Overview
Brief Summary
The Lecythidaceae are a pantropical family of trees found in the tropics of Central and South America, southeast Asia, and Africa, including Madagascar. The family is divided into three subfamilies, the Planchonioideae, with six genera, the best known of which is Barringtonia, and 59 species in tropical Asia, Malaysia, northern Australia, the Pacific Islands, and Madagascar; the Foetidioideae, with a single genus, Foetidia, and 17 species in Madagascar, Mauritius, and East Africa; and the Lecythidoideae of the Western Hemisphere.
Two other closely related families, the Napoleonaeaceae and the Scytopetalaceae, were previously considered subfamilies of the Lecythidaceae but they are now treated as closely related families. One South American species, Asteranthos brasiliensis, was at one time placed in the Napoleonaeaceae, but embryological, morphological, and molecular evidence demonstrate that it has a stronger relationship with the Scytopetalaceae.
According to the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG), the Brazil nut family belongs to the order Ericales which is basal to the euasterid clade. Within the Ericales, the position of the Lecythidaceae is not resolved. For more information about this family of tropical trees see The Lecythidaceae Pages.
Species of the Brazil nut family in the New World range from Veracruz, Mexico (Eschweilera mexicana) to Paraguay (Cariniana estrellensis); the Caribbean is home only to Grias cauliflora which occurs in Jamaica and Central America from Belize and Guatemala to northwestern Colombia; and several species of Eschweilera grow in Trinidad and Tobago, but these islands harbor a South American, not a Caribbean, flora.
The Brazil nut is the economically most important species of Lecythidaceae. Brazil nuts are gathered only from Bertholletia excelsa, a species of non-flooded forest native to Guyana, Surinam, and Amazonian Colombia, Venezuela , Peru , Bolivia, and Brazil . Another species, the cannon-ball tree is cultivated as a botanical curiosity in tropical gardens because of its showy, aromatic flowers and cannon ball like fruits that arise profusely from the main trunk. There are two other species of Couroupita, C. nicaraguarensis and C. subsessilis that are also called cannon ball trees, but these species are not cultivated. Some species, especially in the genus Cariniana, yield valuable timbers.
- Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG)
- The Lecythidaceae Pages for descriptions of the pollination and dispersal systems of other species.
- Appel, O. 1996. Morphology and systematics of the Scytopetalaceae. Bot. J. Linn Soc 121: 207-227.
- Camargo, P B de, R de P Salomão, S Trumbore & L A Martinelli. 1994. How old are large Brazil-nut trees (Bertholletia excelsa) in the Amazon? Sc. Agric., Piracicaba 51: 389-391.
- Chambers, J. Q., N. Higuchi & J. P. Schimel. 1998. Ancient trees in Amazonia. Nature 391: 135-136.
- Knudsen, J T & S A Mori. 1996. Floral scents and pollination in Neotropical Lecythidaceae. Biotropica 28: 42-60.
- Mori, S A, P Becker & D Kincaid. 2001. Lecythidaceae of a central Amazonian lowland forest. Implications for conservation. In: R. O. Bierregaard, Jr., C. Gascon, T. E. Lovejoy & R. C. G. Mesquita (eds.), Lessons from Amazonia. The Ecology and Conservation of a Fragmented Forest, pp. 54-67. Yale University Press, New Haven & London.
- Mori, S A & G T Prance. 1990. Lecythidaceae - Part II: the zygomorphic-flowered New World Genera (Couroupita, Corythophora, Bertholletia, Couratari, Eschweilera, & Lecythis). With a study of the secondary xylem of Neotropical Lecythidaceae by Carl de Zeeuw. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 21: 1-376.
- Mori, S. A. & G. T. Prance. 2006 onward. The Lecythidaceae Pages. The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York.
- Mori, S. A., C.-H. Tsou, C.-C. Wu4, B. Cronholm & A. A. Anderberg. In press. Evolution of Lecythidaceae with an emphasis on the circumscription of neotropical genera: information from combined ndhF and trnL-F sequence data. Amer. J. Bot.
- Morton, C M, S A Mori, G T Prance, K G Karol, and M W Chase. 1997. Phylogenetic relationships of Lecythidaceae: A cladistic analysis using rbcL sequence and morphological data. Amer. J. Bot. 84:530-40.
- Peres, C A. 1991. Seed predation of Cariniana micrantha (Lecythidaceae) by brown capuchin monkeys in central Amazonia. Biotropica 23: 262-270.
- Prance, G T & S A Mori. 1979. Lecythidaceae - Part I. The actinomorphic-flowered New World Lecythidaceae (Asteranthos, Gustavia, Grias, Allantoma, & Cariniana). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 21: 1-270.
- Steege, H. ter, N. C. A. Pitman, O. L. Phillips, J. Chave, D. Sabatier, A. Duque, J. F. Molino, M.-F. Prévost, R. Spichiger, H. Castellanos, P. v. Hildebrand, & R. Vásquez. 2006. Continental-scale patterns of canopy tree composition and function across Amazonia. Nature. 443: 444-447.
- Tsou, C.-H. 1994 The embryology, reproductive morphology, and systematics of Lecythidaceae. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 71:1-110.
© Scott Mori (Lead Author); Debbie Swarthout (Topic Editor)
Supplier: Bob Corrigan
Trusted
Comprehensive Description
Description
© Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten and Petra Ballings
Source:
Flora of Zimbabwe
Trusted
Distribution
Localities documented in Tropicos sources
Colombia (South America)
Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.
-
Idárraga-Piedrahita, A., R. D. C. Ortiz, R. Callejas Posada & M. Merello. 2011. Flora de Antioquia. Catálogo de las Plantas Vasculares, vol. 2. Listado de las Plantas Vasculares del Departamento de Antioquia. Pp. 1-939.
http://www.tropicos.org/Reference/100008595
© Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63110 USA
Source:
Missouri Botanical Garden
Trusted
Molecular Biology and Genetics
Molecular Biology
Statistics of barcoding coverage
| Specimen Records: | 186 | Public Records: | 94 |
| Specimens with Sequences: | 197 | Public Species: | 45 |
| Specimens with Barcodes: | 177 | Public BINs: | 0 |
| Species: | 66 | ||
| Species With Barcodes: | 59 | ||
© Barcode of Life Data Systems
Trusted
Barcode data
© Barcode of Life Data Systems
Trusted
Locations of barcode samples
© Barcode of Life Data Systems
Trusted
Wikipedia
Lecythidaceae
_fruits_in_Kolkata_W_IMG_8545.jpg)
_leaves_in_Narsapur_forest,_AP_W_IMG_0153.jpg)
The Lecythidaceae comprise a family of about 20 genera and 250-300 species of woody plants native to tropical South America and Madagascar.
According to the most recent molecular analysis of Lecythidaceae by Mori et al. (2007),[1] there are three subfamilies:
- Foetidioideae (Foetidiaceae). Madagascar. Includes only Foetidia.
- Planchonioideae (including Barringtoniaceae). Restricted to the Old World tropics.
- Lecythidoideae (Lecythidaceae). Restricted to the New World tropics.
In the Mori et al. (2007) study, two other families sometimes included in Lecythidaceae, the Scytopetalaceae and Napoleonaeaceae are hypothesized as most closely related to Lecythidaceae.
More detailed information about Lecythidaceae, especially the New World taxa, can be found at the Lecythidaceae Pages.
The most important member of the family in world trade is the Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa), valued for its edible nuts; the Paradise nut (Lecythis species) is also eaten.
The APG II system of 2003 includes genera from the family Scytopetalaceae in the Lecythidaceae, including Rhaptopetalum and Brazzeia.
List of genera
- Abdulmajidia Whitmore, also as Barringtoniaceae sensu Takhtajan 1997 [2]
- Allantoma Miers
- Asteranthos Desf., also as Asteranthaceae [2]
- Barringtonia J.R.Forst. & G.Forst., also as Barringtoniaceae [2]
- Bertholletia Bonpl.
- Careya Roxb., also as Barringtoniaceae [2]
- Cariniana Casar.
- Chydenanthus Miers, also as Barringtoniaceae [2]
- Corythophora R.Knuth
- Couratari Aubl.
- Couroupita Aubl.
- Crateranthus Baker f., incertae sedis according Takhtajan, perhaps Napoleonaeaceae [2]
- Eschweilera Mart. ex DC.
- Foetidia Comm. ex Lam., also as Foetidiaceae [2]
- Grias L.
- Gustavia L.
- Lecythis Loefl.
- Napoleonaea P.Beauv., also as Napoleonaeaceae [2]
- Petersianthus Merr., also as Barringtoniaceae [2]
- Planchonia Blume, also as Barringtoniaceae [2]
References
- ^ Mori, S. A.; Tsou, C. -H.; Wu, C. -C.; Cronholm, B.; Anderberg, A. A. (2007). "Evolution of Lecythidaceae with an emphasis on the circumscription of neotropical genera: Information from combined ndhF and trnL-F sequence data". American Journal of Botany 94 (3): 289–301. doi:10.3732/ajb.94.3.289. PMID 21636402.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Takhtajan, A. (1997). Diversity and classification of flowering plants. ISBN 0-231-10098-1.
Source:
Wikipedia
Unreviewed
Disclaimer
EOL content is automatically assembled from many different content providers. As a result, from time to time you may find pages on EOL that are confusing.
To request an improvement, please leave a comment on the page. Thank you!
