Franklinia
| Franklinia Conservation status: Extinct in the wild | ||||||||||||||
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| Franklinia alatamaha Bartr. ex Marshall |
Franklinia is a monotypic genus in the family Theaceae, previously native to only the single valley of the Altamaha River in Georgia in the southeastern United States. It is now extinct in the wild due to a fungal disease imported when infected cotton plants were grown in the area. However, seeds were collected and grown in cultivation before this happened, and these cultivated plants have saved the species from complete extinction.
The species, Franklinia alatamaha, is a deciduous large shrub or small tree growing to 10 m tall.
Some botanists include Franklinia within the closely related genus Gordonia; the species of Gordonia differ in having evergreen foliage and flowers with longer stems.
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Categories: Ericales | Plant stubs