Gnidia orbiculata

• Interesting Facts
• Description
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Interesting Facts

Description

Family Thymelaeaceae

Shrubs or small trees , rarely herbs, evergreen or deciduous. Bark tough and fibrous . Leaves opposite or alternate, rarely some ternate , estipulate; blade simple , entire, pinnately veined, articulate at base . Plants mostly bisexual , sometimes dioecious. Inflorescences terminal or subterminal , less often axillary , sometimes on brachyblasts , sessile or pedunculate , basically racemose, sometimes capitate, spicate , umbelliform, or fascicled. Flowers usually actinomorphic , bisexual or unisexual (plants then mostly dioecious), bracteate (sometimes bracts forming an involucre) or ebracteate , sessile or pedicellate . Calyx tubular , campanulate , or infundibuliform , usually corollalike, 4- or 5(or 6) -merous, mostly caducous , sometimes circumscissile, or persistent ; lobes imbricate. Petals absent or represented by 4-12 scales , inserted at or near throat of calyx tube (Aquilaria) . Stamens 2 to many, usually as many as calyx lobes and opposite them or twice as many. Hypognous disk usually present at base of ovary, scalelike, annular or cup-shaped, sometimes absent. Ovary superior, 1- or 2-loculed, sessile or shortly stipitate ; ovules solitary in each locule, pendulous, anatropous ; style filiform , caducous, sometimes very short or obscure , terminal or eccentric ; stigma capitate, globose , subglobose, subclavate, or pyramidal , sometimes papilose. Fruit mostly indehiscent, dry or fleshy , sometimes a loculicidal capsule (Aquilaria) . Seeds with or without endosperm, embryo straight.

About 48 genera and ca. 650 species: widely distributed in both hemispheres; nine genera and 115 species (89 endemic) in China.

The phloem contains very strong fibers, which make the bark of many species very suitable for the manufacture of high-quality paper such as that used for bank notes . The stems are extremely supple and difficult to break and are used as a substitute for string. Most species are poisonous and some are important medicinally.[1]

Taxonomy

Notes

Publishing author : C.H.Wright Publication : Fl. Cap. (Harvey) 5(2.1): 47 1915 [Apr 1915]

Similar Species

Members of the genus Gnidia

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 1 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

G. polystachya (Gnidia)

More Info

• Search for Pictures: images.google.com
• Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
• Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
• Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books

Further Reading

• Huang Shuchung & Zhang Zerong. 1999. Thymelaeaceae. In: Ku Tsuechih, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 52(1): 287-400.

Notes

Contributors

• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 17, 2012.

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 9418154
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 15881593
• Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:831838-1
• International Plant Names Index (IPNI) ID: 831837-1
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 3710176

Footnotes

1. Yinzheng Wang, Michael G. Gilbert, Brian F. Mathew, Christopher Brickell & Lorin I. Nevling "Thymelaeaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 13 Page 213. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.