{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}} {{automatic taxobox |display_parents = 2 |taxon = Cuviera |authority = DC. 1807, conserved name, not Koeler 1802 |type_species = ''Cuviera acutiflora'' |type_species_authority = DC. }}
'''''Cuviera''''' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae native to tropical Africa. It was originally described by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle in 1807 and is named after the French naturalist Georges Cuvier.<ref name=deCandolle1807>{{cite journal|author=de Candolle AP|year=1807|title=Mémoire sur le ''Cuviera''|journal=Annales du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle|volume=9|pages=216–222}}</ref>
==Description== The species form a homogeneous group that is well characterized by their striped petals, many-flowered inflorescences and usually ant holes in the twigs. The bracts are recaulescent, which means that the first node of the inflorescence is bare and the lowest bracts are inserted at the second node.<ref name=Verstraete2013b>{{cite journal|vauthors=Verstraete B, Lachenaud O, Smets E, Dessein S, Sonké B |year=2013|title=Taxonomy and phylogeny of ''Cuviera'' (Rubiaceae-Vanguerieae) and reinstatement of the genus ''Globulostylis'' with the description of three new species|journal=Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society|volume=173|issue=3|pages=407–441|doi=10.1111/boj.12062|doi-access=free}}</ref>
==Distribution and habitat== The genus is found in the Guineo-Congolian rainforest zone. The centre of diversity is the Lower Guinean forests; two species occur in the Upper Guinean forests, and only ''C. angolensis'' extends into the Congolian forests.<ref name=Verstraete2013b/>
Most species are relatively light demanding, favouring secondary or riverine forest, but some are found in the understory as well. They often grow in clusters.
==Taxonomy== At one time, the genus ''Globulostylis'' was considered as a subgenus of ''Cuviera'',<ref name=Verdcourt1987>{{cite journal|author=Verdcourt B|year=1987|title=Notes on African Rubiaceae-Vanguerieae|journal=Kew Bulletin|volume=42|issue=1|pages=123–199|doi=10.2307/4109900|jstor=4109900|bibcode=1987KewBu..42..123V }}</ref> but it has been re-established as an accepted genus.<ref name=Verstraete2013b/>
==Species== Accepted species according to the latest revision.<ref name=Verstraete2013b/>
* ''Cuviera acutiflora'' <small>DC.</small> - from Liberia to Equatorial Guinea * ''Cuviera angolensis'' <small>Welw. ex K.Schum.</small> - Zaïre (Congo-Kinshasa or Democratic Republic of Congo), Cabinda, Angola * ''Cuviera le-testui'' <small>Pellegr.</small> - Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Zaïre (Congo-Kinshasa or Democratic Republic of Congo) * ''Cuviera longiflora'' <small>Hiern</small> - Nigeria, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Congo-Brazzaville, Gabon, Bioko * ''Cuviera macroura'' <small>K.Schum.</small> - Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Cameroon * ''Cuviera physinodes'' <small>K.Schum.</small> - Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon * ''Cuviera pierrei'' <small>N.Hallé</small> - Equatorial Guinea, Gabon * ''Cuviera subuliflora'' <small>Benth.</small> - Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Zaïre (Congo-Kinshasa or Democratic Republic of Congo), Congo-Brazzaville, Nigeria, Gulf of Guinea Islands * ''Cuviera trilocularis'' <small>Hiern</small> - Nigeria, Cameroon * ''Cuviera truncata'' <small>Hutch. & Dalziel</small> - Nigeria, Cameroon
;formerly included The following species are excluded from ''Cuviera'' based on morphological and molecular data, some of which have not yet been formally transferred to other genera.<ref name=Verstraete2013b/>
* ''Cuviera australis'' <small>K.Schum.</small> = ''Vangueria lasiantha'' <small>(Sond.) Sond.</small> - Mozambique, South Africa * ''Cuviera bolo'' <small>Aubrèv. & Pellegr.</small> = ''Robynsia glabrata'' <small>Hutch.</small> - Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria * ''Cuviera calycosa'' <small>Wernham</small> - Nigeria, Cameroon, Zaïre (Congo-Kinshasa or Democratic Republic of Congo), Congo-Brazzaville * ''Cuviera migeodii'' <small>Verdc.</small> - Tanzania * ''Cuviera nigrescens'' <small>(Elliott ex Oliv.) Wernham</small> - from Liberia to Zaïre (Congo-Kinshasa or Democratic Republic of Congo) * ''Cuviera schliebenii'' <small>Verdc.</small> - Tanzania, Mozambique * ''Cuviera semseii'' <small>Verdc.</small> - Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique * ''Cuviera tomentosa'' <small>Verdc.</small> - Tanzania, Mozambique
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/qsearch.do?plantName=Cuviera ''Cuviera'' in the World Checklist of Rubiaceae] {{WestAfricanPlants|Cuviera longiflora}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q5197050}}
Category:Rubiaceae genera Category:Vanguerieae