Ocotea: Difference between revisions
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* ''[[Ocotea cuneifolia]]'' |
* ''[[Ocotea cuneifolia]]'' |
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* ''[[Ocotea cuprea]]'' |
* ''[[Ocotea cuprea]]'' |
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* ''[[Ocotea cymbarum]]'' (often |
* ''[[Ocotea cymbarum]]'' (often included in ''O. odorifera'') |
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* ''[[Ocotea dendrodaphne]]'' |
* ''[[Ocotea dendrodaphne]]'' |
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* ''[[Ocotea diospyrifolia]]'' <small>([[Meisn.]]) [[Mez]]</small> |
* ''[[Ocotea diospyrifolia]]'' <small>([[Meisn.]]) [[Mez]]</small> |
Revision as of 00:49, 16 June 2008
Ocotea | |
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Tilo (Ocotea foetens) in Terra Chã (Azores). | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | |
Division: | |
(unranked): | |
Order: | |
Family: | |
Genus: | Ocotea
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Species | |
Over 200, see text | |
Synonyms | |
Bellota Gay |
Ocotea is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Lauraceae. The genus includes over 200 species of evergreen trees and shrubs, distributed mostly in tropical and subtropical regions of Central and South America, the West Indies, also with a few species in Africa and Madagascar, and one, O. foetens (Til or Tilo), native to the islands of Macaronesia.
There is no standard common name for the genus as a whole; some more or less ambiguous terms are used instead which all refer to Ocotea wood's aromatic, sometimes even nauseatingly pungent smell. Sweetwood is perhaps the best term, as it is hardly ever used for other plants[1]. "Camphorwood" is usually Cinnamomum camphora (a close relative of Ocotea), whereas "rosewoods" are normally Dalbergia or related Fabaceae (which are not closely related to Ocotea). "Stinkwood" can refer to any number of quite unrelated trees with bad-smelling wood. Common names of some species refer to their similarity to other Lauraceae such as laurel or sassafras.
Ecology and uses
Ocotea species are characteristic plants of many montane habitats in the Tropics. Climatically they are generally subtropic rather than fully tropic, occurring in the warmest parts of the Earth preferentially at higher altitudes. They are characteristic members of ecological communities like many Afromontane biomes, Araucaria moist forests, Knysna-Amatole montane forests, Laurisilva and Talamancan montane forests, but also Madagascar lowland forests.
Caterpillars of the enigmatic hawkmoth Adhemarius dariensis are suspected to feed on O. atirrensis, O. dendrodaphne and O. veraguensis. The chalcid wasp Aprostocetus bahiensis is found on and about O. opoifera; it may be that its larvae feed on the tree, but it is more likely that they are parasitoids of some undetermined pest of the tree.
Use by humans
Plants of the genus produce essential oils, and Peruvian Rosewood (O. cernua), Brazilian Sassafras (O. odorifera) and East African Camphorwood (O. usambarensis) are traded internationally.
These oils are rich in camphor and safrole; a common trade name for South American produce is "Ocotea cymbarum oil", which has led to confusion whether that name is a junior synonym of Brazilian Sassafras or a distinct species with different properties. This oil is used as a source of safrole in the production of the party drug Methylenedioxymethamphetamine ("Ecstasy").
A few species are harvested for commercial timber, including O. puberula of Central and South America and Black Stinkwood or True Stinkwood (O. bullata) of South Africa.
Sweetwoods make useful honey plants. Most frequently Brazilian Sassafras and O. kuhlmanni are employed for this purpose.
Selected species[2]
Delimitation to Nectandra and other close relatives is problematic. Povedadaphne may belong into the present genus.
Formerly placed here
- Chlorocardium rodiei (Bibiru, "greenheart"), as Ocotea rodiei
- Nectandra coriacea, as O. catesbyana, O. coriacea
See also
Footnotes
References
- United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) (2008a): Germplasm Resources Information Network - Ocotea. Retrieved 2008-APR-01.
- United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) (2008b): USDA Plants Profile: Ocotea. Retrieved 2008-APR-01.