Scientific Note: Floral Variation And Diagnosis Of Richardia (Rubiaceae) In The Carolinas

The genus Richardia (Rubiaceae) is represented in the Carolinas by two often weedy species—R. brasiliensis Gomes and R. scabra L. (the former an introduced species native to central South America and the latter presumed native to the southeastern United States). Exceedingly similar vegetatively (Lewis and Oliver 1974), the two species have been distinguished primarily by fruit (Lewis and Oliver 1974) or fruit and corolla characters (Small 1933, Radford et al. 1968).