Melicope

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Melicope
Starr 020925-0080 Melicope clusiifolia.jpg
Melicope clusiifolia
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Rutaceae
Subfamily: Zanthoxyloideae
Genus: Melicope
J.R.Forst. & G.Forst [1]
Species

About 230, see text

Synonyms [1]
Flowers of Melicope xanthoxyloides Melicope xanthoxyloides.jpg
Flowers of Melicope xanthoxyloides
Flowers of Melicope rubra Melicope rubra.jpg
Flowers of Melicope rubra
Fruit of Melicope jonesii Melicope jonesii.jpg
Fruit of Melicope jonesii

Melicope is a genus of about 240 species of shrubs and trees in the family Rutaceae, occurring from the Hawaiian Islands across the Pacific Ocean to tropical Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Plants in the genus Melicope have simple or trifoliate leaves arranged in opposite pairs, flowers arranged in panicles, with four sepals, four petals and four or eight stamens and fruit composed of up to four follicles.

Contents

Description

Plants in the genus Melicope have simple or trifoliate leaves arranged in opposite pairs, or sometimes whorled.The flowers are arranged in panicles and are bisexual or sometimes with functionally male- or female-only flowers. The flowers have four sepals, four petals and four or eight stamens. There are four, sometimes five, carpels fused at the base with fused styles, the stigma similar to the tip of the style. The fruit is composed of up to four follicles fused at the base, each with one or two seeds. [2] [3] [4]

Taxonomy

The genus Melicope was first formally described in 1775 by Johann Reinhold Forster and his son Georg Forster in their book Characteres Generum Plantarum and the first species they described (the type species) was Melicope ternata . [5]

The generic name Melicope is derived from Greek words μελι (meli), meaning "honey," and κοπη (kope), meaning "a division," referring to the glands at the base of the ovary. [6] The 2009 Takhtajan system placed the genus in the subfamily Rutoideae, tribe Zanthoxyleae. [7] A 2021 subfamily classification of the Rutaceae, based both on a new and previous molecular phylogenetic studies, places Melicope (with an expanded circumscription) in the subfamily Zanthoxyloideae, stating that the evidence does not yet support classification to tribal level. [8]

Evidence from 2007 onwards showed that with its traditional circumscription, Melicope was not monophyletic. The previously separated genus Platydesma of four species is nested within the genus Melicope and is sister to all Hawaiian Melicope species. And while Melicope species are usually dioecious (individual plants only bear either male or female flowers), the flowers of the former Platydesma are hermaphroditic, suggesting a rare evolutionary reversion away from dioecy in Platydesma. [9] Molecular phylogenetic analyses also suggest that the genera Comptonella , Dutaillyea , Picrella , and possibly Dutailliopsis , all from New Caledonia, might also be nested in Melicope, [10] although they are accepted in the 2021 classification, as is the temperate Asian genus Tetradium , [8] which has sometimes been merged into Melicope (possibly including the tropical Euodia ). [11] [9]

Ecology

Melicopes are foodplants for various animals, mainly invertebrates. Caterpillars of the Ulysses butterfly (Papilio ulysses) are fond of M. elleryana . Caterpillars of Thyrocopa moths have been found on M. clusiifolia . The larvae of some belid weevils from the genus Proterhinus also feed on Melicope although they prefer unhealthy, dying or dead specimens. The plants of some species may not be safe for humans. The nectar of wharangi ( M. ternata ) is known to yield toxic honey that may kill whoever eats it. [12]

Conservation

Several of the Hawaiian species are listed as "endangered" by the Government of the United States of America, due to habitat loss and competition from invasive non-native plants. A few species are already extinct.

Species list

The following is a list of species accepted by Plants of the World Online as of July 2020: [13]

Related Research Articles

<i>Zanthoxylum</i> Family of shrubs and trees

Zanthoxylum is a genus of about 250 species of deciduous and evergreen trees, shrubs and climbers in the family Rutaceae that are native to warm temperate and subtropical areas worldwide. It is the type genus of the tribe Zanthoxyleae in the subfamily Rutoideae. Several of the species have yellow heartwood, to which their generic name alludes. Several species are cultivated for their use as spices, notably including Sichuan pepper.

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

Flindersia is a genus of 17 species of small to large trees in the family Rutaceae. They have simple or pinnate leaves, flowers arranged in panicles at or near the ends of branchlets and fruit that is a woody capsule containing winged seeds. They grow naturally in Australia, the Moluccas, New Guinea and New Caledonia.

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

Coprosma is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It is found in New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Borneo, Java, New Guinea, islands of the Pacific Ocean to Australia and the Juan Fernández Islands.

<i>Macaranga</i> Genus of tropic trees

Macaranga is a large genus of Old World tropical trees of the family Euphorbiaceae and the only genus in the subtribe Macaranginae. Native to Africa, Australasia, Asia and various islands of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, the genus comprises over 300 different species. It was first described as a genus in 1806, based on specimens collected on the Island of Mauritius.

<i>Dysoxylum</i> Genus of plants in the family Meliaceae

Dysoxylum is a genus of rainforest trees and shrubs in the flowering plant family Meliaceae. About 34 species are recognised in the genus, distributed from India and southern China, through southeast Asia to New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Australia. The name Dysoxylum derives from the Greek word ‘Dys’ meaning "bad" referring to "ill-smelling" and ‘Xylon’ meaning "wood".

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

Acronychia is a genus of about fifty species of plants in the rue family Rutaceae. The leaves are simple or pinnate, and the flowers bisexual with four sepals, four petals and eight stamens. They have a broad distribution including in India, Malesia, Australia and the islands of the western Pacific Ocean. About twenty species are endemic to Australia.

<i>Wikstroemia</i> Genus of shrubs

Wikstroemia is a genus of 93 species of flowering shrubs and small trees in the mezereon family, Thymelaeaceae. Hawaiian species are known by the common name ‘ākia.

<i>Geniostoma</i> Genus of plants

Geniostoma is a genus of around 49 species of flowering plants in the family Loganiaceae. They are shrubs or small trees, with inflorescences borne in the axils of the simple, petiolate, oppositely-arranged leaves. The flowers are arranged in cymes, and each is pentamerous.

Melicope macropus, the Kaholuamanu melicope, was a species of plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae.

Melicope nukuhivensis is a species of plant in the family Rutaceae. It is a scrambling shrub or tree endemic to the island of Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia.

<i>Melicope orbicularis</i> Species of flowering plant

Melicope orbicularis, also called Honokahua melicope or orbicular pelea, is a species of plant in the family Rutaceae. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. It is threatened by habitat loss.

<i>Ochrosia</i> Genus of plants

Ochrosia is a genus of flowering plants, first described in 1789. It is in the family Apocynaceae, native to Southeast Asia, Australia, and various islands of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

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

Cyclophyllum is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. Its natural range extends from New Guinea and northern Australia to many islands of the Pacific Ocean.

Comptonella is a plant genus endemic to New Caledonia in the family Rutaceae. Molecular phylogenetic analyses suggest that this genus is nested in Melicope.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zanthoxyloideae</span> Subfamily of plants

Zanthoxyloideae is a subfamily of the family Rutaceae. Its most notable member is probably Sichuan pepper.

References

  1. 1 2 "Melicope J.R.Forst. & G.Forst". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  2. ↑ Hartley, Thomas G.; Wilson, Annette J.G. (ed.) (2013). Flora of Australia (Volume 26). Canberra: Australian Biological Resources Study. p. 95. Retrieved 24 July 2020.{{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)
  3. ↑ Hartley, Thomas Gordon (February 2001). "On the Taxonomy and Biogeography of Euodia and Melicope (Rutaceae)". Allertonia. 8 (1): 66. JSTOR   23189298.
  4. ↑ Richards, P.G. "Genus Melicope". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  5. ↑ "Melicope". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  6. ↑ Quattrocchi, Umberto (2000). CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names. Vol. III: M-Q. CRC Press. p. 1652. ISBN   978-0-8493-2677-6.
  7. ↑ Takhtajan, Armen (2009). Flowering Plants (2 ed.). Springer. p. 375. ISBN   978-1-4020-9608-2.
  8. 1 2 Appelhans, Marc S.; Bayly, Michael J.; Heslewood, Margaret M.; Groppo, Milton; Verboom, G. Anthony; Forster, Paul I.; Kallunki, Jacquelyn A. & Duretto, Marco F. (2021), "A new subfamily classification of the Citrus family (Rutaceae) based on six nuclear and plastid markers", Taxon, 70 (5): 1035–1061, doi: 10.1002/tax.12543 , hdl: 11343/288824
  9. 1 2 Harbaugh, D.T.; Wagner, W.L.; Allan, G.J.; Zimmer, E.A. (2009). "The Hawaiian Archipeligo is a stepping stone for dispersal in the Pacific: an example from the plant genus Melicope (Rutaceae)". Journal of Biogeography. 36 (2): 230–241. Bibcode:2009JBiog..36..230H. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2008.02008.x. S2CID   56279216.
  10. ↑ Appelhans MS, Wen J, Wagner WL (2014). "A molecular phylogeny of Acronychia, Euodia, Melicope and relatives (Rutaceae) reveals polyphyletic genera and key innovations for species richness". Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 79: 54–68. Bibcode:2014MolPE..79...54A. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2014.06.014. PMID   24971739.
  11. ↑ Hartley (2001)
  12. ↑ Espina-Prez & Ordetx-Ros (1983): p.35
  13. ↑ "Melicope". Plants of the World Online/Kew Science. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
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