Meliosma littlei

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

Overview

Endangered

Interesting Facts

Description

Family Sabiaceae

Trees , shrubs , or woody climbers , deciduous or evergreen . Leaves alternate, simple or odd pinnately compound ; stipules absent. Inflorescences axillary or terminal , usually in cymes or panicles, or sometimes solitary axillary flowers. Flowers bisexual or polygamous-dioecious, actinomorphic or zygomorphic, small or minute. Sepals (4 or) 5[or 3, 6, or 7], free or united at base , imbricate, equal or unequal. Petals (4 or) 5(or 6) [or 7], imbricate, equal or inner 2 much smaller than outer 3. Stamens (4 or) 5, opposite petals, attached to petals at base or free, all fertile or outer 3 infertile; anthers 2-celled, with narrow connectives or with thick cupular connectives. Disk cupular or annular , small. Ovary superior, sessile, 2(or 3) -loculed, with 1 or 2 half-anatropous ovules per locule. Fruit a drupe or schizocarp, consisting of 1 or 2 mature carpels, 1(or 2) -loculed, indehiscent. Seed 1; endosperm (if present) reduced to a very thin layer; cotyledons duplicate , radicle curved .

Three genera and ca. 80 species: tropical and E Asia, Central and South America; two genera and 46 species (17 endemic) in China.

This family was recently treated by Kubitzki (Fam. Gen. Vasc. Pl. 9: 413-417. 2007) .[1]

Genus Meliosma

Trees or shrubs , evergreen or deciduous. Buds naked, brownish tomentose . Leaves simple or odd pinnate, leaves or leaflets entire or often dentate ; petiole usually thickened at base . Inflorescence terminal , sometimes axillary , a pyramidal panicle, usually profusely flowered but sometimes sparsely so, up to 4 × branched and very large. Flowers numerous , 1-3 mm in diam., hermaphroditic , zygomorphic, sessile or shortly pedicellate . Sepals [3 or](4 or) 5(-9), imbricate, with bracts beneath . Petals 5, imbricate, unequal, 3 outer ones larger, usually suborbicular or reniform , convex , 2 inner ones much smaller, bifid or entire, sometimes 3-lobed, ± adherent to base of filaments of fertile stamens, concealed under outer petals at bud stage. Fertile stamens 2, opposite 2 inner petals; filaments flattened, short, incurved at apex into a cup-shaped connective ; anthers 2-celled, globose or elliptic ; staminodes 3, opposite outer sepals, adherent to their bases. Disk cup-shaped or shallowly cup-shaped, 5-dentate. Ovary sessile, 2(or 3) -loculed, with 1 or 2 ovules per locule. Fruit a drupe, small; mesocarp fleshy ; endocarp stony or crustaceous . Seed ± globose, usually somewhat concave ventrally, without endosperm.

About 50 species: SE Asia, Central and South America; 29 species (ten endemic) in China.

The reader may also wish to refer to Beusekom, Revision of Meliosma (Sabiaceae), section Lorenzanea excepted, living and fossil, geography and phylogeny (Blumea 19: 355-529. 1971).[2]

Habitat

Biome: Terrestrial [3].

Taxonomy

Notes

Publishing author : Cuatrec. Publication : Brittonia xi. 172 (1959).

Similar Species

Members of the genus Meliosma

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 3 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

M. herbertii (Aguacatillo) · M. obtusifolia (Cacaillo) · M. pinnata var. oldhamii (Meliosma)

More Info

• Search for Pictures: images.google.com
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• Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books

Further Reading

• IUCN. 2004. 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 23 November 2004.
• Wu Young-fen & Law Yuh-wu. 1985. Sabiaceae. In: Law Yuh-wu & Lo Hsien-shui, eds., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 47(1): 72-132.
• Beusekom, Revision of Meliosma (Sabiaceae), section Lorenzanea excepted, living and fossil, geography and phylogeny (Blumea 19: 355-529. 1971).

Notes

Contributors

• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 12, 2012.
• IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. . Downloaded on January 28, 2012.
• Mantuano, M. & Pitman, N. 2004. Meliosma littlei. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloadedon 02February2012.

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 5989484
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 15624373
• Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:776257-1
• International Plant Names Index (IPNI) ID: 156694-2
• IUCN ID: 222609
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 1029070

Footnotes

1. Guo Lixiu & Anthony R. Brach "Sabiaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 12 Page 25. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
2. "Meliosma". in Flora of China Vol. 12 Page 25, 32. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
3. Mantuano, M. & Pitman, N. 2004. Meliosma littlei. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 02 February 2012. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.