'''Avicennia''' is a
genus of
mangrove tree. As with other mangroves, it occurs in the intertidal zones of estuarine areas, and has the characteristic
aerial roots of mangroves. Species of ''Avicennia'' occur worldwide south of the
Tropic of Cancer.
The taxonomic placement of ''Avicennia'' is contentious. In some classifications it has been placed in the family
Verbenaceae, but more recently has been placed by some botanists in the monogeneric family 'Avicenniaceae'. Recent phylogenetic studies have suggested that ''Avicennia'' is derived from within
Acanthaceae, and the genus is included in that family in the
Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system.
Designation of species is made difficult by the great variations in form of ''
Avicennia marina''. Between eight and ten species are usually recognised, with ''Avicennia marina'' further divided into a number of subspecies.
The name ''Avicennia'' is named in honour of the
Persian physician Avicenna.
;Species
★ ''
Avicennia alba''
★ ''
Avicennia bicolor''
★ ''
Avicennia eucalyptifolia''
★ ''
Avicennia germinans''
★ ''
Avicennia integra''
★ ''
Avicennia marina''
★ ''
Avicennia officinalis''
★ ''
Avicennia rumphiana''
★ ''
Avicennia schaueriana''
References
★
Forest Trees of Australia (Fourth edition revised and enlarged), Boland, D. J. ''et al.'', , , CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Victoria, Australia, 1984, ISBN 0-643-05423-5 .
★
A Systematic Revision of the Mangrove Genus ''Avicennia'' (Avicenniaceae) in Australasia, Duke, N.C., , , Australian Systematic Botany, 1991
★ Schwarzbach, Andrea E. and McDade, Lucinda A. 2002. Phylogenetic Relationships of the Mangrove Family Avicenniaceae Based on Chloroplast and Nuclear Ribosomal DNA Sequences. ''Systematic Botany'' 27: 84-98 (abstract
here).