Juan Fernández sandal tree
| Juan Fernández sandal tree | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Santalum fernandezianum | ||||||||||||
| Phil. |
The Juan Fernández sandal tree ( Santalum fernandezianum ) is an extinct tree from the genus of sandalwoods ( Santalum ). It was endemic to Robinson Crusoe Island and was last detected in 1908.
features
The Juan Fernández sandal tree was a semi-parasitic tree that reached a height of about nine meters. The wood was characterized by a long-lasting, aromatic scent. The dark, brownish-gray, flaky bark was split into rectangular pieces. The young twigs bore opposite pairs of glossy, dark green, somewhat fleshy, elongated leaves, mainly 4.5 to 8.5 centimeters long. The tip of the leaf was either pointed or cut. The terminal, pyramidal, fleshy panicles of flowers were four to five millimeters in diameter. The bracts were largely triangular and densely hairy on the surface.
habitat
The habitat of the Juan Fernández sandal tree were forests. The last specimen was discovered in a ravine, where it was found in association with Nothomyrcia fernandeziana , Fagaza maya , Drimus confertifolia and Coprosoma pyrifolia .
use
The wood of the Juan Fernández sandal tree was in great demand and was used to make images of saints and reliquary boxes.
die out
Around 1624 the Juan Fernández sandal tree was widespread on Robinson Crusoe Island. Because of the overexploitation of the sandal trees, the sweet-smelling and valuable wood of which was shipped to Peru , the Juan Fernández sandal tree had already become very rare in 1740. Feral goats have also contributed significantly to the decline in the species. In 1908, Carl Skottsberg photographed the last living tree that only had a single green branch. When Skottsberg visited the island again in 1916, the specimen had arrived.
literature
- Gren Lucas, Hugh Synge, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Threatened Plants Committee: The IUCN plant red data book: comprising red data sheets on 250 selected plants threatened on a world scale. IUCN, 1978, ISBN 9782880322021 .
- Carl Skottsberg: The wilds of Patagonia; a narrative of the Swedish expedition to Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego and the Falkland Islands in 1907-1909. The MacMillan Company, New York 1911.
- PCM Baeza, RR Rodriguez, FM Hoeneisen, T. Stuessy: Anatomical considerations of the secondary wood of Santalum fernandezianum F. Phil. (Santalaceae), an extinct species of the Juan Fernandez Islands, Chile. In: Gayana Botanica Vol 56, No. 1, 1999, pp 63-65.
Web links
- Santalum fernandezianum in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: Word Conservation Monitoring Center, 1998. Retrieved on 17 May, 2009.
- Images of herbarium specimens