Commidendrum robustum

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Saint Helena gumwood
MELLISS(1875) p387 - PLATE 39 - Commidendron Robustum.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Commidendrum
Species:
C. robustum
Binomial name
Commidendrum robustum

Commidendrum robustum, the Saint Helena gumwood, is a species of tree endemic to Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. [2] Though it is now comparatively rare, it was once one of the most abundant trees of mid-elevations of the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. A small tree to 7–8 m, it was cut extensively for fuel in the early years of settlement of the island by the English East India Company. It has given its name to certain placenames on the island such as "Gumwoods". It is one of several species in the endemic genus Commidendrum .

Contents

The Commidendrum robustum is closely related to the Melanodendron integrifolium, Black cabbage tree, which also inhabits Saint Helena. The two species most likely evolved from a common ancestor. Today, the closest relatives are South African, in the small shrub genus Felicia Cass. and Amellus L. [3]

See also

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<i>Dicksonia arborescens</i> Species of fern

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<i>Trochetiopsis erythroxylon</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Trochetiopsis ebenus</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Commidendrum</i> Genus of flowering plants

Commidendrum is a genus of trees and shrubs in the family Asteraceae endemic to the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. The vernacular name is gumwood or scrubwood.

<i>Trochetiopsis</i> Genus of flowering plants

The flowering plant genus Trochetiopsis consists of two extant and one extinct species endemic to the island of Saint Helena. They were formerly placed in the family Sterculiaceae, but this is included in the expanded Malvaceae in the APG and most subsequent systematics.

<i>Lobelia scaevolifolia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Lobelia scaevolifolia is a species of the plant family Campanulaceae. It is endemic to the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. It was at one time placed as the only species, Trimeris scaevolifolia, in the genus Trimeris. Its common name is St. Helena lobelia.

<i>Mellissia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Mellissia was formerly a monotypic genus in the family Solanaceae with the single species, Mellissia begoniifolia, endemic to the island of Saint Helena. It was named by Joseph Dalton Hooker in honour of John Charles Melliss, a 19th-century engineer and amateur naturalist who worked on Saint Helena. The plant is now known correctly as Withania begoniifolia (Roxb.) Hunz. & Barboza, the genus Mellissia having been subsumed in the genus Withania.

<i>Petrobium</i> Genus of flowering plants

Petrobium is a genus in the family Asteraceae.

<i>Nesohedyotis</i> Genus of plants

Nesohedyotis is a genus of flowering plants endemic to the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. It in the family Rubiaceae.

<i>Commidendrum rotundifolium</i> Species of flowering plant

Commidendrum rotundifolium, the bastard gumwood, is a species of tree endemic to the island of Saint Helena. It was thought to be extinct, but one last tree was discovered in Horse Pasture in 1982. This tree, long believed to be the last, was destroyed in 1986 by a gale. However seedlings were grown from this tree before it perished. The last of these to survive in cultivation was damaged by gales in 2008 and the survival of the species was in doubt.

<i>Commidendrum rugosum</i> Species of flowering plant

Commidendrum rugosum, known as scrubwood, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae.

<i>Commidendrum spurium</i> Species of flowering plant

Commidendrum spurium, the false gumwood, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is found only in Saint Helena. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, rocky areas, and rocky shores. It is threatened by habitat loss.

References

  1. Ellick, S.; Lambdon, P.W. (2016). "Commidendrum robustum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T37583A67370371. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T37583A67370371.en . Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. Cairns-Wicks, R. 2003. Commidendrum robustum. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2003. Downloaded on 16 September 2015.
  3. Eastwood, A.; Gibby, M.; Cronk, Q. C. B. (January 2004). "Evolution of St Helena arborescent Astereae (Asteraceae): relationships of the genera Commidendrum and Melanodendron". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 144 (1): 69–83. doi: 10.1111/j.0024-4074.2004.00238.x . ISSN   1095-8339.

Further reading