What is "isertia"

Isertia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It has 14 species, all indigenous to the neotropics. They are shrubs or small trees. A few are cultivated as ornamentals. The type species for the genus is Isertia coccinea.

Isertia was named by Johann von Schreber in 1789. The generic name honors the German botanist and explorer Paul Erdmann Isert.

Isertia is divided into two sections: I. sect. Cassupa and I. sect. Isertia. In section Cassupa, the fruit is a berry and the ovary usually has two or three locules. In section Isertia, the fruit is a pyrene, and the ovary usually has five or six locules.

Molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that Isertia is most closely related to Kerianthera, a monospecific genus from Amazonian Brazil.