Litsea japonica

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

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Description

Family Lauraceae

Shrubs to tall trees , evergreen or rarely deciduous ( Cassytha a parasitic vine with leaves reduced to scales ), usually aromatic . Leaves alternate, rarely whorled or opposite, simple , without stipules, petiolate . Leaf blade : unlobed (unlobed or lobed in Sassafras ), margins entire, occasionally with domatia (crevices or hollows serving as lodging for mites ) in axils of main lateral veins (in Cinnamomum ) . Inflorescences in axils of leaves or deciduous bracts, panicles (rarely heads ), racemes , compound cymes, or pseudoumbels (spikes in Cassytha ), sometimes enclosed by decussate bracts. Flowers bisexual or unisexual , bisexual only, or staminate and pistillate on different plants , or staminate and bisexual on some plants, pistillate and bisexual on others; flowers usually yellow to greenish or white, rarely reddish; hypanthium well developed, resembling calyx tube , tepals and stamens perigynous; tepals 6(-9), in 2(-3) whorls of 3, sepaloid , equal or rarely unequal, if unequal then usually outer 3 smaller than inner 3 (occasionally absent in Litsea ) ; stamens (3-) 9(-12), in whorls of 3, but 1 or more whorls frequently staminodial or absent; stamens of 3d whorl with 2 glands near base ; anthers 2- or 4-locular, locules opening by valves ; pistil 1, 1-carpellate; ovary 1-locular; placentation basal; ovule 1; stigma subsessile , discoid or capitate. Fruits drupes, drupe borne on pedicel with or without persistent tepals at base, or seated in ± deeply cup-shaped receptacle (cupule), or enclosed in accrescent floral tube . Seed 1; endosperm absent.

Genera ca. 50, species 2000-3000 (9 genera, 13 species in the flora ) : pantropical , a few species also in subtropical and temperate regions

Cassytha is sometimes placed in its own family , Cassythaceae; it is here retained in Lauraceae.[1]

Genus Litsea

Shrubs [or trees ], deciduous [or evergreen ]. Leaves alternate, not aromatic . Leaf blade pinnately veined, rarely with 3 primary veins, leathery; surfaces glabrous or variously pubescent ; domatia absent. Inflorescences appearing with or before new leaves, axillary , pseudoumbels, subtended by decussate bracts. Flowers unisexual , staminate and pistillate on different plants ; tepals deciduous, yellow, green, or white, equal, glabrous. Staminate flowers : stamens 9 (or 12) ; anthers 4-locular, 4-valved, introrse . Pistillate flowers: staminodes 9 (or 12) ; ovary globose . Drupe red, globose, seated in small, single-rimmed cupule.

Species ca. 400: North America, Mexico, Central America, mostly in Asia.

Mexico has four species of Litsea, one of which extends to Costa Rica in Central America. Litsea merits revision and, as accepted here, it is probably polyphyletic. It is very similar to Lindera and best recognized by its 4-locular anthers (2-locular in Lindera ).[2]

Physical Description

Biology

Growth

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b. (map)

Taxonomy

Notes

A tentatively accepted name in the RHS Horticultural Database.

Similar Species

Members of the genus Litsea

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 5 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

L. aestivalis (Pondspice) · L. californica (California Bay Tree) · L. cubeba (Litsea) · L. glutinosa (Indian-Laurel) · L. japonica (Litsea)

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

• Flora of Japan: in English: combined, much revised and extended translation / by the author of his Flora of Japan (1953) and Flora of Japan, Pteridophyta (1957); edited by Frederick G. Meyer and Egbert H. Walker. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1965. url p. 2, p. 473.
• Hortus Mortolensis: enumeratio plantarum in Horto Mortolensi cultarum = Alphabetical catalogue of plants growing in the garden of the late Sir Thomas Hanbury. .. at La Mortola, Ventimiglia, Italy / compiled by Alwin Berger. London: West, Newman, 1912. url p. 316.
• Johnson's Gardeners' dictionary and cultural instructor. London, A. T. De La Mare printing and publishing co., ltd.[1916] url p. 851.
• The Gardeners' chronicle: a weekly illustrated journal of horticulture and allied subjects. London: [Gardeners Chronicle], 1874-1955. url p. 169, p. 45, p. 68.
• The Journal of the College of Science, Imperial University of Tokyo, Japan = Tokyo Teikoku Daigaku kiyo. Rika. Tokyo, Japan: The University, 1898-1925. url p. 177, p. 549.
• The illustrated dictionary of gardening, a practical and scientific encyclopedia of horticulture for gardeners and botanists. Ed. by George Nicholson. Assisted by Professor J. W. H. Trail and J. Garrett. London: L. U. Gill, [1884]-89. url p. 287.
• Wood, C. E. Jr. 1958. The genera of the woody Ranales in the southeastern United States. J. Arnold Arbor. 39: 296-346.

Notes

Contributors

• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 11, 2012.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal December 04, 2007:

• National Institute of Genetics, ROIS, Herbarium Specimens of Museum of Nature and Human Activities, Hyogo Pref., Japan

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 3479902
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 15552655
• Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:465755-1
• International Plant Names Index (IPNI) ID: 465755-1
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 750650

Footnotes

1. Henk van der Werff "Lauraceae". in Flora of North America Vol. 3. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
2. Henk van der Werff "Litsea". in Flora of North America Vol. 3. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.