Beiselia mexicana
| Beiselia mexicana | ||||||||||||
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Beiselia mexicana |
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| Beiselia | ||||||||||||
| Forman | ||||||||||||
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| Beiselia mexicana | ||||||||||||
| Forman |
Beiselia mexicana is the only species of the monotypic plant genus Beiselia within the balsam tree family(Burseraceae). It thrives in the mountains of Michoacán , Mexico.
description
Vegetative characteristics
Beiselia mexicana grows as a dioecious , deciduous and shrubby branched tree and reaches a height of up to 10 meters. The older shoots are smooth and have a dark, reddish-brown and somewhat shiny bark. The younger shoots have pointed and laterally compressed podaria arising from the leaf axils. The terminal leaves are spread out in rosettes. They are oddly pinnate and 18 to 27, sometimes up to 42 centimeters long and 9 to 13, sometimes up to 19 centimeters wide. The 7 to 9 seated and ovate to elliptical partial leaves are up to 12 inches long and 6 inches wide. They are asymmetrically trimmed at the base and tapered towards the tip. The leaf margin is roughly serrated.
Inflorescences and flowers
The spiked inflorescence stands between the leaves and is 6 to 11 centimeters long. The single flowers are 5 to 6 centimeters in diameter. There are 5 to 6 sepals fused together at the base. The 5 to 6 petals are colored ivory white. 10 to 12 stamens are formed. The conical ovoid ovary is greenish in color, has 10 to 12 longitudinal furrows and is surrounded by a notched, corrugated and nectar-producing disc. The dry fruit splits from the base. The flattened seed has membranous wings towards the tip.
Systematics and botanical history
The genus Beiselia was founded in 1987 with the first description of Beiselia mexicana by Lewis Leonard Forman (1929–1998, botanist, Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew , England) in A new genus of Burseraceae from Mexico , In: Kew Bulletin , Volume 42, Issue 1, P. 262. The generic name Beiselia honors Karl-Werner Beisel (approx. 1931–?), A German merchant, cactus collector and breeder from Steinfeld (Germany) who discovered Beiselia mexicana in February 1979 in Mexico.
An interesting story surrounds the discovery of Beiselia mexicana . KW Beisel found this species leafless during the dry season. Originally considered a succulent plant, Beiselia mexicana was found again in large numbers by Beisel in March 1980. However, it only became apparent later that it was a tree. At first it was thought of a tree of gods within the bitter ash family (Simaroubaceae). Seedlings and seeds then came to the Zurich Botanical Garden and California, later to Gordon Rowley , who sent material to the Kew Botanical Garden. Only then did Lewis Leonard Forman notice that it was a new genus.
proof
literature
- Leonard Eric Newton: Beiselia mexicana . In: Urs Eggli (Hrsg.): Succulent lexicon. Dicotyledons (dicotyledons) . Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-8001-3915-4 , pp. 56 .
further reading
- Lewis Leonard Forman, PE Brandham, MM Harley & TJ Lawrence: Beiselia mexicana (Burseraceae) and its affinities , In: Kew Bulletin , Volume 44, Issue 1, 1989, pp. 1-31.
- KW Beisel: The exciting story of the tree of gods. In: Kakteen und other Succulents , Volume 33, Number 10, 1982, pp. 210-211.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Lotte Burkhardt: Directory of eponymous plant names . Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin, Free University Berlin Berlin 2016. ISBN 978-3-946292-10-4 , doi : 10.3372 / epolist2016
