Parasol tree | |
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P. fulva at the Lowveld National Botanical Garden in South Africa | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Apiales |
Family: | Araliaceae |
Genus: | Polyscias |
Species: | P. fulva |
Binomial name | |
Polyscias fulva | |
Synonyms [2] | |
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Polyscias fulva is a species of flowering plant in the family Araliaceae (ginseng). It is an evergreen or deciduous tree, native to the mountains of tropical Africa and the southwestern Arabian Peninsula. [3]
Polyscias fulva is a deciduous or evergreen tree, with a straight trunk and a small umbrella-shaped crown. It can grow to 25 to 30 m (82 to 98 ft) in height. It has a straight trunk, which is unbranched for most of its height. The trunk is unbutressed, and can grow up to 100 cm (39 in) in diameter. [3]
The foliage is composed of large compound leaves, which grow in bunches at the top of the branches. The leaflets are dark green on the top, and white and tomentose on the underside. [2] It is similar in form and foliage to Polyscias kikuyuensis , but is distinguished by its flowers. [3]
The tree is typically fast-growing. In plantations in Cameroon, seedings can grow to 2–3 m (6 ft 7 in – 9 ft 10 in) in height within four years, and within 20 years can grow up to 15 m (49 ft) high with a trunk diameter of 20 to 40 cm (7.9 to 15.7 in). [3]
Polysicas fulva is generally found in mountain forests, from 750 to 2,500 m (2,460 to 8,200 ft) elevation. It grows best where the average daytime temperature ranges from 20 to 30 °C (68 to 86 °F) and average annual rainfall is from 1,500 to 2,000 mm (59 to 79 in), but it can tolerate average daytime temperatures of 18 to 36 °C (64 to 97 °F), and average annual rainfall of 1,200 to 2,500 mm (47 to 98 in). It prefers well-drained sandy to loamy soil, with a pH ranging from 5 to 6.5, and can tolerate a pH of 4.5 to 7. [3]
It is found in montane rain forests, submontane forests, riverine forests, and mountain grasslands. It is a pioneer tree which grows rapidly in areas which have been cleared or burned, although it is sensitive to fire. [3]
It ranges across much of tropical Africa. It is found in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia in West Africa, and across Subsaharan Africa from Ghana eastwards to Ethiopia, and southwards to Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Angola. It is also found on the southwestern Arabian Peninsula in Yemen. [2]
The wood is lightweight and easily worked, but brittle and not durable. It is used in household objects and handicrafts, and for firewood. [3]
The tree's fast-growing habit makes it a useful tree in reforestation projects. It forms a rich leaf mulch on the ground below which improves soil. Its tall crown makes it useful in crop plantations which prefer light shade, including coffee, cocoa, and bananas, and it is often left uncut when forest areas are cleared for cultivation. [3]
The flowers are a good source of nectar and pollen for honeybees. [3]
The tree is widespread in suitable mountain habitats across Africa, and is assessed as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List. [1] The tree is becoming locally scarce in parts of its range where deforestation and fire are rampant. [3]
A shrub or bush is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple stems and shorter height, less than 6–10 m (20–33 ft) tall. Small shrubs, less than 2 m (6.6 ft) tall are sometimes termed as subshrubs. Many botanical groups have species that are shrubs, and others that are trees and herbaceous plants instead.
In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, after flowering; and to the shedding of ripe fruit. The antonym of deciduous in the botanical sense is evergreen.
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Pinus ayacahuite, also called ayacahuite pine and Mexican white pine, is a species of pine native to the mountains of southern Mexico and western Central America, in the Sierra Madre del Sur mountains and the eastern end of the Eje Volcánico Transversal, between 14° and 21°N latitude in the Mexican states of Guerrero, Oaxaca, Puebla, Veracruz and Chiapas, and in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. It grows on relatively moist areas with summer rainfalls, however specimens from its eastern and southern distribution live under really wet conditions; it needs full sun and well drained soils. Its temperature needs fluctuate between 19 and 10 °C on average a year. This tree accepts from subtropical to cool climate.
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The Sierra Juárez is a range of mountains in Oaxaca state, Mexico between latitudes 17°20'-17°50'N and longitudes 96°15'-97°00'W, with an area of about 1,700 km². It is part of the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca. The range is separated from the Sierra de Zongólica to the north by the Santo Domingo River, flowing through the Tecomavaca Canyon. It stretches south-eastward to the Cajones River and the Sierra de Villa Alta. The mountains are in the district of Ixtlán de Juárez in the Sierra Norte de Oaxaca region. The range is named after Mexico's only indigenous president, Benito Juárez, who was born here in 1806 in the small village of San Pablo Guelatao. The heavily wooded area is about 62 km (39 mi) from the city of Oaxaca on Federal highway 175, heading towards Tuxtepec.
Halleria lucida is a small, attractive, evergreen tree that is indigenous to Southern Africa. It is increasingly grown as an ornamental tree in African gardens.
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Dalbergia latifolia is a premier timber species, also known as the Indian rosewood. It is native to low-elevation tropical monsoon forests of south east India. Some common names in English include rosewood, Bombay blackwood, roseta rosewood, East Indian rosewood, reddish-brown rosewood, Indian palisandre, and Java palisandre. Its Indian common names are beete, and satisal. The tree grows to 40 metres (130 ft) in height and is evergreen, but locally deciduous in drier subpopulations.
Cinnadenia is a flowering plant genus belonging to the family Lauraceae. They are present in low and mountain cloud forest in Southeast Asia.
Maesopsis eminii, the umbrella tree, is a species of tree in the family Rhamnaceae found in India and Africa. It is the only species in the genus Maesopsis. It is often grown as a plantation tree, and as a shade tree in coffee plantations and other crops. Birds and monkeys may disperse the seeds. Since this tree grows fast it is often used for regeneration of destroyed forest lands. Its timber is used for construction and firewood and its leaves for animal fodder.
Strombosia pustulata is a species of tree in the family Olacaceae. It is native to the rainforests of tropical West and Central Africa. Common names for this tree include itako in Nigeria, afina in Ghana, poé in Abé spoken in Côte d'Ivoire and mba esogo in Equatorial Guinea.
Erythrophleum ivorense is a species of leguminous tree in the genus Erythrophleum found in the rainforests of tropical West and Central Africa. The tree has many uses; the timber is used for heavy construction, for making charcoal and for firewood, the bark is used for tanning and in traditional medicine, and both bark and seeds are poisonous and used for hunting.
Lophira lanceolata, commonly known as the dwarf red ironwood, is a species of tree in the family Ochnaceae which is native to tropical West and Central Africa. The timber is used for heavy construction, an edible oil can be extracted from the seeds and various parts of the plant are used in traditional medicine.
Brachystegia laurentii, a plant in the family Fabaceae, is a species of large tree found in western Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo. It has a dense, umbrella-shaped crown. The wood is known as bomanga and has many uses in building and construction.
Aningeria adolfi-friederici is a species of plant in the family Sapotaceae, a tall, tropical forest tree. It is found in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The specific name adolfi-friedericii was given in honour of Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg, a German explorer in Africa. Its trade name muna is taken from Gĩkũyũ mũna.