cupimus

Cupimus is a fictional genus of plants created for educational demonstrations of biological classification. It is not a real genus and has no living or fossil specimens. In didactic uses, Cupimus serves to illustrate how a genus is placed within higher taxonomic ranks and how species are named using binomial nomenclature.

Taxonomy: In the educational construct, Cupimus is placed in the family Cupimaceae, order Rosales, class Magnoliopsida, division Angiospermae, kingdom Plantae. The type species is Cupimus exemplaris. A typical species in the imagined taxonomy is Cupimus exemplar, which features an evergreen shrub habit, opposite leaves, white pentamerous flowers, and a dry capsule fruit.

Morphology: Members are described as small to medium shrubs, with simple, leathery leaves; flowers with five petals, five sepals, and a tubular hypanthium in some renditions; fruit a dehiscent capsule.

Distribution and ecology: The fictitious genus is described as native to temperate Mediterranean climates in educational sources; pollination described as by native bees; seed dispersal via wind or gravity depending on species.

History and usage: Cupimus was created by educators to demonstrate taxonomy and nomenclature. It is often used in problem sets and diagrams; references are fictional and limited to teaching materials.