarpus bracteatus'' * ''Atractocarpus brandzeanus'' * ''Atractocarpus carolinensis'' * ''Atractocarpus chartaceus'' * ''Atractocarpus colnettianus'' * ''Atractocarpus confertus'' * ''Atractocarpus crosbyi'' * ''Atractocarpus cucumicarpus'' * ''Atractocarpus decorus'' * ''Atractocarpus deplanchei'' * ''Atractocarpus fitzalanii'' * ''Atractocarpus heterophyllus'' * ''Atractocarpus hirtus'' * ''Atractocarpus longipes'' * ''Atractocarpus longistipitatus'' * ''Atractocarpus macarthurii'' * ''Atractocarpus merikin'' * ''Atractocarpus mollis'' * ''Atractocarpus ngoyensis'' * ''Atractocarpus nigricans'' * ''Atractocarpus oblongus'' * ''Atractocarpus obscurinervius'' * ''Atractocarpus pancherianus'' * ''Atractocarpus pentagonioides'' * ''Atractocarpus platixylon'' * ''Atractocarpus pseudoterminalis'' * ''Atractocarpus pterocarpon'' * ''Atractocarpus rotundifolius'' * ''Atractocarpus sessilis'' * ''Atractocarpus sezitat'' * ''Atractocarpus simulans'' * ''Atractocarpus stipularis'' * ''Atractocarpus tahitiensis'' * ''Atractocarpus tenuiflorus'' * ''Atractocarpus vaginatus'' * ''Atractocarpus versteegii''
References
External links * World Checklist of Rubiaceae* Flickriver interesting photos tagged as ''Atractocarpus'' (several species)