Testulea gabonensis
| Testulea gabonensis | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Testulea | ||||||||||||
| Pellegr. | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Testulea gabonensis | ||||||||||||
| Pellegr. |
Testulea gabonensis is the only species of the monotypic plant genus Testulea within the family Ochnaceae . It thrives in the tropical rainforests of Central Africa . Their wood istradedas tropical wood under the name Izombé , but is only of moderate economic importance. This species is considered to be "endangered".
description
Vegetative characteristics
Testulea gabonensis grows as a medium to large, evergreen tree and reaches heights of 40, in exceptional cases up to 50 meters. The straight, cylindrical trunk reaches a diameter of 100, sometimes up to 120 centimeters, it is knot-free in older trees up to a height of about 20 meters. Buttress roots sit at the base of the trunk up to a height of about 3 meters. The bark is yellow-brown to yellow-gray, it peels off on the surface in irregular scales. The irregularly shaped crown consists of smooth branches with clear leaf scars .
The leaves are arranged in a spiral, somewhat clumped at the branch ends, and are divided into a petiole and a leaf blade. The short, flattened and bald petiole is about 3–4 millimeters long. The simple, smooth and bald. The leathery leaf blade is 20 to 35 centimeters long and 4 to 8 centimeters wide and obovate , ovate with a rounded base and a pointed upper end. The entire leaf margin is somewhat wavy. The axillary stipules are triangular and fused at the base.
Generative characteristics
The flowering period extends from December to April. The stalked flowers sit in clusters of three to four in terminal, racemose inflorescences that reach a length of about 25-35 centimeters.
The four-fold, hermaphrodite and stalked flowers are zygomorphic with a double flower envelope . The four free sepals are unequal. The four free petals are yellowish white to pink in color and of different sizes, the two longer about 1.5 centimeters, the two shorter about 1 centimeter long. The anthers of the only fertile stamen is almost sessile, it opens with two pores at the tip, and two appendages are formed at the base. There are numerous staminodes that form a tube in the lower section. The upper, single-chambered, short-stalked ovary is cylindrical. The stylus is relatively long and curved with a small capitate scar .
The thin-walled, double-lobed, somewhat inflated, leathery, brownish and egg-shaped capsule fruits reach a diameter of 3 to 6 centimeters and contain numerous seeds. The seeds are cylindrical with two papery wings, they reach about 1 centimeter in length.
Occurrence
Testulea gabonensis grows in the primary evergreen tropical rainforest of central West Africa on both sides of the equator, especially in coastal regions, in Cameroon , Gabon , Equatorial Guinea and the Republic of the Congo , although the occurrences in Cameroon and the Congo are very small. By heavy logging is Testulea gabonensis threatened in their existence.
Systematics
The first description of Testulea gabonensis was made in 1924 by the French botanist François Pellegrin . The type locality is in Gabon.
Testulea gabonensis is the only species of the genus Testulea , which is monotypical . It is taxonomically relatively isolated, so that it is classified as the only species in its own tribe Testuleeae Horaninow in the subfamily Ochnoideae Burnett of the family Ochnaceae . This position has been confirmed by genetic analysis. Sister group are therefore all other Ochnoideae taken together.
ingredients
The bark contains dimethyltryptamine , an alkaloid with hallucinogenic properties. It is used in traditional medicine, but has hardly been researched pharmacologically .
Wood
The wood called Izombé in the trade is straw-colored when fresh, later it turns yellow-orange to yellow-gray, sometimes with pink tones. It is of medium hardness and density, with a density of 630 to 840 kilograms per cubic meter (with 12% water content). It can be worked on both by hand and machine, but tends to splinter when nailing. In contrast to the (related and similarly widespread) Bongossi , it is not stable against moisture and wood-boring organisms. It can be deployed and used similarly to teak .
literature
- Quentin Meunier, Carl Moumbogou, Jean-Louis Doucet: Les arbres utiles du Gabon. Presses Agronomiques de Gembloux, 2015, ISBN 978-2-87016-134-0 , p. 248 f, limited preview in the Google book search.
- J. Gérard, D. Guibal, S. Paradis, J.-C. Cerre: Tropical Timber Atlas. Éditions Quæ, 2017, ISBN 978-2-7592-2798-3 , p. 429 ff, limited preview in Google Book Search.
- RHMJ Lemmens, D. Louppe, AA Oteng-Amoako, M. Brink: Prota - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa - Timbers. 2, PROTA Foundation, Wageningen, Netherlands 2012. ISBN 978-92-9081-495-5 , Testulea gabonensis on p. 640 ff.
Web links
- Testulea gabonensis - African Plant Database , Record n ° 18100, accessed June 10, 2016.
- Teatulea gabonensis from PROTA, accessed June 10, 2016.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Testulea gabonensis in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2016 Posted by: African Regional Workshop (Conservation & Sustainable Management of Trees, Zimbabwe, July 1996), 1998. Accessed July 3, 2016th
- ↑ Type material from Testulea gabonensis Pellegr. at Global Plants , accessed June 10, 2016.
- ↑ Ochnaceae. PF Stevens: Angiosperm Phylogeny Website , version 13
- ↑ Julio V. Schneider, Pulcherie Bissiengou, Maria do Carmo E. Amaral et al .: Phylogenetics, ancestral state reconstruction, and a new infrafamilial classification of the pantropical Ochnaceae (Medusagynaceae, Ochnaceae s.str., Quiinaceae) based on five DNA regions . In: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. Volume 78, 2014, p. 199–214, doi: 10.1016 / j.ympev.2014.05.018 .
- ↑ Tryptamine Carriers , by Petrus Pennanen ( Memento of the original from July 6, 1997 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Archived copy ( memento of the original from April 20, 1999 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , last amended July 1999. Retrieved June 10, 2016
