Prumnopitys

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Prumnopitys
Prumnopitys ferruginea 11.JPG
Prumnopitys ferruginea
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Gymnospermae
Division: Pinophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Araucariales
Family: Podocarpaceae
Genus: Prumnopitys
Phil.
Type species
Prumnopitys elegans
Species
Synonyms
  • BotryopitysDoweld 2001
  • Stachycarpus(Endlicher 1874) van Tieghem 1891
  • VantieghemiaBobrov & Melikian 2000 non Kuntze 1891

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.

Contents

Etymology

The name Prumnopitys comes from the Ancient Greek prymnos (πρυμνός ‘hindmost’) and pitys (πίτυς ‘pine’), referring to the resin duct being behind the midrib. [1]

Description

Adult leaves of P. taxifolia MataiLeaves467.jpg
Adult leaves of P. taxifolia

The leaves are similar to those of the yew, strap-shaped, 1–4 cm long and 2–3 mm broad, with a soft texture; they are green above, and with two blue-green stomatal bands below. The seed cones are highly modified, reduced to a central stem 1–5 cm long bearing several scales; from one to five scales are fertile, each with a single seed surrounded by fleshy scale tissue, resembling a drupe. These berry-like cone scales are eaten by birds which then disperse the seeds in their droppings.

Distribution

The species are distributed on both sides of the Pacific, in eastern Australia, New Zealand, and New Caledonia, and along the mountain ranges of western South America from Chile to Venezuela and Costa Rica. This distribution indicates the origins of Prumnopitys in the Antarctic flora, which evolved from the humid temperate flora of southern Gondwana, an ancient supercontinent.

Fossil record

Fossils of Prumnopitys have been described from the Eocene of Australia, including Prumnopitys tasmanica (Townrow) Greenwood, Prumnopitys lanceolata Greenwood, and Prumnopitys portensis Pole. [2] [3]

Taxonomy

Although the genus Prumnopitys was first described in 1861, it was only from 1978 that it was widely distinguished as distinct from the allied genus Podocarpus , despite the marked differences in cone development with different parts of the cone structure becoming fleshy and berry-like. Many older texts still have the species listed under Podocarpus.

The Chilean species for which the correct scientific name is Prumnopitys andina (previously Podocarpus andinus), has been treated by some botanists as Prumnopitys spicata (Molloy & Muñoz-Schick 1999); however this name is illegitimate (Mill & Quinn 2001).

Several species of Prumnopitys are used for timber, though as they are slow-growing, supplies are very limited and over-cutting has led to some having an unfavourable conservation status.

Phylogeny of Prumnopitys [4] [5]

P. taxifolia (Solander ex Don) de Laubenfels (Matai)

P. montana (von Humboldt & Bonpland ex Willdenow) de Laubenfels

P. harmsiana (Pilger) de Laubenfels (Romerillo hembra)

P. andina (Poeppig ex Endlicher) de Laubenfels (Plum-fruited yew; Lleuque)

P. exigua de Laubenfels (Pino castilla)

Related Research Articles

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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, Ginkgo. Gymnosperm lifecycles involve alternation of generations. They have 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.

<i>Agathis</i> Genus of conifers in the kauri family Araucariaceae

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Podocarpaceae</span> Family of conifers in the family Podocarpaceae

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.

<i>Phyllocladus</i> Genus of plants

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<i>Podocarpus</i> Genus of conifers in the family Podocarpaceae

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.

<i>Nageia</i> Genus of conifers in the family Podocarpaceae

Nageia is a genus of conifers belonging to the podocarp family Podocarpaceae. Nageia includes evergreen shrubs and trees, from one to 54 meters in height. A 2009 treatment of the genus recognized five species. 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.

<i>Afrocarpus</i> Genus of conifers

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<i>Dacrydium</i> Genus of conifers

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Falcatifolium is a genus of conifers of the family Podocarpaceae. The genus includes evergreen dioecious shrubs and large trees of up to 36 metres (118 ft). Five species are presently recognized. The genus was first described by de Laubenfels in 1969, and is composed of species formerly classified in genus Dacrydium.

<i>Sundacarpus</i> Single-species genus of conifers

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.

<i>Dacrycarpus</i> Genus of conifers

Dacrycarpus is a genus of conifers belonging to the family Podocarpaceae. The genus includes nine species of dioecious evergreen trees and shrubs to 55–60 metres (180–197 ft) in height.

<i>Halocarpus</i> Genus of conifers

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<i>Lepidothamnus</i> Genus of conifers

Lepidothamnus is a genus of conifers belonging to the podocarp family Podocarpaceae. The genus includes three species of dioecious or monoecious evergreen trees and shrubs, and creepers. L. intermedius and L. laxifolius are native to New Zealand. L. fonkii is native to the Magellanic subpolar forests ecoregion of southern Argentina and Chile, where it grows as a low shrub or creeper in moorlands and bogs.

<i>Prumnopitys andina</i> Species of conifer

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).

<i>Actinostrobus</i> Genus of conifers

Actinostrobus is a genus of coniferous trees in the Cupressaceae. Common names include cypress, sandplain-cypress and cypress-pine, the last of these shared by the closely related genus Callitris.

<i>Torreya</i> Genus of conifers

Torreya is a genus of conifers comprising six or seven species placed in the family Taxaceae, though sometimes formerly placed in Cephalotaxaceae. Four species are native to eastern Asia; the other two are native to North America. They are small to medium-sized evergreen trees reaching 5–20 m, rarely 25 m, tall. Common names include nutmeg yew.

<i>Athrotaxis</i> Genus of conifers

Athrotaxis is a genus of two to three species of conifers in the cypress family, Cupressaceae. The genus is endemic to western Tasmania, where they grow in high-elevation temperate rainforests.

<i>Retrophyllum</i> Genus of conifers

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.

<i>Cephalotaxus</i> Genus of conifers

Cephalotaxus, commonly called plum yew or cowtail pine, is a genus of conifers comprising 11 species, either considered the only member of the family Cephalotaxaceae, or in the Taxaceae when that family is considered in a broad sense. The genus is endemic to eastern Asia, though fossil evidence shows it had a wider Northern Hemisphere distribution in the past. The species are evergreen shrubs and small trees reaching 1.0–10 metres (3–33 ft) tall.

<i>Amentotaxus</i> Genus of conifers

Amentotaxus is a genus of conifers (catkin-yews) comprising five species, treated in either the Cephalotaxaceae, or in the Taxaceae when that family is considered in a broad sense. The genus is endemic to subtropical Southeast Asia, from Taiwan west across southern China to Assam in the eastern Himalaya, and south to Vietnam. The species are evergreen shrubs and small trees reaching 2–15 m tall.

References

  1. "Conifer Track". Australian National Botanic Gardens.
  2. Greenwood, D.R. (1987). Early Tertiary Podocarpaceae: megafossils from the Eocene Anglesea locality, Victoria, Australia. Australian Journal of Botany, 35(2): 111–134.
  3. Pole, M. (1992). Eocene vegetation from Hasties, north-eastern Tasmania. Australian systematic botany, 5(4): 431-475.
  4. Stull, Gregory W.; Qu, Xiao-Jian; Parins-Fukuchi, Caroline; Yang, Ying-Ying; Yang, Jun-Bo; Yang, Zhi-Yun; Hu, Yi; Ma, Hong; Soltis, Pamela S.; Soltis, Douglas E.; Li, De-Zhu; Smith, Stephen A.; Yi, Ting-Shuang; et al. (2021). "Gene duplications and phylogenomic conflict underlie major pulses of phenotypic evolution in gymnosperms". Nature Plants. 7 (8): 1015–1025. bioRxiv   10.1101/2021.03.13.435279 . doi:10.1038/s41477-021-00964-4. PMID   34282286. S2CID   232282918.
  5. Stull, Gregory W.; et al. (2021). "main.dated.supermatrix.tree.T9.tre". Figshare. doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.14547354.v1.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)