Kubitzkia
Encyclopedia
Kubitzia is an american neotropical flowering plant
genus
in the family
Lauraceae
with two species
from South America
.
s up to 25 m high with spicy odor and hermaphrodite
s. The leaves are alternate, entire, elliptical or narrowly elliptical glossy in appearance, pointed oval in shape with an apical mucro, or 'drip tip', which permit the leaves to shed water despite the humidity, allowing perspiration and respiration from plant in wet laurel forest
habitat. The fruit is a berry dispersed mostly by birds. They are present in low and mountain cloud forest in Caribbean islands, Central America, and norther to central South America
. The genus was described by van der Werff published in Taxon 35 (1): 165 in 1986. The type species
is Kubitzkia mezii (Kosterman.) Van der Werff.
, Phyllostemonodaphne
, Systemonodaphne and Urbanodendron
.
Its distribution extends from the islands of the Antilles in the Caribbean throughout the Guianas and the Amazon region but also in the Pacific coastal areas of Colombia. They grow mostly in tropical forests and Andean cloud forest
.
They does not form large stands but rather small groups of trees with a density of up to one individual per five hectares. Due to the low density, exploitation of the natural populations is to the detriment of the rainforest. Overexploitation is ease due to the distribution in inaccessible rainforest regions and its low density, it is very hard to survey population trends in figures, but overexploitation is evident. Proposals of exploitation must be made before overexploitation of nature poblations causes problems for commercial utilisation.
The fruit, a berry, are an important food source for birds, usually this birds are from specialized genus: Cotingidae, Columbidae, Rhamphastidae, Trogonidae, Turdidae, etc. 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 monkey
s, chipmunk
s, porcupine
s, Opossums or fish
es.
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
genus
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...
in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
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...
with two species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
from South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
.
Description
They are evergreen 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 with spicy odor and 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 alternate, entire, elliptical or narrowly elliptical glossy in appearance, pointed oval in shape with an apical mucro, or 'drip tip', which permit the leaves to shed water despite the humidity, allowing perspiration and respiration from plant in wet 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. The fruit is a berry dispersed mostly by birds. They are present in low and mountain cloud forest in Caribbean islands, Central America, and norther to central South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. The genus was described by van der Werff published in Taxon 35 (1): 165 in 1986. The type species
Type 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 Kubitzkia mezii (Kosterman.) Van der Werff.
Ecology
The neotropical genus Kubitzia of the Lauraceae family currently includes 2 species, 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. They are poorly defined botanically. The most known trees are used by the timber industry. The wood has a high commercial value. The genera Kubitzia is closely related to genera DicypelliumDicypellium
Dicypellium is a genus of two species of flowering plants in the family Lauraceae, native to tropical South America, in Amazon Basin.Diagnostic characters: they are trees, with the flowers not involucrated, ovary superior, nine or fewer fertile stamens, anthers four-locular and nine tepals, and the...
, Phyllostemonodaphne
Phyllostemonodaphne
Phyllostemonodaphne is a genus of plant in family Lauraceae. It contains the following species :* Phyllostemonodaphne geminiflora, Kosterm....
, Systemonodaphne and Urbanodendron
Urbanodendron
Urbanodendron is a neotropical genus of plant in Lauraceae family, in South America.-Overview:It is an endangered genus occurring in Brazil, of aromatic dioecious evergreen trees with male and female flowers on separate trees....
.
Its distribution extends from the islands of the Antilles in the Caribbean throughout the Guianas and the Amazon region but also in the Pacific coastal areas of Colombia. They grow mostly in tropical forests and Andean cloud forest
Cloud forest
A cloud forest, also called a fog forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical evergreen montane moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud cover, usually at the canopy level. Cloud forests often exhibit an abundance of mosses covering the ground and...
.
They does not form large stands but rather small groups of trees with a density of up to one individual per five hectares. Due to the low density, exploitation of the natural populations is to the detriment of the rainforest. Overexploitation is ease due to the distribution in inaccessible rainforest regions and its low density, it is very hard to survey population trends in figures, but overexploitation is evident. Proposals of exploitation must be made before overexploitation of nature poblations causes problems for commercial utilisation.
The fruit, a berry, are an important food source for birds, usually this birds are from specialized genus: Cotingidae, Columbidae, Rhamphastidae, Trogonidae, Turdidae, etc. 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 monkey
Monkey
A monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys...
s, chipmunk
Chipmunk
Chipmunks are small striped squirrels native to North America and Asia. They are usually classed either as a single genus with three subgenera, or as three genera.-Etymology and taxonomy:...
s, porcupine
Porcupine
Porcupines are rodents with a coat of sharp spines, or quills, that defend or camouflage them from predators. They are indigenous to the Americas, southern Asia, and Africa. Porcupines are the third largest of the rodents, behind the capybara and the beaver. Most porcupines are about long, with...
s, Opossums or fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
es.
Selected species
- Kubitzkia macrantha (Kosterm.) van der Werff
- Kubitzkia mezii (Kosterm.) van der Werff
External links
- Funk, V., T. Hollowell, P. Berry, C. Kelloff, and S.N. Alexander 2007. Checklist of the Plants of the Guiana Shield (Venezuela: Amazonas, Bolivar, Delta Amacuro; Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana). Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 55: 1–584.