# Leea

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{{Short description|Genus of plants in the family Vitaceae}}
{{automatic taxobox
| image = Leea zippeliana - coenobita - 31408040.jpeg
| image_caption = ''L. rubra'' {{au|Blume}}, formerly ''L. sambucina'' {{au|Blanco}}
| parent_authority = Burmeist.
| taxon = Leea
| authority = [D.Royen](/source/David_van_Royen){{R|POWO|FOA}}
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = see text
|type_species = Leea aequata
|type_species_authority = L.{{R|FOA}}
}}

'''''Leea''''' is a genus of plants in the family [Vitaceae](/source/Vitaceae), subfamily '''Leeoideae''', that are native to parts of central Africa, tropical Asia, Australia and Melanesia.{{R|POWO}} 

==Description==
Plants in this genus are shrubs or small trees. Leaves are arranged [alternately](/source/Phyllotaxis) on either side of the branches, and are [compound](/source/Leaf) (i.e divided into leaflets).{{R|FOA|FOC}} Stipules are characteristic.{{R|MOLINA2013|p=355}} Inflorescences are {{plantgloss|cyme|cymose}}, flowers have four or five petals and [sepal](/source/sepal)s. The fruits are [berries](/source/berry_(botany)) containing up to six (rarely 10) seeds.{{R|FOA|FOC}}

Unlike the rest of the Vitaceae species, they are not climbers and do not have [tendril](/source/tendril)s.{{R|FOA|MOLINA2013}}

==Taxonomy==
It was previously placed in its own family, '''Leeaceae''', based on morphological differences between it and other Vitaceae genera. These differences include [ovule](/source/ovule) number per [locule](/source/locule) (two in Vitaceae and one in Leeaceae), [carpel](/source/carpel) number (two in Vitaceae and three in Leeaceae), and the absence or presence of a staminoidal tube (present in Leeaceae) and floral disc (present in Vitaceae). Pollen structure has also been examined for taxonomic demarcation, although a 1968 study of pollen morphology by [Ion Teofil Tarnavschi](/source/Ion_Teofil_Tarnavschi) and [E. Petria](/source/E._Petria) concluded that Leeaceae and Vitaceae should remain separate families, while a 1966 study by [Otto Gunnar Elias Erdtman](/source/Otto_Gunnar_Elias_Erdtman) concluded that ''Leea'' should be included in Vitaceae.<ref name="GERRATH">{{cite journal |last1=Gerrath |first1=Jean M. |last2=Lacroix |first2=Christian R. |last3=Posluszny |first3=Usher |title=The Developmental Morphology of Leea guineensis. II. Floral Development |journal=Botanical Gazette |jstor=2995458 |date=1990 |volume=151 |issue=2 |page=210 |doi=10.1086/337820 |s2cid=84559410 }}</ref>

===Etymology===
The genus was named by [Carl Linnaeus](/source/Carl_Linnaeus) after [James Lee](/source/James_Lee_(nurseryman)), the Scottish nurseryman based in [Hammersmith](/source/Hammersmith), London who introduced many new plant discoveries to England at the end of the 18th century.<ref name = "Shephard">{{cite book | author= Sue Shephard | title=Seeds of Fortune - A Gardening Dynasty| publisher=[Bloomsbury](/source/Bloomsbury_Publishing) | year=2003|pages=11| isbn=0-7475-6066-8}}</ref>

==Distribution==
It is native to areas from Africa, through south and eastern Asia to Australia and the western Pacific. The [World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions](/source/World_Geographical_Scheme_for_Recording_Plant_Distributions) lists the countries/regions as follows:<ref name=POWO/><ref name="BRUMMIT">{{Cite book |last=Brummitt |first=R.K. |year=2001 |title=World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions |edition=2nd |publisher=International Working Group on Taxonomic Databases For Plant Sciences (TDWG) |url=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tdwg/wgsrpd/master/109-488-1-ED/2nd%20Edition/TDWG_geo2.pdf |access-date=2 November 2025 }}</ref>
*'''Northeast Tropical Africa''': Sudan
*'''South Tropical Africa''': Angola, Malawi, Zambia
*'''East Tropical Africa''': Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
*'''West Tropical Africa''': Benin, Burkina, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo
*'''West-Central Tropical Africa''': Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Gabon, Gulf of Guinea Islands
*'''Western Indian Ocean''': Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion
*'''China''': China South-Central, China Southeast, Tibet
*'''Eastern Asia''': Hainan, Taiwan
*'''[Indian subcontinent](/source/Indian_subcontinent)''': Assam, Bangladesh, East Himalaya, India, Laccadive Islands, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Himalaya
*'''[Indo-China](/source/Indo-China)''': Andaman Islands, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Nicobar Islands, Thailand, Vietnam
*'''[Malesia](/source/Malesia)''': Borneo, Jawa, Lesser Sunda Islands, Malaya, Maluku, Philippines, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Christmas Islands
*'''[Papuasia](/source/Papuasia)''': Bismarck Archipelago, New Guinea, Solomon Islands
*'''Australia''': Northern Territory, Queensland
*'''Southwestern Pacific''': Fiji, Santa Cruz Islands, Vanuatu
*'''Northwestern Pacific''': Caroline Islands

==Ecology==
''Leea'' flowers are visited by a variety of potential insect pollinators, including flies, wasps, bees, butterflies, and beetles. Some species may have evolved synchronized [dichogamy](/source/dichogamy) as a mechanism to prevent self [pollination](/source/pollination).<ref name="MOLINA">{{cite journal |last1=Molina |first1=Jeanmaire |title=Floral biology of Philippine morphospecies of the grape relative ''Leea'' (Leeaceae) |journal=Plant Species Biology |date=2009 |volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=53–60 |doi=10.1111/j.1442-1984.2009.00238.x |bibcode=2009PSBio..24...53M |url=https://esj-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1442-1984.2009.00238.x |access-date=13 July 2023 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

==Gallery==
{{gallery|mode=packed|height=120
|Image:Leea indica fruit and foliage.jpg|''[L. indica](/source/Leea_indica)''
|File:Leea-nova-guineensis-SF22188.jpg|''[L. nova-guineensis](/source/Leea_nova-guineensis)''
|File:Red Leea (Leea rubra).jpg|''[L. rubra](/source/Leea_rubra)''
|File:Leea asiatica (581800307).jpg|''[L. asiatica](/source/Leea_asiatica)''
|File:Starr 070515-7073 Leea philippinensis.jpg|''[L. philippinensis](/source/Leea_philippinensis)''
}}

==Species==
[Plants of the World Online](/source/Plants_of_the_World_Online) accepts the following 45 species in this genus {{As of|2025|11|2|lc=y}}.{{R|POWO}}
{{div col|colwidth=18em}}
* ''[Leea aculeata](/source/Leea_aculeata)'' {{small |Blume ex Spreng.}}
* ''[Leea acuminatissima](/source/Leea_acuminatissima)'' {{small |Merr.}}
* ''[Leea adwivedica](/source/Leea_adwivedica)'' {{small |K.Kumar}}
* ''[Leea aequata](/source/Leea_aequata)'' {{small |L.}}
* ''[Leea alata](/source/Leea_alata)'' {{small |Edgew.}}
* ''[Leea amabilis](/source/Leea_amabilis)'' {{small |H.J.Veitch}}
* ''[Leea angulata](/source/Leea_angulata)'' {{small |Korth. ex Miq.}}
* ''[Leea asiatica](/source/Leea_asiatica)'' {{small |(L.) Ridsdale}}
* ''[Leea coccinea](/source/Leea_coccinea)'' {{small |Planch.}}
* ''[Leea compactiflora](/source/Leea_compactiflora)'' {{small |Kurz}}
* ''[Leea congesta](/source/Leea_congesta)'' {{small |Elmer}}
* ''[Leea coryphantha](/source/Leea_coryphantha)'' {{small |Lauterb.}}
* ''[Leea curtisii](/source/Leea_curtisii)'' {{small |King}}
* ''[Leea cuspidifera](/source/Leea_cuspidifera)'' {{small |Baker}}
* ''[Leea dentata](/source/Leea_dentata)'' {{small |Craib}}
* ''[Leea glabra](/source/Leea_glabra)'' {{small |C.L.Li}}
* ''[Leea gonioptera](/source/Leea_gonioptera)'' {{small |Lauterb.}}
* ''[Leea grandifolia](/source/Leea_grandifolia)'' {{small |Kurz}}
* ''[Leea guineensis](/source/Leea_guineensis)'' {{small |G.Don}}
* ''[Leea heterodoxa](/source/Leea_heterodoxa)'' {{small |K.Schum. &amp; Lauterb.}}
* ''[Leea indica](/source/Leea_indica)'' {{small |(Burm.f.) Merr.}}
* ''[Leea javanica](/source/Leea_javanica)'' {{small |Blume}}
* ''[Leea krukoffiana](/source/Leea_krukoffiana)'' {{small |Ridsdale}}
* ''[Leea longifoliola](/source/Leea_longifoliola)'' {{small |Merr.}}
* ''[Leea macrophylla](/source/Leea_macrophylla)'' {{small |Roxb. ex Hornem.}}
* ''[Leea macropus](/source/Leea_macropus)'' {{small |Lauterb. &amp; K.Schum.}}
* ''[Leea magnifolia](/source/Leea_magnifolia)'' {{small |Merr.}}
* ''[Leea manillensis](/source/Leea_manillensis)'' {{small |Walp.}}
* ''[Leea nova-guineensis](/source/Leea_nova-guineensis)'' {{small |Valeton}}
* ''[Leea papuana](/source/Leea_papuana)'' {{small |Merr. &amp; L.M.Perry}}
* ''[Leea philippinensis](/source/Leea_philippinensis)'' {{small |Merr.}}
* ''[Leea quadrifida](/source/Leea_quadrifida)'' {{small |Merr.}}
* ''[Leea rubra](/source/Leea_rubra)'' {{small |Blume}}
* ''[Leea saxatilis](/source/Leea_saxatilis)'' {{small |Ridl.}}
* ''[Leea setuligera](/source/Leea_setuligera)'' {{small |C.B.Clarke}}
* ''[Leea simplicifolia](/source/Leea_simplicifolia)'' {{small |Zoll. &amp; Moritzi}}
* ''[Leea smithii](/source/Leea_smithii)'' {{small |Koord.}}
* ''[Leea spinea](/source/Leea_spinea)'' {{small |Desc.}}
* ''[Leea suaveolens](/source/Leea_suaveolens)'' {{small |Merr. &amp; L.M.Perry}}
* ''[Leea tetramera](/source/Leea_tetramera)'' {{small |B.L.Burtt}}
* ''[Leea thorelii](/source/Leea_thorelii)'' {{small |Gagnep.}}
* ''[Leea tinctoria](/source/Leea_tinctoria)'' {{small |Lindl. ex Baker}}
* ''[Leea tuberculosemen](/source/Leea_tuberculosemen)'' {{small |C.B.Clarke}}
* ''[Leea unifoliolata](/source/Leea_unifoliolata)'' {{small |Merr.}}
* ''[Leea zippeliana](/source/Leea_zippeliana)'' {{small |Miq.}}
{{div col end}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|26em|refs=
<ref name="POWO">{{cite web |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:331705-2 |title=''Leea'' D.Royen |website=[Plants of the World Online](/source/Plants_of_the_World_Online) |publisher=[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew](/source/Royal_Botanic_Gardens%2C_Kew) |access-date=2 November 2025}}</ref>

<ref name="FOA">{{cite web |url=https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Leea |title=''Leea'' D.Royen |last1=Jackes |first1=B.R. |last2=Kodela |first2=P.G. |year=2022 |editor-last1=Kodela |editor-first1=P.G. |website=Flora of Australia |publisher=Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra |access-date=2 November 2025}}</ref>

<ref name="FOC">{{cite web |url=http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=117843 |title=''Leea'' D. Royen ex Linnaeus |website=Flora of China |publisher=Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA. |access-date=2 November 2025}}</ref>

<ref name="MOLINA2013">{{cite journal |last1=Molina |first1=Jeanmaire E. |last2=Wen |first2=Jun |last3=Struwe |first3=Lena |title=Systematics and biogeography of the non-viny grape relative ''Leea'' (Vitaceae) |journal=Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society |date=2013 |volume=171 |issue=2 |pages=354–376 |doi= 10.1111/j.1095-8339.2012.01320.x }}</ref>
}}

== External links ==
*{{Commons category-inline}}
*{{Wikispecies-inline}}
{{AfricanPlants|Leea}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q2669468}}

Category:Leea
Category:Vitaceae genera

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Leea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leea) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leea?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.