Martellidendron hornei

Martellidendron hornei
Martellidendron hornei
Systematics
Class : Bedecktsamer (Magnoliopsida) Monocots Order : Screw tree-like (Pandanales) Family : Screw tree plants (Pandanaceae) Genre : Martellidendron Type : Martellidendron hornei
Scientific name
Martellidendron hornei
( Balf.f. ) Callm. & Chassot

Martellidendron hornei is a species of the genus Martellidendron within the family of the screw tree plants (Pandanaceae). It is the only martellidendron species found in the Seychelles . (Common names in the Seychelles are Vacoa Parasol or Vakwa Parasol).

Stilt roots of Martellidendron hornei

description

Vegetative characteristics

Martellidendron hornei grows tree-shaped and reaches a height of 20 meters. The smooth trunks have scars and stilt roots at the base. They are often triply branched. The leaves are arranged in three parts. The simple, approximately 3.25 meter long, leathery leaf blades are green on the top and gradually taper to thin tips. The leaf margins have many red adjoining thorns. Starting from the central rib, the thorns extend from the center of the edge to the tip of the edge.

Generative characteristics

Martellidendron hornei is dioeciously segregated ( diocesan ). The hanging inflorescences contain many flowers. The unisexual flowers are threefold. The hanging, spherical collective fruits have a diameter of up to 30 centimeters. The blue-green drupes are pentagonal or hexagonal with widened to arched tips. The upper third is free and green, the lower area is orange. Each stone fruit is up to 14 centimeters long and has protruding kidney-shaped styles.

Occurrence

Martellidendron hornei occurs on the Seychelles' islands Mahé, Praslin, Silhouette and Curieuse. The habitat is moist soils at medium altitudes. This species can often be found on the island of Praslin along the main road below the Vallée de Mai towards Grand Anse .

Taxonomy

The first description of this species was in 1877 under the basionym Pandanus hornei by Isaac Bayley Balfour . Martin W. Callmander, Philippe Chassot, P. Küpfer and PP Lowry, II established the new genus Martellidendron in 2003 , which contains about seven species. The new combination to Martellidendron hornei (Balf. F.) Callm took place. & Chassot . The specific epithet hornei honors the Scottish botanist John Horne (1835–1905).

literature

• Rosemarie Wise: A fragile Eden: Portraits of the endemic flowering plants of the granitic Seychelles. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, etc. a. 1998, ISBN 0-691-04817-7 , limited preview in Google Book Search
• Martin W. Callmander, Philippe Chassot, Philippe Küpfer & Porter P. Lowry II: Recognition of Martellidendron, a new genus of Pandanaceae, and its biogeographic implications. In: Taxon. Vol. 52, No. 4, 2003, pp. 747-762, JSTOR 3647349 .

Individual evidence

1. ^ John Gilbert Baker : Flora of Mauritius and the Seychelles: A Description of the Flowering Plants . L. Reeve & Co., London 1877, p. 397 (Reprint: Asian Educational Services, 1999, ISBN 81-206-1427-5 ), digitizedhttp: //vorlage_digitalisat.test/1%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fstream%2Ffloramauritiusa00bakegoog%23page%2Fn476%2Fmode%2F2up~GB%3D~IA%3D~MDZ%3D%0A~SZ%3D~ double-sided% 3D ~ LT% 3D ~ PUR% 3D .
2. ↑ ^{a b} Martin W. Callmander, Philippe Chassot, Philippe Küpfer & Porter P. Lowry II: Recognition of Martellidendron, a new genus of Pandanaceae, and its biogeographic implications. In: Taxon. Vol. 52, No. 4, 2003, pp. 747-762, JSTOR 3647349 .
3. ↑ Martellidendron hornei at Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis

Web links

• ARKive - Photos and information on Pandanus hornei .