Phoebe (plant)
Encyclopedia
Phoebe is a genus of evergreen
trees and shrubs belonging to the Laurel family, Lauraceae
.
.
The first description of the genusPhoebemade in 1836 by Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck
in Systema Laurinarum, p. 98 type species
is Phoebe lanceolata (Nees).
Phoebe species are evergreen shrub
or Trees
with pinnately leaves. The hermaphroditic flowers are grouped in branched inflorescences. The flowers are white, small and fragrant and are arranged in terminal inflorescences in the form of panicles. The bracts are all equal or the outer slightly shorter than the inner ones. The Ovary
is oval to spherical. The stigma is capitate or bowl-shaped.
The fruits are enveloped by the enlarged bracts. Fruits are usually oval to spherical. the fruit, a berry have an only seed dispersed frequently by birds.
in tropical mountain cloud 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. The natural habitat is rainforest which are cloud-covered for much of the year. The species are found in forests that face threats of destruction by human deforestation
.
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.
A related vegetal community evolved millions of years ago on the supercontinent of Gondwana
, and species of this community are now found on several separate areas of the Southern Hemisphere
, including South America
, Africa
, New Zealand
, Australia
and New Caledonia
. These lauroide leaves plant communities are twofold to tropical climate and temperate climate, having the more temperate climate their origin in the named Antarctic flora
.
The genus phoebe is reported for Asia and America, currently includes 100 species, classified into tropical and subtropical south and south east Asia; 35 species in China with endemic species. They have a broad distribution across Norther South America, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Central America from Mexico to Panamá across Costa Rica, South East Asia
, India
, China
, Philippines
, Australia
, Borneo
, Papua New Guinea
and into the western Pacific Ocean
. The genus is threatened by habitat loss. Exploitation of the natural populations are in detriment of the rainforest. The differences between species 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 Phoebe genus has led to endemic species on islands, widespread geographically by birds. Fruits are fleshy. The fruit, a berry, are an important food source for birds, usually this birds are from specialized genus: Columbidae, 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, rodent
s, Opossums or fish
es.
The main centers are found inhabiting wet lands in tropical or subtropical montane forests
or coastal rainforest or coastal temperate forest in low-altitude.
The fragmentation of once more continuous area facilitated isolation of populations and this likely caused the increase in the rate of speciation.
They grow mostly in tropical forests and cloud forest
, But has also been found in stubbles, pastures, in the coastal ranges and interior in wet areas to dry regions.
The islander Phoebe species can not enduring the bad winter, from continental climate. Those garden cultivated species outside its natural distribution could be killed by continental winter.
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...
trees and shrubs belonging to the Laurel 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...
.
Overview
They are widespread in tropical and subtropical Asia and neotropical America region. There are approximately 100 species in the genus Phoebe, 35 species occur in ChinaChina
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
The first description of the genusPhoebemade in 1836 by Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck
Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck
Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck was a prolific German botanist, physician, zoologist, and natural philosopher. He was a contemporary of Goethe and was born within the lifetime of Linnaeus. He described approximately 7,000 plant species...
in Systema Laurinarum, p. 98 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 Phoebe lanceolata (Nees).
Phoebe species are evergreen shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
or Trees
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...
with pinnately leaves. The hermaphroditic flowers are grouped in branched inflorescences. The flowers are white, small and fragrant and are arranged in terminal inflorescences in the form of panicles. The bracts are all equal or the outer slightly shorter than the inner ones. The Ovary
Ovary
The ovary is an ovum-producing reproductive organ, often found in pairs as part of the vertebrate female reproductive system. Ovaries in anatomically female individuals are analogous to testes in anatomically male individuals, in that they are both gonads and endocrine glands.-Human anatomy:Ovaries...
is oval to spherical. The stigma is capitate or bowl-shaped.
The fruits are enveloped by the enlarged bracts. Fruits are usually oval to spherical. the fruit, a berry have an only seed dispersed frequently by birds.
Ecology
The ecological requirements of the genus, are those of the laurel forestLaurel 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 tropical mountain 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...
, 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. The natural habitat is rainforest which are cloud-covered for much of the year. The 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....
.
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.
A related vegetal community evolved millions of years ago on the supercontinent of Gondwana
Gondwana
In paleogeography, Gondwana , originally Gondwanaland, was the southernmost of two supercontinents that later became parts of the Pangaea supercontinent. It existed from approximately 510 to 180 million years ago . Gondwana is believed to have sutured between ca. 570 and 510 Mya,...
, and species of this community are now found on several separate areas of the Southern Hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
, including 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...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
. These lauroide leaves plant communities are twofold to tropical climate and temperate climate, having the more temperate climate their origin in the named Antarctic flora
Antarctic flora
The Antarctic flora is a distinct community of vascular plants which evolved millions of years ago on the supercontinent of Gondwana, and is now found on several separate areas of the Southern Hemisphere, including southern South America, southernmost Africa, New Zealand, Australia and New Caledonia...
.
The genus phoebe is reported for Asia and America, currently includes 100 species, classified into tropical and subtropical south and south east Asia; 35 species in China with endemic species. They have a broad distribution across Norther South America, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Central America from Mexico to Panamá across Costa Rica, South East Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
, Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
and into the western Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. The genus is threatened by habitat loss. Exploitation of the natural populations are in detriment of the rainforest. The differences between species 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 Phoebe genus has led to endemic species on islands, widespread geographically by birds. Fruits are fleshy. The fruit, a berry, are an important food source for birds, usually this birds are from specialized genus: Columbidae, 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, rodent
Rodent
Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
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.
The main centers are found inhabiting wet lands in tropical or subtropical montane forests
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...
or coastal rainforest or coastal temperate forest in low-altitude.
The fragmentation of once more continuous area facilitated isolation of populations and this likely caused the increase in the rate of speciation.
They grow mostly in tropical forests and 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...
, But has also been found in stubbles, pastures, in the coastal ranges and interior in wet areas to dry regions.
The islander Phoebe species can not enduring the bad winter, from continental climate. Those garden cultivated species outside its natural distribution could be killed by continental winter.
Species
- Phoebe angustifolia
- Phoebe bournei
- Phoebe brachythyrsa
- Phoebe chekiangensisPhoebe chekiangensisPhoebe chekiangensis is a species of plant in the Lauraceae family. It is endemic to China. It is threatened by habitat loss.-Source:* World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. . Downloaded on 23 August 2007....
- Phoebe cinnamomifolia
- Phoebe chinensis
- Phoebe faberi
- Phoebe formosana
- Phoebe forrestii
- Phoebe glaucophylla
- Phoebe hainanensis
- Phoebe hui
- Phoebe hunanensis
- Phoebe hungmaoensis
- Phoebe kwangsiensis
- Phoebe lanceolata
- Phoebe legendrei
- Phoebe lichuanensis
- Phoebe macrocarpa
- Phoebe megacalyx
- Phoebe microphylla
- Phoebe minutiflora
- Phoebe motuonan
- Phoebe nanmuPhoebe nanmuPhoebe nanmu is a species of evergreen tree in the Lauraceae family. It is endemic to southern China and Vietnam. P. nanmu is threatened by habitat loss due primarily to overcutting....
- Phoebe neurantha
- Phoebe neuranthoides
- Phoebe nigrifolia
- Phoebe pandurata
- Phoebe puwenensis
- Phoebe rufescens
- Phoebe sheareri
- Phoebe tavoyana
- Phoebe yaiensis
- Phoebe yunnanensis
- Phoebe zhennanPhoebe zhennanPhoebe zhennan is a species of plant in the Lauraceae family. It is endemic to China. It is threatened by habitat loss.-Source:* World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. . Downloaded on 23 August 2007....