Nageia Temporal range: | |
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Nageia nagi [1] | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Gymnospermae |
Division: | Pinophyta |
Class: | Pinopsida |
Order: | Araucariales |
Family: | Podocarpaceae |
Genus: | Nageia Gaertn. 1788 not Roxb. 1832 (syn of Putranjiva in Putranjivaceae) [2] |
Type species | |
Nageia nagi | |
Species | |
See text. |
Nageia is a genus of conifers belonging to the podocarp family Podocarpaceae. [4] Nageia includes evergreen shrubs and trees, from one to 54 meters in height. A 2009 treatment of the genus recognized five species. [5] Some authors consider Nageia formosensis to be a separate species from Nageia nagi, thus recognizing six species. The podocarp genera have been reshuffled by various botanists. Most recently, several species formerly classed as Nageia were moved to the new genus Retrophyllum , while Nageia falcata and Nageia mannii were moved to the new genus Afrocarpus .
Nageia are evergreen woody plants that usually grow as trees but may also rarely be shrubs, varying in height from one to 54 meters. [6] The branching is irregular. [7] The thin and hard bark often peels with scale-like plates. [7]
The leaves are simple and flat. The phyllotaxis or leaf arrangement can be spiral or subopposite and nearly decussate. [7] [8] The leaf petioles are frequently twisted so the leaves form a flat plane around the shoot. [6] [7] The leaf blade is elliptic, ovate-elliptic or lanceolate in shape. [6] [7] Juvenile leaves are similar in shape to the adult leaves but may be larger or smaller depending on the species. [8] The leaves have multiple parallel longitudinal veins converging toward the ends. Stomata may be found on either both surfaces of the leaf or only the abaxial or underside. The leaf surface is coriaceous. [7]
Nageia are generally dioecious, with male pollen cones and female seed cones borne on separate individual plants but may sometimes be monoecious. The cones are pedunculate and develop from axillary buds. [7] [8]
The pollen cones are long and ovoid-cylindric in shape. They may be solitary or grow in small spicate groups of two to six cones. [7] [8] Each pollen cone has numerous spirally inserted microsporophylls. The microsprophylls may be triangular or apiculate in shape. Each of them has two basal pollen sacs with bisaccate pollen. [7]
The seed cones are solitary and have long peduncles. They have several sterile and one or rarely two fertile scales, each fertile scale with one seed producing ovule. [7] Depending on the species, as the cone matures, the sterile scales may fuse and become fleshy as in the closely related Podocarpus or they may wither. [7] [8] A part of the cone scale supporting the ovule develops into a drupe-like fleshy covering known as the epimatium. [6] [7] The fleshy parts of the cones attract birds, which then disperse the seeds in their droppings. [9]
The species of Nageia are distinguished from similar Podocarpus and the other genera in the Podocarpaceae by their broad, flat subopposite leaves with no midrib, superficially similar to those of the unrelated Agathis (Araucariaceae). Nageia is the only genus in Podocarpaceae with multi-veined leaves.
Nageia can be found in the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests of Asia and Australasia, from Assam in eastern India across Southeast Asia to southern China and southern Japan, and across Malesia, from the Malay Peninsula across Indonesia to New Guinea and New Britain. [3] An outpost of N. wallichiana is found in the South Western Ghats montane rain forests of southern India, where it is thought to be a relatively recent colonist in biogeographical terms.
Nageia, like many podocarps, can usually be found scattered throughout the forest mixed with other trees, and is rarely if ever found growing in pure stands. The wood is yellowish, typical of podocarps, and a few species are locally important for lumber.
The oldest fossils assigned to the genus are known from the Early Cretaceous of Japan, China and Russia. Other fossils are known from the Eocene of China. [10] [11]
Phylogeny of Nageia [12] [13] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The genus contains six species: [3] [7]
Image | Scientific name | Distribution |
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Nageia fleuryi | S China, E Indochina | |
Nageia formosensis | Taiwan | |
Nageia maxima | Sarawak | |
Nageia motleyi | S Thailand, W Malaysia, Borneo, Sumatra | |
Nageia nagi | S China (incl. Hainan), Kyushu in Japan, Taiwan | |
Nageia wallichiana | SW India; widespread from Assam + Yunnan to Maluku | |
moved to other genera: Acmopyle Afrocarpus Amentotaxus Cephalotaxus Dacrycarpus Dacrydium Falcatifolium Madhuca Parasitaxus Podocarpus Prumnopitys Putranjiva (Putranjivaceae) Retrophyllum Sundacarpus
The gymnosperms are a group of seed-producing plants that includes conifers, cycads, Ginkgo, and gnetophytes, forming the clade Gymnospermae. The term gymnosperm comes from the composite word in Greek: γυμνόσπερμος, literally meaning 'naked seeds'. The name is based on the unenclosed condition of their seeds. The non-encased condition of their seeds contrasts with the seeds and ovules of flowering plants (angiosperms), which are enclosed within an ovary. Gymnosperm seeds develop either on the surface of scales or leaves, which are often modified to form cones, or on their own as in yew, Torreya, and Ginkgo. The life cycle of a gymnosperm involves alternation of generations, with a dominant diploid sporophyte phase, and a reduced haploid gametophyte phase, which is dependent on the sporophytic phase. The term "gymnosperm" is often used in paleobotany to refer to all non-angiosperm seed plants. In that case, to specify the modern monophyletic group of gymnosperms, the term Acrogymnospermae is sometimes used.
Podocarpaceae is a large family of mainly Southern Hemisphere conifers, known in English as podocarps, comprising about 156 species of evergreen trees and shrubs. It contains 19 genera if Phyllocladus is included and Manoao and Sundacarpus are recognized. The family achieved its maximum diversity in the Cenozoic, making the Podocarpaceae family one of the most diverse in the southern hemisphere.
Phyllocladus, the celery pines, is a small genus of conifers, now usually placed in the family Podocarpaceae.Species occur mainly in New Zealand, Tasmania, and Malesia in the Southern Hemisphere, though P. hypophyllus ranges into the Philippines, a short way north of the equator.
Podocarpus is a genus of conifers, the most numerous and widely distributed of the podocarp family, the Podocarpaceae. The name comes from Greek πούς + καρπός. Podocarpus species are evergreen shrubs or trees, usually from 1 to 25 m tall, known to reach 40 m (130 ft) at times. The cones have two to five fused cone scales, which form a fleshy, berry-like, brightly coloured receptacle at maturity. The fleshy cones attract birds, which then eat the cones and disperse the seeds in their droppings. About 97 to 107 species are placed in the genus depending on the circumscription of the species.
Afrocarpus is a genus of conifers of the family Podocarpaceae. Two to six species are recognized. They are evergreen trees native to Africa. Afrocarpus was designated a genus in 1989, when several species formerly classified in Podocarpus and Nageia were reclassified.
Prumnopitys is a genus of conifers belonging to the family Podocarpaceae. The nine recognized species of Prumnopitys are densely branched, dioecious evergreen trees up to 40 metres in height.
Sundacarpus is a monotypic genus of conifers containing a single species Sundacarpus amarus, belonging to the family Podocarpaceae. Sundacarpus was designated a genus by C.N.Page in 1989; formerly it had been classified variously as a species of Podocarpus or of Prumnopitys.
Dacrycarpus dacrydioides, commonly known as kahikatea and white pine, is a coniferous tree endemic to New Zealand. A podocarp, it is New Zealand's tallest tree, gaining heights of 60 m over a life span of 600 years. It was first described botanically by the French botanist Achille Richard in 1832 as Podocarpusdacrydioides, and was given its current binomial name Dacrycarpus dacrydioides in 1969 by the American botanist David de Laubenfels. Analysis of DNA has confirmed its evolutionary relationship with other species in the genera Dacrycarpus and Dacrydium.
Prumnopitys andina, the lleuque or Chilean plum yew, is an evergreen coniferous tree native to south-central Chile and a few areas in adjacent parts of westernmost Argentina from 36 to 40° South latitude. It lives on moderately wet soils, preferably on Andean slopes from 500–1,100 meters (1,600–3,600 ft).
Podocarpus aristulatus is a small to medium-sized evergreen tree in the conifer family Podocarpaceae. It is found on the Caribbean islands of Hispaniola and Cuba.
Parasitaxus usta, also known in French as cèdre rabougri, is a rare species of conifer of the family Podocarpaceae, and the sole species of the genus Parasitaxus.
Retrophyllum is a genus of conifers in the family Podocarpaceae. It contains five generally recognized extant species with a disjunct distribution in the Southern Hemisphere, found in Papuasia and also in South America. Retrophyllum are evergreen trees typically occurring in tropical rainforests and cloud forests.
Amentotaxus hatuyenensis is a species of conifer in the yew family, Taxaceae. It is endemic to Vietnam.
Dacrydium gracile is a species of conifer in the family Podocarpaceae. It is found only in Malaysian Borneo.
Nageia nagi, the Asian bayberry, is plant species in the family Podocarpaceae named by Carl Peter Thunberg. Nageia nagi is native to China, Japan, and Taiwan. It was formerly called Podocarpus nagi.
Nageia wallichiana is a species of conifer in the family Podocarpaceae. It is a tree 10–54 m high, found in Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. Nageia wallichiana is the most widely distributed species among the seven species in the genus Nageia. If the land areas of China and Japan are excluded, its distribution nearly coincides with that of the genus and includes both the western outliers in India and the easternmost part on Normanby Island. It is one of the most extensive conifer ranges recognized and is similar to Dacrycarpus imbricatus and Podocarpus neriifolius.
Podocarpus laubenfelsii is a species of conifer in the family Podocarpaceae. It is native to Borneo.
Retrophyllum rospigliosii is a species of conifer in the family Podocarpaceae. It is a large evergreen tree native to the montane rainforests of Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia in South America.
Podocarpus oblongus is a species of conifer in family Podocarpaceae. It is a tree native to western New Guinea, where it inhabits the southern Vogelkop Peninsula and the Aru Islands.