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PLEOMELE NO MORE

Actually, N.E. Brown reinstated the genus Pleomele Salisbury in 1914 for
the majority of Dracaenas known at the time. Most botanists do not
recognize the genus as distinct, however. Even Brown admitted there were
species intermediate between the genera as he defined them. Surprisingly,
the generic name is still used for some species in the horticultural trade.
Pleomele reflexa (Lamarck) N.E. Brown (= Dracaena reflexa Lamarck), for
example. Ironically, the type species for the genus Pleomele, Dracaena
fragrans (L.) Ker-Gawler, is never labled as a Pleomele. The generic named
should be dropped.

Hawaiian botanists have consistently included their native yellow flowered
Dracaenas in Pleomele but they also should be returned to Dracaena. They
form a distinctive group of species with flowers adapted to bird
pollination and quite different from the moth pollinated flowers of
Pleomele as the genus was originally defined.

The genus Pleomele is based on the Greek "pleon" for many and "melon" for
apple, in allusion to the many small red fruits the plants produce. The
name has nothing to do with honey, despite what some have suggested.

References

Bos, J.J. (1984) DRACAENA IN WEST AFRICA. Agricultural University
Wageningen. The Netherlands.

Brown, N.E. (1914) NOTES ON THE GENERA CORDYLINE, DRACAENA, PLEOMELE,
SANSEVIERIA AND TAETSIA. Kew Bulletin 1914 (8): 273-279, 4 figs.
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