Aspidostemon
Encyclopedia
Aspidostemon is a botanical genus
of flowering plants belonging to the family Lauraceae
. It is present from Madagascar
.
is Aspidostemon perrieri (Danguy) Rohwer.
They are known mostly from collections made during the last 20 years by staff of the Missouri Botanical Garden and their collaborators. A small number of collections were studied by Rohwer and Richter. Overall, the number of collections available is not large. The identification was done at the Missouri Botanical Garden.
In a recent generic classification of Lauraceae based on DNA sequence data by Chanderbali et al. in 2001, was found to be part of a strongly supported clade that also includes Beilschmiedia
, Potameia
, Endiandra
and Cryptocarya
.
Because of the special lack of worldwide knowledge about the family lauraceae
in general, very little is known about their diversity. The knowledge of this family to national level, is that to be expected in countries with limited economic means with the vast majority of species indeterminate or even poorly determined. On the other hand, a high percentage of recently described new species come from collections made in these countries. Therefore an increase in the study of family, at national level, is of utmost importance for the progress of the systematics of the family in general. Recent monographs of genera of lauraceae in small and medium genus, up to 100 species, have produced an high increase in the number of known species. This high increase in the number of species is expected for other genus, particularly for those with more than 150 species recorded, bringing an expected considerable increase in the total number of species of the family.
s up to 25 m high, hermaphrodite
s. The leaves are entire, elliptical or narrowly elliptical. The fruit is a berry dispersed mostly by birds. Aspidostemon species are no exception among the Lauraceae; trees with small flowers, hard to detect and collect and often overlooked or ignored when plants easier to collect or with showier flowers are at hand.
Aspidostemon, endemic to Madagascar
, is a genus characterized by its opposite leaves, flowers with three or six two-locular stamens and a fruit which is completely enclosed in the enlarged hypanthium with
persistent floral parts attached to the top of the fruit. The genus was described by Rohwer & Richter in 1987; they recognized 11 species, but today 28 species are accepted, one species is transferred from Cryptocarya to Aspidostemon, one is excluded from Aspidostemon and one is listed as incompletely known because the type specimen is sterile. Some species are endangered or almost extinct. Based
on a combination of wood anatomical, vegetative and floral characters, noted by such earlier botanists as Kostermans in 1957, the species of genus Aspidostemon were placed formerly as belonging to subgenera Hexanthera and Trianthera of Cryptocarya
.
laurel forest
habitat
s in Madagascar
and nearest islands and restricted to this region. They belong to an ancient isolated Gondwanian element of Laurales
.
A great number of species are in danger of extinction due to over exploitation as timber extraction and also for loss of habitat.
They are leafy canopy trees with erect or spreading branches. It grows to heights of up to 25 metres some species 40 m. and have stout trunk
s up to 1 metre in diameter. Aspidostemon is easily recognizable by its bark which is soft and cheese-like. The thick, leathery leaves are dark green. The leaves are glossy laurel type.
The leaves of Aspidostemon species are not infrequently acuminate, with an acumen that is folded
into a short tube, not flat. On opening a few of these inrolled apices, it is noticed egg-cases similar to those found in leaf domatia; epiphyllous hepatics were also found. It seems that these inrolled apices function as domatia and shelter mites that clean the leaves.
The forests are made up of laurel-leaved evergreen
hardwood
tree
s, harbouring a rich biota
of understorey plants, invertebrate
s, reptil
es, bird
s and mammal
s. The species of Aspidostemon genus require continuously moist soil, and do not tolerate drought.
Trees or shrubs, monoicous. The ecological requirements of the genus, are those of the laurel forest
and like most of their counterparts laurifolia in the world, they are vigorous species with a great ability to populate the habitat that is conducive. Aspidostemon genus respond to characteristic formations of laurel forest
. The natural habitat is rainforest which are cloud-covered for much of the year. These species are found in forests that face threats of destruction by human deforestation
. It could caused the extinction of the genus across the restricted region area, resulting in the present distribution. Some species are in danger of extinction due to loss of habitat.
Aspidostemon is a genus of great ecological importance. It is present in coastal low rainforest and montane rainforest, laurel forest
, in the Weed-tree forests in valleys, mixed forests of coniferous and deciduous broad-leaved trees. Originally from Madagascar
.
The differences are ecological adaptations to different environments over a relatively dry-wet climate. Species in less humid environment are smaller or less robust, with less abundant and thinner foliage and have oleifera cells that give trees a more fragrant aroma.
The most known trees are used by the timber industry. In this genus the wood of some species are having a high commercial value.
The species forming this genus share a unique paniculate inflorescence with the ultimate divisions that are not quite cymose; that is, the lateral flowers of what looks like a cyme are not strictly opposite, but tend to be subopposite, while in most genera of Lauraceae with paniculate inflorescences the lateral flowers in a cyme are strictly opposite. Most species of Aspidostemon have
small, few-flowered inflorescences, but in a few species, such as A. glandulosum, inflorescences are sufficiently large and branched that one can observe the inflorescence type is that found in the Beilschmiedia
. Aspidostemon is related to the Beilschmiedia clade and that, based on the presence of fruit included in the enlarged hypanthium, it is yet most closely related to Cryptocarya
thought the similarity in fruit structure, in both Aspidostemon and Cryptocarya the fruit is enclosed in the enlarged hypanthium, might be a parallel development and not a signal of common ancestry.
The fruit, a berry, is an important food source for birds, usually this birds are from specialized genus. Birds eat the whole fruit and regurgitate seeds intact, expanding the seeds in the best conditions for germination (ornitochory
). In some species the seed dispersal
is carried out by mammal
s.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of flowering plants belonging to the family Lauraceae
Lauraceae
The Lauraceae or Laurel family comprises a group of flowering plants included in the order Laurales. The family contains about 55 genera and over 3500, perhaps as many as 4000, species world-wide, mostly from warm or tropical regions, especially Southeast Asia and South America...
. It is present from Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
.
Overview
The genus was described by Gunter Jens Rohwer & HGRicht. Published in Jahrbuch für Botanische Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte Pflanzengeographie und 109 (1): 74 in 1987. The type speciesType species
In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...
is Aspidostemon perrieri (Danguy) Rohwer.
They are known mostly from collections made during the last 20 years by staff of the Missouri Botanical Garden and their collaborators. A small number of collections were studied by Rohwer and Richter. Overall, the number of collections available is not large. The identification was done at the Missouri Botanical Garden.
In a recent generic classification of Lauraceae based on DNA sequence data by Chanderbali et al. in 2001, was found to be part of a strongly supported clade that also includes Beilschmiedia
Beilschmiedia
Beilschmiedia is a genus of trees and shrubs in family Lauraceae. Most of its species grow in tropical climates, but a few of them are native to temperate regions, and they are widespread in tropical Asia, Africa, Madagascar, Australia, New Zealand, North America, Central America, the Caribbean,...
, Potameia
Potameia
Potameia is a genus of plant in family Lauraceae. It contains the following species :* Potameia lotungensis, Kim Dao...
, Endiandra
Endiandra
Endiandra is a genus of approximately 100 species of plants, mainly trees in the laurel family Lauraceae. They have a broad distribution across South East Asia, Australia and into the western Pacific Ocean....
and Cryptocarya
Cryptocarya
Cryptocarya is a genus of evergreen trees belonging to the Laurel family, Lauraceae. The genus includes more than 350 species, distributed through the Neotropic, Afrotropic, Indomalaya, and Australasia ecozones.-Overview:...
.
Because of the special lack of worldwide knowledge about the family lauraceae
Lauraceae
The Lauraceae or Laurel family comprises a group of flowering plants included in the order Laurales. The family contains about 55 genera and over 3500, perhaps as many as 4000, species world-wide, mostly from warm or tropical regions, especially Southeast Asia and South America...
in general, very little is known about their diversity. The knowledge of this family to national level, is that to be expected in countries with limited economic means with the vast majority of species indeterminate or even poorly determined. On the other hand, a high percentage of recently described new species come from collections made in these countries. Therefore an increase in the study of family, at national level, is of utmost importance for the progress of the systematics of the family in general. Recent monographs of genera of lauraceae in small and medium genus, up to 100 species, have produced an high increase in the number of known species. This high increase in the number of species is expected for other genus, particularly for those with more than 150 species recorded, bringing an expected considerable increase in the total number of species of the family.
Description
They are shrubs or treeTree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s up to 25 m high, hermaphrodite
Hermaphrodite
In biology, a hermaphrodite is an organism that has reproductive organs normally associated with both male and female sexes.Many taxonomic groups of animals do not have separate sexes. In these groups, hermaphroditism is a normal condition, enabling a form of sexual reproduction in which both...
s. The leaves are entire, elliptical or narrowly elliptical. The fruit is a berry dispersed mostly by birds. Aspidostemon species are no exception among the Lauraceae; trees with small flowers, hard to detect and collect and often overlooked or ignored when plants easier to collect or with showier flowers are at hand.
Aspidostemon, endemic to Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
, is a genus characterized by its opposite leaves, flowers with three or six two-locular stamens and a fruit which is completely enclosed in the enlarged hypanthium with
persistent floral parts attached to the top of the fruit. The genus was described by Rohwer & Richter in 1987; they recognized 11 species, but today 28 species are accepted, one species is transferred from Cryptocarya to Aspidostemon, one is excluded from Aspidostemon and one is listed as incompletely known because the type specimen is sterile. Some species are endangered or almost extinct. Based
on a combination of wood anatomical, vegetative and floral characters, noted by such earlier botanists as Kostermans in 1957, the species of genus Aspidostemon were placed formerly as belonging to subgenera Hexanthera and Trianthera of Cryptocarya
Cryptocarya
Cryptocarya is a genus of evergreen trees belonging to the Laurel family, Lauraceae. The genus includes more than 350 species, distributed through the Neotropic, Afrotropic, Indomalaya, and Australasia ecozones.-Overview:...
.
Ecology
Aspidostemon have the large trees characteristics of Rainforest in montaneMontane
In biogeography, montane is the highland area located below the subalpine zone. Montane regions generally have cooler temperatures and often have higher rainfall than the adjacent lowland regions, and are frequently home to distinct communities of plants and animals.The term "montane" means "of the...
laurel forest
Laurel forest
Laurel forest is a subtropical or mild temperate forest, found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable and mild temperatures. They are characterized by tree species with evergreen, glossy, enlongated leaves, known as laurophyll or lauroide...
habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
s in Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
and nearest islands and restricted to this region. They belong to an ancient isolated Gondwanian element of Laurales
Laurales
The Laurales are an order of flowering plants. They are magnoliids, related to the Magnoliales.The order includes about 2500-2800 species from 85-90 genera, which comprise seven families of trees and shrubs. Most of the species are tropical and subtropical, though a few genera reach the temperate...
.
A great number of species are in danger of extinction due to over exploitation as timber extraction and also for loss of habitat.
They are leafy canopy trees with erect or spreading branches. It grows to heights of up to 25 metres some species 40 m. and have stout trunk
Trunk (botany)
In botany, trunk refers to the main wooden axis of a tree that supports the branches and is supported by and directly attached to the roots. The trunk is covered by the bark, which is an important diagnostic feature in tree identification, and which often differs markedly from the bottom of the...
s up to 1 metre in diameter. Aspidostemon is easily recognizable by its bark which is soft and cheese-like. The thick, leathery leaves are dark green. The leaves are glossy laurel type.
The leaves of Aspidostemon species are not infrequently acuminate, with an acumen that is folded
into a short tube, not flat. On opening a few of these inrolled apices, it is noticed egg-cases similar to those found in leaf domatia; epiphyllous hepatics were also found. It seems that these inrolled apices function as domatia and shelter mites that clean the leaves.
The forests are made up of laurel-leaved evergreen
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
hardwood
Hardwood
Hardwood is wood from angiosperm trees . It may also be used for those trees themselves: these are usually broad-leaved; in temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen.Hardwood contrasts with softwood...
tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s, harbouring a rich biota
Biota (ecology)
Biota are the total collection of organisms of a geographic region or a time period, from local geographic scales and instantaneous temporal scales all the way up to whole-planet and whole-timescale spatiotemporal scales. The biota of the Earth lives in the biosphere.-See...
of understorey plants, invertebrate
Invertebrate
An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...
s, reptil
Reptil
Reptil is a character from Marvel Comics. He is best known as a supporting member on The Super Hero Squad Show and a member of Avengers Academy in the comics.-Fictional character biography:...
es, bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s and mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
s. The species of Aspidostemon genus require continuously moist soil, and do not tolerate drought.
Trees or shrubs, monoicous. The ecological requirements of the genus, are those of the laurel forest
Laurel forest
Laurel forest is a subtropical or mild temperate forest, found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable and mild temperatures. They are characterized by tree species with evergreen, glossy, enlongated leaves, known as laurophyll or lauroide...
and like most of their counterparts laurifolia in the world, they are vigorous species with a great ability to populate the habitat that is conducive. Aspidostemon genus respond to characteristic formations of laurel forest
Laurel forest
Laurel forest is a subtropical or mild temperate forest, found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable and mild temperatures. They are characterized by tree species with evergreen, glossy, enlongated leaves, known as laurophyll or lauroide...
. The natural habitat is rainforest which are cloud-covered for much of the year. These species are found in forests that face threats of destruction by human deforestation
Deforestation
Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....
. It could caused the extinction of the genus across the restricted region area, resulting in the present distribution. Some species are in danger of extinction due to loss of habitat.
Aspidostemon is a genus of great ecological importance. It is present in coastal low rainforest and montane rainforest, laurel forest
Laurel forest
Laurel forest is a subtropical or mild temperate forest, found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable and mild temperatures. They are characterized by tree species with evergreen, glossy, enlongated leaves, known as laurophyll or lauroide...
, in the Weed-tree forests in valleys, mixed forests of coniferous and deciduous broad-leaved trees. Originally from Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
.
The differences are ecological adaptations to different environments over a relatively dry-wet climate. Species in less humid environment are smaller or less robust, with less abundant and thinner foliage and have oleifera cells that give trees a more fragrant aroma.
The most known trees are used by the timber industry. In this genus the wood of some species are having a high commercial value.
The species forming this genus share a unique paniculate inflorescence with the ultimate divisions that are not quite cymose; that is, the lateral flowers of what looks like a cyme are not strictly opposite, but tend to be subopposite, while in most genera of Lauraceae with paniculate inflorescences the lateral flowers in a cyme are strictly opposite. Most species of Aspidostemon have
small, few-flowered inflorescences, but in a few species, such as A. glandulosum, inflorescences are sufficiently large and branched that one can observe the inflorescence type is that found in the Beilschmiedia
Beilschmiedia
Beilschmiedia is a genus of trees and shrubs in family Lauraceae. Most of its species grow in tropical climates, but a few of them are native to temperate regions, and they are widespread in tropical Asia, Africa, Madagascar, Australia, New Zealand, North America, Central America, the Caribbean,...
. Aspidostemon is related to the Beilschmiedia clade and that, based on the presence of fruit included in the enlarged hypanthium, it is yet most closely related to Cryptocarya
Cryptocarya
Cryptocarya is a genus of evergreen trees belonging to the Laurel family, Lauraceae. The genus includes more than 350 species, distributed through the Neotropic, Afrotropic, Indomalaya, and Australasia ecozones.-Overview:...
thought the similarity in fruit structure, in both Aspidostemon and Cryptocarya the fruit is enclosed in the enlarged hypanthium, might be a parallel development and not a signal of common ancestry.
The fruit, a berry, is an important food source for birds, usually this birds are from specialized genus. Birds eat the whole fruit and regurgitate seeds intact, expanding the seeds in the best conditions for germination (ornitochory
Biological dispersal
Biological dispersal refers to species movement away from an existing population or away from the parent organism. Through simply moving from one habitat patch to another, the dispersal of an individual has consequences not only for individual fitness, but also for population dynamics, population...
). In some species the seed dispersal
Seed dispersal
Seed dispersal is the movement or transport of seeds away from the parent plant. Plants have limited mobility and consequently rely upon a variety of dispersal vectors to transport their propagules, including both abiotic and biotic vectors. Seeds can be dispersed away from the parent plant...
is carried out by mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
s.
Selected species
- Aspidostemon andohahelense van der Werff
- Aspidostemon andohahelensis van der Werff
- Aspidostemon antongilense van der Werff
- Aspidostemon antongilensis van der Werff
- Aspidostemon apiculatum van der Werff