Elaeocarpus | |
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Elaeocarpus hainanensis flowers | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Oxalidales |
Family: | Elaeocarpaceae |
Genus: | Elaeocarpus L. [1] |
Type species | |
Elaeocarpus serratus | |
Species | |
Synonyms | |
Elaeocarpus is a genus of nearly five hundred species of flowering plants in the family Elaeocarpaceae native to the Western Indian Ocean, Tropical and Subtropical Asia, and the Pacific. Plants in the genus Elaeocarpus are trees or shrubs with simple leaves, flowers with four or five petals usually, and usually blue fruit.
Plants in the genus Elaeocarpus are mostly evergreen trees or shrubs, a few are epiphytes or lianes, and some are briefly deciduous. The leaves are arranged alternately, simple (strictly compound with only one leaflet) with a swelling where the petiole meets the lamina, often have toothed edges, usually have prominent veins and often turn red before falling. The flowers are usually arranged in a raceme, usually bisexual, have four or five sepals and petals and many stamens. The petals usually have finely-divided, linear lobes. The fruit is a oval to spherical drupe that is usually blue, sometimes black, with a sculptured endocarp. [2] [3] [4]
The genus Elaeocarpus was first formally described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus in Species Plantarum , [5] [6] although Johannes Burman published an illustration of "Elaecarpus serrata" in his book Thesaurus zeylanicus, but without a description of the genus. [7] The first species described by Linnaeus (the type species) was Elaeocarpus serratus. [5] The name Elaeocarpus is derived from Greek and means ‘olive-fruited’. [8]
See also List of Elaeocarpus species
There are about 488 species of Elaeocarpus, found on the islands of the western Indian Ocean, in tropical and subtropical Asia, Australia and on Pacific islands. [9]
Antidesma is a genus of tropical plant in the family Phyllanthaceae formally described by Linnaeus in 1753. It is native to tropical Africa, S + E + SE Asia, Australia, and various oceanic islands. The greatest diversity occurs in Southeast Asia.
Diospyros is a genus of over 700 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs. The majority are native to the tropics, with only a few species extending into temperate regions. Individual species valued for their hard, heavy, dark timber, are commonly known as ebony trees, while others are valued for their fruit and known as persimmon trees. Some are useful as ornamentals and many are of local ecological importance. Species of this genus are generally dioecious, with separate male and female plants.
Olea is a genus of about 40 species in the family Oleaceae, native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Middle East, southern Europe, Africa, southern Asia, and Australasia. They are evergreen trees and shrubs, with small, opposite, entire leaves. The fruit is a drupe. Leaves of Olea contain trichosclereids.
Syzygium is a genus of flowering plants that belongs to the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. The genus comprises about 1200 species, and has a native range that extends from Africa and Madagascar through southern Asia east through the Pacific. Its highest levels of diversity occur from Malaysia to northeastern Australia, where many species are very poorly known and many more have not been described taxonomically. One indication of this diversity is in leaf size, ranging from as little as a half inch to as great as 4 ft 11 inches by sixteen inches in Syzygium acre of New Caledonia.
Sterculia is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae: subfamily Sterculioideae. Members of the genus are colloquially known as tropical chestnuts. Sterculia may be monoecious or dioecious, and its flowers unisexual or bisexual.
Kayea is a plant genus in the family Calophyllaceae. Its species range from Bangladesh and the eastern Himalayas to Sri Lanka, Indochina, Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo, Sumatra, the Philippines, New Guinea, and Queensland.
Dipterocarpus is a genus of flowering plants and the type genus of family Dipterocarpaceae.
Chionanthus, common name: fringetrees, is a genus of about 150 species of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae.
Actinodaphne is an Asian genus of flowering plants in the laurel family (Lauraceae). It contains approximately 125 species of dioecious evergreen trees and shrubs.
Buchanania is a genus of plants in the family Anacardiaceae and subfamily Anacardioideae.
Fagraea is a genus of plants in the family Gentianaceae. It includes trees, shrubs, lianas, and epiphytes. They can be found in forests, swamps, and other habitat in Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands, with the center of diversity in Malesia.
Gomphandra is a genus of plant in family Stemonuraceae. They are dioecious trees or shrubs. The genus includes 44 accepted species, which range from India through Indochina to southern China and Taiwan, and through Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines to New Guinea, Queensland, and the Solomon Islands.
Lasianthus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. They are tropical subshrubs, shrubs, or rarely, small trees. They inhabit the understory of primary forests.
Elaeocarpus angustifolius is a species of flowering plant in the family Elaeocarpaceae and occurs from India to New Caledonia and northern Australia. Common synonyms are E. ganitrus and E. sphaericus. It is a large evergreen tree, often with buttress roots, and has leaves with wavy serrations, creamy white flowers and more or less spherical bright blue drupe fruit. In English, the tree is known as utrasum bean tree in India. In Sri Lanka recorded names are woodenbegar and Indian bead tree. It is simply known as elaeocarpus in the Northern Territory of Australia. Other names used for this tree in Australia are Indian oil fruit and genitri. In Hawaii it is known as a blue marble tree.
Elaeocarpus grandis, commonly known as caloon, white quandong, blue quandong, silver quandong, blue fig or blueberry ash, is species of flowering plant in the family Elaeocarpaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a large tree with buttress roots at the base of the trunk, oblong to elliptic leaves with small teeth on the edges, racemes of greenish-white flowers and more or less spherical blue fruit.
Elaeocarpus sedentarius, commonly known as Minyon quandong, is a species of flowering plant in the family Elaeocarpaceae and is endemic to a restricted area of New South Wales. It is a medium-sized to large tree with elliptic to egg-shaped leaves, racemes of whitish flowers and more or less spherical blue fruit.
Peristylus, sometimes commonly known as ogre orchids or bog orchids is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It consists of over 100 known species found across much of eastern and southern Asia as well as in Australia and on many islands of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Erycibe is a genus of plants in the family Convolvulaceae, found in the Andaman Islands, Sri Lanka, India including Assam, Bangladesh, Myanmar, east Himalaya, southern and southeastern China including Hainan and Taiwan, Southeast Asia, Malesia, Papuasia, Australia, and Japan including the Ryukyu Islands.
Elaeocarpus stipularis is a tree in the Elaeocarpaceae family. It is found from the Aru Islands, eastern Indonesia, to Philippines, and through Mainland Southeast Asia to Odisha, India. It has edible fruit, its wood is used and some medical uses are ascribed to it.