Licania

Last updated

Licania
Licania nitida Hook. f. - Flickr - Alex Popovkin, Bahia, Brazil (10).jpg
Licania nitida in Brazil
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Chrysobalanaceae
Genus: Licania
Aubl. [1]
Diversity
About 100 species
Synonyms [1]
  • HedycreaSchreb.

Licania is a genus of over 100 species of trees and shrubs in the family Chrysobalanaceae. [1] Species are found naturally occurring in neotropical forests from southern Mexico to Brazil and the Lesser Antilles. Due to increased deforestation and loss of habitat, several species have declined, some markedly so, and L. caldasiana from Colombia appears to have gone extinct in recent years. [2] Many species are either rare or restricted in distribution and therefore potentially threatened with future extinction. In 2016, a new circumscription of Licania was outlined, with over 100 species being placed in other genera such as Moquilea , Leptobalanus , Hymenopus , Microdesmia , Parinariopsis , Geobalanus and Cordillera . [3]

Contents

Several species are used as ornamental plants. Licania fruit are important food for many animals and can also be eaten by humans. Caterpillars of a possible new taxon of the Astraptes fulgerator cryptic species complex were found on Licania arborea (now Microdesmia arborea ) but do not seem to eat them regularly. [4] [5] Like other members of its family, the genus is known for producing a diverse array of flavonoid compounds. [6] [7] [8]

Selected species

Species include: [1]

Related Research Articles

<i>Celtis</i> Genus of flowering plants belonging to the hop and hemp family

Celtis is a genus of about 60–70 species of deciduous trees, commonly known as hackberries or nettle trees, widespread in warm temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The genus is part of the extended Cannabis family (Cannabaceae).

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

Scorzonera is a genus of flowering plants in the tribe Cichorieae within the family Asteraceae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel H. Janzen</span> American evolutionary ecologist

Daniel Hunt Janzen is an American evolutionary ecologist and conservationist. He divides his time between his professorship in biology at the University of Pennsylvania, where he is the DiMaura Professor of Conservation Biology, and his research and field work in Costa Rica.

<i>Telegonus fulgerator</i> Species of butterfly

Telegonus fulgerator, the two-barred flasher, is a species of spread-wing skipper butterfly in the family Hesperiidae which may constitute a possible cryptic species complex. It ranges all over the Americas, from the southern United States to northern Argentina.

<i>Conocephalum</i> Genus of plants

Conocephalum is a genus of complex thalloid liverworts in the order Marchantiales and is the only extant genus in the family Conocephalaceae. Some species of Conocephalum are assigned to the Conocephalum conicum complex, which includes several cryptic species. Conocephalum species are large liverworts with distinct patterns on the upper thallus, giving the appearance of snakeskin. The species Conocephalum conicum is named for its cone-shaped reproductive structures, called archegoniophores. Common names include snakeskin liverwort, great scented liverwort and cat-tongue liverwort.

<i>Crepis</i> Genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae

Crepis, commonly known in some parts of the world as hawksbeard or hawk's-beard, is a genus of annual and perennial flowering plants of the family Asteraceae superficially resembling the dandelion, the most conspicuous difference being that Crepis usually has branching scapes with multiple heads. The genus name Crepis derives from the Greek krepis, meaning "slipper" or "sandal", possibly in reference to the shape of the fruit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">5-lipoxygenase-activating protein</span> Protein-coding gene in the species Homo sapiens

Arachidonate 5-lipoxygenase-activating protein also known as 5-lipoxygenase activating protein, or FLAP, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ALOX5AP gene.

John Burns is an entomologist, curator of Lepidoptera and professor at Department of Entomology, Smithsonian Institution.

Phytoecdysteroids are plant-derived ecdysteroids. Phytoecdysteroids are a class of chemicals that plants synthesize for defense against phytophagous insects. These compounds are mimics of hormones used by arthropods in the molting process known as ecdysis. When insects eat the plants with these chemicals they may prematurely molt, lose weight, or suffer other metabolic damage and die.

<i>Centrosema</i> Genus of legumes

Centrosema, the butterfly peas, is a genus of American vines in the legume family (Fabaceae). It includes 44 species, which range through the tropical and warm-temperate Americas from the southern United States to northern Argentina. Species include:

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

Hampea is a genus of flowering plants in the family Malvaceae. They are trees native to Mexico, Central America, and Colombia. There are about 21 species.

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

Capparis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Capparaceae. It includes 142 species of shrubs or lianas which are collectively known as caper shrubs or caperbushes. Capparis species occur over a wide range of habitat in the subtropical and tropical regions of Africa, Eurasia, Australasia, and the Pacific.

<i>Hypericum olympicum</i> Species of flowering plant in the St Johns wort family Hypericaceae

Hypericum olympicum, commonly known as the Mount Olympus St. John's wort, is a species of flowering plant in the family Hypericaceae found in the Balkans and Turkey and introduced to western Europe. It has been widely cultivated for centuries because of its large, showy flowers, which are far larger than those of most other species in Hypericum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DNA barcoding</span> Method of species identification using a short section of DNA

DNA barcoding is a method of species identification using a short section of DNA from a specific gene or genes. The premise of DNA barcoding is that by comparison with a reference library of such DNA sections, an individual sequence can be used to uniquely identify an organism to species, just as a supermarket scanner uses the familiar black stripes of the UPC barcode to identify an item in its stock against its reference database. These "barcodes" are sometimes used in an effort to identify unknown species or parts of an organism, simply to catalog as many taxa as possible, or to compare with traditional taxonomy in an effort to determine species boundaries.

<i>Iris kashmiriana</i> Species of plant

Iris kashmiriana is a plant species in the genus Iris, it is also in the subgenus Iris. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from Kashmir, India. It has straight, sword-shaped, glaucous leaves, tall, thick stem with up 2 short branches, which hold 2–3 flowers, which can be white, cream or pale blue, lilac, lavender or blue-purple. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions, although in Kashmir, it is also planted on graves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surendra Nath Pandeya</span> Indian chemist

Professor Surendra Nath Pandeya (1939–2012) was an Indian medicinal and organic chemist. He made several contributions in the design and discovery of anticonvulsant, antitubercular, anti-HIV, anti-cancer, antibacterial, and antimicrobial molecules. His research focused on semicarbazones, Mannich bases, thiadiazoles, benzothiazoles, and oxindole compounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winifred Hallwachs</span> U.S. entomologist and tropical ecologist

Winifred Hallwachs is an American tropical ecologist who helped to establish and expand northwestern Costa Rica's Área de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG). The work of Hallwachs and her husband Daniel Janzen at ACG is considered an exemplar of inclusive conservation.

<i>Licania pyrifolia</i> Species of tree

Licania pyrifolia, commonly known as merecure, is a species of flowering tree in the family Chrysobalanaceae. It has large green fruits, similar in size to the avocado, greenish with whitish freckles. It is widespread in the Llanos or Great Plains of the Orinoco river. The fruit is edible and it used to be planted near the Fundos for shade because it is evergreen and because of its fruit. It contains compounds that can be used to control snails and other mollusks harmful to crops. Its Latin name alludes to its leaves being similar to those of the pear tree. It is the flagship tree of the state of Apure in Venezuela.

<i>Boscia angustifolia</i> Species of plant

Boscia angustifolia is a shrub or small tree with lanceolate leaves commonly found in the savannah zones of Africa, from Senegal moving eastwards to Sudan. It is part of the Capparaceae family. The plant is also known as the rough-leaved shepherds tree.

<i>Lamium bifidum</i> Species of flowering plant

Lamium bifidum is a species of flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae, native to the Southern Europe. It was first described by botanist Domenico Cirillo in 1788.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Licania Aubl". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  2. Lopez-Gallego, C.; Morales M, P. (2020). "Licania caldasiana". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T32074A182978362. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T32074A182978362.es . Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  3. C.A. Sothers; G.T. Prance; M.W. Chase (December 2016). "Towards a monophyletic Licania: a new generic classification of the polyphyletic Neotropical genus Licania (Chrysobalanaceae)". Kew Bulletin . 71 (58). doi:10.1007/S12225-016-9664-3.
  4. Paul D. N. Hebert; Erin H. Penton; John M. Burns; Daniel H. Janzen; Winnie Hallwachs (2004). "Ten species in one: DNA barcoding reveals cryptic species in the neotropical skipper butterfly Astraptes fulgerator" (PDF). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 101 (41): 14812–14817. Bibcode:2004PNAS..10114812H. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0406166101 . JSTOR   3373639. PMC   522015 . PMID   15465915.
  5. Andrew V. Z. Brower (2006). "Problems with DNA barcodes for species delimitation: 'ten species' of Astraptes fulgerator reassessed (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae)" (PDF). Systematics and Biodiversity. 4 (2): 127–132. doi:10.1017/S147720000500191X. S2CID   54687052. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-12-17.
  6. Bilia, Anna Rita; Ciampi, Lucia; Mendez, Jeannette; Morelli, Ivano (August 1996). "Phytochemical investigations of Licania genus. Flavonoids from Licania pyrifolia". Pharmaceutica Acta Helvetiae. 71 (3): 199–204. doi:10.1016/0031-6865(96)00009-x. ISSN   0031-6865.
  7. Mendez, Jeannette; Bilia, Anna Rita; Morelli, Ivano (September 1995). "Phytochemical investigations of Licania genus. Flavonoids and triterpenoids from Licania pittieri". Pharmaceutica Acta Helvetiae. 70 (3): 223–226. doi:10.1016/0031-6865(95)00027-7. ISSN   0031-6865.
  8. Bilia, Anna Rita; Mendez, Jeannette; Morelli, Ivano (August 1996). "Phytochemical investigations of Licania genus. Flavonoids and triterpenoids from Licania carii". Pharmaceutica Acta Helvetiae. 71 (3): 191–197. doi:10.1016/0031-6865(96)00010-6. ISSN   0031-6865.