Altingia excelsa

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Altingia excelsa
Sedgwickia cerasifolia Griffith 1836.jpg

Altingia excelsa

Systematics
Eudicotyledons
Nuclear eudicotyledons
Order : Saxifragales (Saxifragales)
Family : Altingiaceae
Genre : Altingia
Type : Altingia excelsa
Scientific name
Altingia excelsa
Noronha

Altingia excelsa is an evergreen deciduous tree species from the small family of Altingiaceae within the order of saxifrage-like (Saxifragales). It occurs in the eastern Himalayan region and in Southeast Asia . It supplies valuable timber under the trade name “Rasamala”.

description

Vegetative characteristics

The evergreen tree reaches a height of 20–40 (–50) m, in the south of the distribution area even 40–50 (–60) m. There the branch-free shaft can reach a length of 20–35 m and the trunk diameter 80–110 (–200) cm. Trees that are grown outdoors, on the other hand, have a low, rounded habit and only have a poorly developed trunk. The bark is quite smooth, light gray to yellowish or brownish-gray with narrow longitudinal cracks. It peels easily in irregular, long, thin scales.

The young twigs are bare or sparsely yellowish-brown downy-haired, older ones have lenticels . The buds , covered with scales, are narrowly ovate.

The helically arranged leaves have a slender, (1.3–) 2–3.5 (–4) cm long, bald to sparse yellowish-brown downy-haired stem. The petiole usually has a few sessile or short-stalked glandular appendages at its upper end. The simple and undivided, pinnate leaf blade is elliptical, oblong or ovate to ovate-lanceolate in shape and has a length of 6–14 (–17) cm and a width of (2.5–) 4–5.5 (–7 ) cm. It has a broadly wedge-shaped or rounded to almost heart-shaped base and is pointed to pointed at the front, tailed. The spreading edge is notched and sawed like a gland. The thin, leathery blade, lighter on the underside, is bald on top, with minimally yellowish-brown downy hair on the underside, or very rarely velvety hairs. Even with otherwise bare undersides of the spread, there are tufts of hair in the nerve corners. The blade has 5-8 (-10) pairs of lateral nerves. The frail, pfriemlichen Stipules 1-6 mm long and 0.25 to 0.8 mm wide.

Generative characteristics

The sex distribution of the flowers is monoecious, mixed sex ( monoecious ). The unisexual flowers do not have an inflorescence . They are each arranged separately in axillary and / or terminal heads .

The male inflorescences are multi-flowered, ellipsoidal to spherical, 6–10 mm long and 3–6 mm wide heads. They are arranged to 6-14 to about 2–3.5 cm long, yellow " grapes ". The male flowers only consist of numerous non-fused stamens with basifixes, that is, at their base the thick, 0.8–1 mm long, bare stamens attached. These are obovate and 1–1.4 mm long. The two counters trimmed at the top each consist of two pollen sacks and open lengthways with a slit. Between the stamens there are some linear, 0.8–1 mm long leaf organs covered with tiny, fine downy hairs, which are interpreted as bracts .

The similar female inflorescences appear singly or in racemose groups, as well as among the male groups. There are pale pink colored heads with a 2–4 ​​cm long, downy-haired stalk and are surrounded at the base by four bracts ( bracts ). The heads have a diameter of 5–9 mm and consist of (4–) 10–22 interconnected flowers. These contain only half under continuous, two-chambered stamp , consisting of two fused to each other only at the free tip carpels consists and a surrounding, 0.3-0.5 mm high, lobed Diskus and sometimes rudimentary Staminodien . The two tongue-shaped, 3–4 mm long, diverging and often curled, downy-haired styles are furrowed on the inside and have a downward, papillary scar . Each of the two ovary compartments contains numerous ovules on the central angular placenta .

The 20–38.5 mm long stalked, woody fruit stands are spherical to ellipsoidal with a truncated base. They are 14-20 mm long, 15-25 mm wide and almost glabrous. The fruit heads contain (4–) 9–25 individual fruits . These are woody, two-compartment capsule fruits that open in folds with two two-part flaps. They are 8–10 mm long, finely light brown downy haired at the tip and surrounded by a ring of enlarged, hardened discus lobes. The upper part of the style and the staminodes are no longer present in the fruit state. The seeds are abundant in each fruit compartment, but the upper 15-25 are small, irregularly prismatic, wingless, and sterile. Only at most one of the lower seeds is ever fertile. These are brown, obovate, flattened and have narrow winged edges. They are 4.4–6.1 (–6.5) mm long and 2.5–3.5 mm wide. The navel is located centrally on the back of the seed. The seed coat is thick and hard. There is little endosperm .

Altingia excelsa flowers mainly from March to May and can bear fruit all year round, but mainly from June to August. In Malesia there is also a second flowering period in October and November. The flowers appear here together with the new shoots in the course of the change of foliage at the transition from the rainy season to the dry season and vice versa. The species then mainly produces fruit in both seasons in the middle.

Chromosomes

Altingia excelsa has a diploid chromosome set with 2n = 32.

distribution

Altingia excelsa is widespread in several sub-areas in tropical and subtropical Asia. The species occurs in the mountain forests of Sumatra and West Java as well as on the Malay Peninsula in Malaysia . Another sub-area extends from the eastern Himalayan region ( Bhutan , Assam , southeast Tibet ) and southeast Yunnan to Myanmar , where it extends in the south to Mergui . In addition, Altingia excelsa is being planted in the course of reforestation .

Habitat and Ecology

Altingia excelsa

The tree species grows consistently in moist mountain forests at 550–1830 m above sea level . Altingia excelsa occurs as a structurally dominant tree species that towers above the closed canopy. In primeval forests there can be around 10–35 adult individuals per hectare, the wood volume of which can be up to 150 m³ per hectare. However, the tree species was often selected selectively, so that undisturbed conditions are rare today. In Malesia only the reach of the accompanying species podocarpaceae Podocarpus neriifolius and Dacrycarpus imbricatus similar dimensions. Other companion species here belong to the genera Quercus , Schima , Castanopsis , Syzygium , Sloanea , Dysoxylum , Engelhardia , Magnolia and Elaeocarpus .

Altingia excelsa has also been afforested for its valuable wood since 1851, including in Central Java, where the climate is drier than in its natural range. For the growth to be satisfactory, the driest month of the year should have at least 100 mm of precipitation. Afforestation was initially carried out with seedlings from natural regeneration , later also seed beds were created. The seeds are only able to germinate for a short time. After sowing, they germinate quickly in about a week, but the seedlings show little growth for the first few years. Only then does a period of rapid growth follow. Cultivated trees show the fastest growth at an altitude of 600–700 m.

Occasionally, Altingia excelsa is completely defoliated by caterpillars . The trees sprout again quickly after such attacks. Two types of galls have been observed, one caused by a gall mosquito and the other by a gall mite . Gall-like thickening of branches can also be caused by the "mistletoe" species Korthalsella japonica (= K. opuntia , sandalwood ). The mistletoe Viscum stenocarpum (= V. liquidambaricolum auct.) Occurs on the island of Java exclusively on Altingia .

Flower and fruit biology

The construction of the flowers without a display device , with large stigmas and dust-like pollen makes it very likely that the species of the Altingiaceae are mainly pollinated by the wind ( anemophilia ).

The seeds contain oil . Monkeys and birds therefore like to eat them. Ants in particular also like to harvest the seeds. Therefore, although the seeds do not have an elaiosome , they can still be considered myrmekochor . The ants cause problems in tree nurseries , where they can clear seedbeds with Altingia excelsa in a short time.

Taxonomy

The species was described in 1790 by the Spanish botanist Francisco Noroña on the basis of his own collections from the island of Java. It is a posthumous publication of his manuscripts. Altingia excelsa is the type species of the genus Altingia .

Sedgwickia cerasifolia handle. and Liquidambar altingiana flower are synonyms . Some authors, for example in the "Flora of Thailand", also use Altingia siamensis Craib as a synonym for Altingia excelsa . According to R. Govaerts, the species is best placed as Liquidambar excelsa (Noronha) Oken to Liquidambar .

etymology

The specific epithet excelsa ( Latin high ) is derived from the Latin excellere ( protrude ). It refers to the height of this tree species. The genus Altingia is named in honor of Willem Arnold Alting (1724-1800), the governor-general of the Dutch East Indies at the time when the first descriptor Francisco Noroña visited Java.

Sawn trunk of Altingia excelsa

use

Altingia excelsa is under the name "Rasamala" because of its load-bearing capacity and durability one of the most valuable timber tree species in West Java. Wood from Thailand , Laos , Cambodia and Vietnam is also marketed under the same trade name , which according to its origin can actually be assigned to Altingia siamensis . The wood is used in thick trunk dimensions as construction timber for bridge constructions and buildings. Termites are slow to infest old heartwood . Disadvantages of this type of wood are the slow drying and a tendency for the wood sheds and tears open.

The wood has no recognizable or only indistinct growth zone boundaries . The heartwood is brown to red in color and has no color stripes, the sapwood is clearly different in color. The bulk density is 0.6-0.85 kg / dm 3 .

The bark contains an aromatic resin ("Burmese Storax "), which is formed after injuries. It is used as a perfume and as an incense . It is only used locally and not on a large scale.

In West Java, young shoots are eaten as vegetables.

swell

  • Long DG 1987: Family 65. Hamamelidaceae. In: Grierson AJC, Long DG: Flora of Bhutan. Vol. 1 (3). Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, ISBN 0-9504270-6-3 , pp. 468-471.
  • Vink W. 1957: Hamamelidaceae . In: Flora Malesiana. Ser. I, Vol. 5 (3). Botanic Gardens of Indonesia, Bogor, Rijksherbarium, Leyden, pp. 363-379. - p. 376 - online
  • Zhang Zhiyun, Zhang Hongda & Endress PK 2003: Hamamelidaceae. In: Flora of China. Vol. 9: Pittosporaceae through Connaraceae. Science Press, Beijing, Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis, ISBN 1-930723-14-8 , pp. 18-42. - Altingia excelsa - Online

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Long DG 1987 , p. 471.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h Vink W. 1957 , p. 377. - Online
  3. ↑ a b c Ickert-Bond SM, Pigg KB, Wen J. 2007: Comparative infructescence morphology in Altingia (Altingiaceae) and discordance between morphological and molecular phylogenies. American Journal of Botany 94: 1094-1115. - doi : 10.3732 / ajb.94.7.1094
  4. ^ Altingia excelsa at Tropicos.org. In: IPCN Chromosome Reports . Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, accessed June 2, 2014.
  5. ↑ a b c d Vink W. 1957 , p. 378. - Online
  6. ↑ Endress PK 1993: Hamamelidaceae. In: Kubitzki K., Rohwer JG, Bittrich V. (Ed.): The families and genera of Vascular Plants. Vol. II: Flowering Plants: Dicotyledons: Magnoliid, Hamamelid and Caryophyllid families. Springer, Berlin / Heidelberg / New York, ISBN 3-540-55509-9 , pp. 322-331. - p. 324 - Preview in Google Book search
  7. ↑ Noroña F. 1790: Altingia excelsa, malaice et javanice Rasamala, Lignum papuanum Rumphii herbar. Amboin., Vol. 2. Pag. 57. Negotiations of the Bataviaasch Genootschap der Kunsten en Weetenschappen 5 (2): 1-9. - online
  8. ^ Phengklai C. 2001: Hamamelidaceae. In: Flora of Thailand. Vol. 7 (3). The Forest Herbarium, Bangkok, pp. 400-411.
  9. ↑ Rafaël Govaerts (Ed.): Liquidambar - World Checklist of Selected Plant Families of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Last accessed on September 14, 2018.
  10. ↑ Helmut Genaust: Etymological dictionary of botanical plant names. 3rd, completely revised and expanded edition. Birkhäuser, Basel / Boston / Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-7643-2390-6 , p. 242.
  11. ↑ Noroña F. 1790 , p. 6. - Online
  12. ↑ a b c Richter HG, Dallwitz MJ: Altingia excelsa. In: Commercial Timbers. Retrieved July 7, 2014 .
  13. ↑ a b c d e Vink W. 1957 , p. 379. - Online