Cretan Zelkove
| Cretan Zelkove | ||||||||||||
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Cretan Zelkove |
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| Zelkova abelicea | ||||||||||||
| ( Lam. ) Boiss. |
The Kretische zelkova ( zelkova abelicea ) is a plant from the genus of zelkova ( zelkova ) and belongs to the family of elm plants (Ulmaceae).
description
Habit
Zelkova abelicea is usually a strongly branched shrub that is 1 to 5 m tall and is shaped by cattle bites , rarely a tree that can grow up to 15 m high and a trunk diameter of 1.20 m. The bark is grayish, smooth and scaly. Young shoots are covered with woolly hairs. The twigs are thin, yellowish-reddish or blackish-brown and soft to stiff haired. The buds are mostly upright-protruding, ovate to ellipsoid and pubescent.
leaves
The leaves only reach their full size on mature trees and remain small on browsing forms. The entire size spectrum of the leaf blade ranges from (6 to) 10 to 40 (to 48) mm in length and from (4 to) 7 to 30 (to 43) mm in width. They are egg-shaped, pointed, obliquely heart-shaped at the base and have (three to) four to six (up to seven) pairs of lateral nerves that terminate in as many regularly arranged pinnate lobes; the surface is covered with hair on both sides; the top is dark green, the underside yellowish green. The petiole is (0.5 to) 0.8 to 4 (to 4.4) mm long and has soft hairs.
blossoms
The flowers are hermaphroditic or male and appear with the leaves. They are fourfold. The male flowers are at most short stalked and tightly kneaded; the perianth is bell-shaped, about half fused, 2 to 2.5 mm long and wide with membranous, pointed or blunt, thinly woolly ciliate tips. The stamens have 1.5 to 2 mm long, upright, glabrous stamens and short elongated, about 1 mm long, yellow anthers. The hermaphrodite flowers are solitary and almost sessile; their inflorescence is almost 1.5 mm long, about halfway divided into broad, blunt tips; the stamens are similar to those of the male flowers, but with only 0.5 mm long stamens. The ovary is sessile, almost spherical, compressed, glabrous and has a diameter of 2.3 mm; the stylus are only about 0.8 mm long.
fruit
The fruit is almost spherical, about 5 to 6 mm in diameter, irregular and deeply wrinkled, with ridges and longitudinal furrows. The endocarp is light brown and has tiny vesicles.
Phenology
The flowering period extends from April to May.
Chromosome number
The number of chromosomes is 2n = 28.
Occurrence
distribution
As a tertiary relic, the Cretan Zelkova testifies to the formerly wide distribution of the genus Zelkova in Europe. It is endemic to the island of Crete and inhabits the higher mountains ( Lefka Ori , Kedros , Psiloritis , Dikti and Afendis Kavousi ) with dispersed populations at an altitude between 850 and 1700 m.
The occurrence reported by the island of Cyprus could not be confirmed despite intensive searches and is probably based on an error.
Location
It forms mountain forests with Cretan maple ( Acer sempervirens ), Mediterranean cypress ( Cupressus sempervirens ), Kermes oak ( Quercus coccifera ) and Cretan barberry ( Berberis cretica ). Zelkova abelicea prefers to be found in the shade and on fine soil with a reasonably balanced water supply. After a fire, the plant regenerates itself by driving out water veins . Seed rejuvenation, on the other hand, is rare. The tree is hardy even under Central European climatic conditions.
Danger
Because of overgrazing, most of the specimens remain shrub-shaped and do not flower. There are only a few tree-shaped individuals that can contribute to rejuvenation via seeds. The seedlings are also susceptible to bacterial infections. The species was therefore classified as Vulnerable . New field studies have shown that the populations of the species exist in small, isolated populations and that the proportion of mature, fertile trees is very low. In 2011, this led to a classification as Endangered .
Systematics and botanical history
The Cretan zelkove moved into the focus of occidental science early on when it was collected, described and illustrated by the Venetian doctor Onorio Belli in 1594 . Based on a herbarium document collected by Joseph Pitton de Tournefort in Crete in 1700, which is kept in the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle in Paris, it was acquired in 1785 by Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck under the Basionym Quercus abelicea Lam. first described . James Edward Smith recognized in 1806 that they belonged to the Ulmaceae and renamed them Ulmus abelicea (Lam.) Sm . Édouard Spach placed them in the genus Zelkova in 1841 , initially as Zelkova crenata Spach var. Cretica Spach , one year later as Zelkova cretica (Spach) Spach . The valid combination of Zelkova abelicea with the epithet "abelicea", which has priority at species level , was published in 1879 by Pierre Edmond Boissier . Further synonyms are Planera abelicea (Lam.) Schultes , Planera cretica (Spach) Kotschy and Abelicea cretica (Spach) Kuntze .
use
The wood of the tree, which is called Ambelitsa in the local language ( Greek αμπελιτσά ), is very elastic and resistant. Traditionally, the typical Cretan shepherd's sticks , tool handles or parts of musical instruments are made from it.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Poul Søndergaard, Bernhard R. Egli: Zelkova abelicea (Ulmaceae) in Crete: Floristics, Ecology, Propagation and Threats . In: Willdenowia. Volume 36, No. 1 (Festschrift Werner Greuter), 2006, pp. 317-322, doi : 10.3372 / wi.36.36126 .
- ↑ a b c d e f Knut Ib Christensen: Zelkova . In Arne Strid, Kit Tan (ed.): Flora Hellenica. Volume One (Gymnospermae to Caryophyllaceae) . Koeltz Scientific Books, Königstein 1997, ISBN 3-87429-391-2 , p. 52 .
- ↑ a b c d Robert Desmond Meikle : Flora of Cyprus. Volume Two (Valerianaceae to Polypodiaceae) . Bentham-Moxon Trust & Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London 1985, ISBN 0-9504876-4-3 , pp. 1463 .
- ^ A b Bernhard Egli: A project for the preservation of Zelkova abelicea (Ulmaceae), a threatened endemic tree species from the mountains of Crete. In: Bocconea. Volume 5, No. 2, 1997, pp. 505-515, PDF file .
- ↑ Franz Unger, Theodor Kotschy: The island of Cyprus according to its physical and organic nature with regard to its earlier history. Wilhelm Braumüller, Vienna 1865, p. 217, preview in the Google book search.
- ^ Bernhard Egli: Zelkova abelicea. In: Dimitrios Phitos, Arne Strid, Sven Snogerup, Werner Greuter: The Red Data Book of rare and threatened plants of Greece . WWF, Athens 1995, ISBN 960-7506-04-9 , pp. 526-527 .
- Jump up ↑ Gregor Kozlowski, David Frey, Laurence Fazan, Bernhard Egli, Sébastien Bétrisey, Joachim Gratzfeld, Giuseppe Garfì, Stergios Pirintsos: The Tertiary relict tree Zelkova abelicea (Ulmaceae): distribution, population structure and conservation status on Crete. In: Oryx. Volume 48, No. 1, 2014 (available online since August 5, 2013), pp. 80–87, DOI: 10.1017 / S0030605312001275 .
- ^ Search for "Zelkova abelicea" in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species .
- ^ Giovanni Pona : Monte Baldo descritto. Roberto Meietti, Venice 1617, pp. 112–113, limited preview in Google book search.
- ^ Antonio Baldacci, Pier Andrea Saccardo: Onorio Belli e Prospero Alpino e la flora dell'isola di Creta. In: Malpighia. Volume 14, No. 1-4, 1900, pp. 140-163 ( here v. A. P. 157 ).
- ↑ a b James Edward Smith : An inquiry into the genus of the tree called by Pona Abelicea cretica. In: Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. Volume 9, 1808, pp. 126-130 digitized .
- ^ Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet de Lamarck: Encyclopédie méthodique. Botanique. Volume 1, part 2, Panckoucke / Plomteux, Paris / Liège 1785, p. 725, digitized .
- ^ John Sibthorp, James Edward Smith: Florae Graecae Prodromus. Volume 1, part 1, Richard Taylor et socii, London 1806, p. 172 ( PDF file ).
- ↑ Édouard Spach: Note sur les Planera . In: Annales des Sciences Naturelles. 2ème series. Volume 15, 1841, pp. 349–359 (here: p. 358; (PDF file) ).
- ↑ Édouard Spach: Histoire naturelle des végétaux: Phanérogames. Volume 11, Roret, Paris 1842, p. 121, digitized .
- ^ Edmond Boissier: Flora Orientalis. Volume 4 (Coralliflorae & Monochlamydeae), part 2. H. Georg, Basel / Genève 1879, p. 1159 ( digitized version ).
- ↑ Oliver Rackham, Jennifer Moody: The making of the Cretan landscape. Manchester University Press, Manchester, 1996, ISBN 0-7190-3647-X , p. 71, limited preview in Google Book search.