Memecylon cantleyi

Last updated

Memecylon cantleyi
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Melastomataceae
Genus: Memecylon
Species:
M. cantleyi
Binomial name
Memecylon cantleyi
Synonyms [1]

Memecylon cantleyi is a shrub or tree species in the Melastomataceae family. The flowers are white and vivid blue. The plant is native to an area from Borneo to Sumatra to Thailand. A name given to the tree in Malaysia, nipis kulit, translates as "calamondin bark".

Contents

Taxonomy

This species has been identified by molecular phylogenetics as being in a clade with Memecylon caeruleum , which grows from New Guinea through Southeast Asia to Tibet, Zhōngguó/China. [2] As well these two species belong to a deeper Malesian/Southeast Asian clade that includes Memecylon lilacinum , Memecylon pauciflorum , Memecylon plebujum , and Memecylon scutellatum .

The species was named by the English botanist, geologist and naturalist Henry Nicholas Ridley (1855-1956), in 1918. [3] Ridley lived for 20 years in Singapore, and worked extensively on the botany of then British Malaya. He described the plant in the Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (Singapore).

Description

A small tree (up to 15m), with white calyces and vivid blue petals and filaments. [4] [5]

Distribution

The species is native to an area of Southeast Asia, from Borneo to Thailand. [1] Countries and regions that it grows in are: Indonesia (Kalimantan, Sumatera {Simeulue}); [4] Malaysia (Sabah, Sarawak, Peninsular Malaysia); Brunei Darussalam; Singapore; Thailand.

Habitat, ecology

An understorey tree. [4]

The tree is recorded in Brunei Darussalam as growing in the Temburong District at 180m altitude in mixed dipterocarp forest. [6]

In 2009, the plant was described as critically endangered in Singapore. [7]

In Singapore in 2014 the sole population of this species in Singapore was the same population in the Gardens Jungle that the botanist Ridley used to name the species in 1918 (see #Taxonomy). [8]

In a study published in 2019, this taxa was identified in Bukit Timah Nature Reserve in Singapore. [9] It was only found in primary forest, no individuals were identified in old- or maturing-secondary forest (the maturing-secondary forest was 56 years old).

A lichen of the leaf dwelling genus Byssoloma , Byssoloma leucoblepharum is recorded as growing on the plant in Singapore. [10]

The dominant trees in the forest on the lower slopes (250-300m) of Gunung Ledang National Park, Johor, Malaysia, are Dipterocarpaceae, with multiple species of Dipterocarpus and Shorea. M. cantleyi is one of the small trees of this forest. [11]

The vegetation surrounding Tasik Bera, Pahang, Malaysia is a lowland (35-80m) dipterocarp forest, with this tree present, growing up to 15m. [5]

On Pulau Langkawi, Malaysia, the main mountain range is Machinchang, of a sandstone and conglomerate formation. [12] On the slopes of this range, M. cantleyi occurs from 200m to 660m altitude. In the lower slopes, the seasonally dry rainforest is dominated by a Syzygium-Swintonia association with a canopy up to 25m. From 630m the now stunted forest (canopy at 5m height) was a Syzygium-Orchidaceae association, with M. cantleyi one of the dominant taxa.

Vernacular names

Related Research Articles

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

Rafflesia is a genus of parasitic flowering plants in the family Rafflesiaceae. The species have enormous flowers, the buds rising from the ground or directly from the lower stems of their host plants; one species has the largest flower in the world. Plants of the World Online lists up to 41 species from this genus, all of them are found throughout Southeast Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rattan</span> Material (vegetable source)

Rattan, also spelled ratan, is the name for roughly 600 species of Old World climbing palms belonging to subfamily Calamoideae. The greatest diversity of rattan palm species and genera are in the closed-canopy old-growth tropical forests of Southeast Asia, though they can also be found in other parts of tropical Asia and Africa. Most rattan palms are ecologically considered lianas due to their climbing habits, unlike other palm species. A few species also have tree-like or shrub-like habits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Singapore Botanic Gardens</span> Tropical garden located in Singapore

The Singapore Botanic Gardens is a 164-year-old tropical garden located at the fringe of the Orchard Road shopping district in Singapore. It is one of three gardens, and the only tropical garden, to be honoured as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Botanic Gardens has been ranked Asia's top park attraction since 2013, by TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice Awards. It was declared the inaugural Garden of the Year by the International Garden Tourism Awards in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife of Malaysia</span>

The wildlife of Malaysia is diverse, with Malaysia being a megadiverse country. Most of the country is covered in rainforest, which hosts a huge diversity of plant and animal species. There are approximately 361 mammal species, 694 bird species, 250 reptile species, and 150 frog species found in Malaysia. Its large marine territory also holds a great diversity of life, with the country's coastal waters comprising part of the Coral Triangle.

<i>Nyctixalus pictus</i> Species of amphibian

Nyctixalus pictus, also known as cinnamon frog, cinnamon treefrog, cinnamon bush frog, painted Indonesian treefrog, and white-spotted treefrog, etc., is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. It is found in the Malay Peninsula, the Philippines, and parts of the Greater Sunda Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raffles' banded langur</span> Species of primate in Malaysia and Singapore

The Raffles' banded langur, also known as the banded leaf monkey or banded surili, is a species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae. It is endemic to Singapore and southern Peninsular Malaysia. The species underwent taxonomic revisions in 2019 and 2020, in which two former subspecies were elevated to separate species. As a result, the Raffles' banded langur meets the criteria for being listed as critically endangered by the IUCN. It is mainly threatened by habitat loss.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ridley's leaf-nosed bat</span> Species of bat

Ridley's leaf-nosed bat, Ridley's roundleaf bat, or Singapore roundleaf horseshoe bat is a species of bat in the family Hipposideridae. It is found in Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical swamps. It is threatened by habitat loss.

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

Carallia is a genus of trees in the family Rhizophoraceae.

<i>Campylospermum serratum</i> Species of shrub or tree

Campylospermum serratum is a plant in the family Ochnaceae. The specific epithet serratum is from the Latin meaning "with teeth", referring to the leaf margin. It is found in Tropical Asia, from Sulawesi, Indonesia to Hainan, Zhōngguó/China and over to southwester India. Gomphia serrata was a previous common name for the species. The plant is used for it wood and its sap is used in folk medicine and in the past for teeth-blackening.

<i>Thismia</i> Genus of plants

Thismia is a genus of myco-heterotrophic plants in family Burmanniaceae, first described as a genus in 1845. It is native to East and Southeast Asia, New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, and the Americas.

<i>Memecylon edule</i> Species of tree

Memecylon edule is a small evergreen tree native to India especially the Deccan Plateau including most of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and parts of Tamil Nadu, Thailand, Malay Peninsula, Singapore and Borneo. It is found in shores with sand or rocky soils. Common names include kaayam, delek bangas, delek air, nipis kulit, miat, and nemaaru.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ulu Temburong National Park</span> National park in Brunei

Ulu Temburong National Park is the first national park to be established in Brunei, protected since 1991. The park is in Temburong District in eastern Brunei, and covers about 40% of the district in the south at 550 square kilometres (210 sq mi). It is within the Batu Apoi Forest Reserve. The park contains unspoiled jungle and is known as the "Green Jewel of Brunei", described as "the finest example of the sultanate's successful forest protection policy". The principal rivers are the Temburong and Belalong Rivers. It is an important ecotourism centre in Brunei and hosts the Ulu Ulu Resort. The Peradayan Forest Reserve is also located in the district.

Madhuca hirtiflora is a plant in the family Sapotaceae. The specific epithet hirtiflora means "hairy flowers".

Nathaniel Cantley (1847–1888) was a British botanist and expert in tropical horticulture, agriculture, and forestry.

Mallotus floribundus is a tree in the family Euphorbiaceae, in the Stylanthus section, native to Southeast Asia, Wallaceae, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.

Memecylon caeruleum is a shrub or tree species in the Melastomataceae family. It is found from New Guinea, west through Southeast Asia to Tibet, Zhōngguó/China. It has become an invasive weed in the Seychelles. It has some local use for wood and food.

<i>Syzygium claviflorum</i> Species of shrub in the Myrtaceae family from Northern Australia and Tropical and Subtropical Asia

Syzygium claviflorum is a tree in the Myrtaceae family. It is native to the north of the Australian continent and in tropical and subtropical Asia. It is used for timber, as fuel, as human and cattle food, and for dye. Stunted specimens can be found on the top of the plateau of Bokor National Park, Cambodia.

Memecylon lilacinum is a tree species in the Melastomataceae family. It is usually an understorey species in closed forests. It is native to an area of tropical Asia, from Jawa to Philippines to Vietnam and the Andaman Islands and Myanmar. It is a food plant for the macaque Macaca facsicularis and a bee in the Megachilidae family.

Memecylon pauciflorum is a tree species in the Melastomataceae family. It grows as a tree or shrub in northern Australia and tropical and subtropical Asia. An understorey species typically, it grows in a variety of communities. The possum Petropseudes dahli uses this species as one of their scent-marking sites. It is a host to a number of funguses. People in Australia and in Thailand use the plant in folk medicine, though no efficacy has been demonstrated.

<i>Memecylon plebejum</i> Species of tree in the Melastomataceae family

Memecylon plebejum is a tree or shrub species in the Melastomataceae family. It grows in tropical Asia from Thailand to Myanmar, Assam (India) and Bangladesh. It favours slopes of hills and mountains, growing up to 1685m elevation, in the understorey of primary forests primarily. It hosts at least one fruit-fly and two parasitoid wasps. The wood is very hard to cut, making it difficult to use as firewood, but some people use it for agricultural tool handles.

References

  1. 1 2 "Memecylon cantleyi Ridl". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  2. ↑ Stone, Robert Douglas (2014). "The species-rich, paleotropical genus Memecylon (Melastomataceae): Molecular phylogenetics and revised infrageneric classification of the African species". Taxon. 63 (3, June): 539–561. doi: 10.12705/633.10 . Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  3. ↑ "Memecylon cantleyi Ridl., J. Straits Branch Roy. Asiat. Soc. 79: 72 (1918)". International Plant Name Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 Maxwell, J.F. (1982). "New and interesting plant records for Singapore" (PDF). Gard. Bull. Sing. 35 (2): 191–8. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  5. 1 2 Rafidah, A. R.; Chew, M. Y.; Ummul-Nazrah, A. R.; Kamarudin, S. (2010). "The flora of Tasik Bera, Pahang, Malaysia" (PDF). Malayan Nature Journal. 62 (3): 249–306. Retrieved 8 April 2021.[ dead link ]
  6. ↑ Zamri, Azim; Slik, J.W.F. (2018). "Checklist of Seedplant holdings of the UBD Herbarium (UBDH), with 234 new plant records for Brunei Darussalam". Scientia Bruneiana. 17 (1): 6–122. doi: 10.46537/scibru.v17i1.68 . Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  7. ↑ Chong, Kwek Yan; Tan, Hugh T. W.; Corlett, Richard T. (2009). A Checklist of the Total Vascular Plant Flora of Singapore: Native, Naturalised and Cultivated Species. Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  8. ↑ Wijedasa, Lahiru S.; Tan Siong Kia; Clements, Gopalasamy R.; Sng, Dennis (2014). "Three Snails in a Slugfest" (PDF). Nature Watch. 22 (1, Jan–Mar): 2–5. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  9. ↑ Ho, B.C.; with 12 others (2019). "The plant diversity in Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, Singapore". Gardens' Bulletin Singapore. 71 (Suppl. 1): 41–134. doi: 10.26492/gbs71(suppl.1).2019-04 . S2CID   189991750.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ↑ Sipman, H.J.M. (2010). "A Conspectus of the Lichens (Lichenized Fungi) of Singapore" (PDF). Gardens' Bulletin Singapore. 61 (2): 437–81. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  11. 1 2 Suratman, Mohd Nazip; with four others (2015). "Chapter 19 Changes in Tree Species Distribution Along Altitudinal Gradients of Montane Forests in Malaysia". In Öztürk, M.; with others (eds.). Climate Change Impacts on High-Altitude EcosystemsM. Öztürk et al. (eds.), Climate Change Impacts on High-Altitude Ecosystems. Springer International Publishing Switzerland. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-12859-7_19 . Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  12. ↑ Chua, L.S.L.; Kamarudin, S.; Markandan, M.; Hamidah, M. (2005). "A preliminary checklist of vascular plants from the Machinchang, Pulau Langkawi, Peninsular Malaysia". Malayan Nature Journal. 57 (2): 155–72. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.