Simarouba

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Simarouba
Simarouba amara Ypey63.jpg
Simarouba amara
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Simaroubaceae
Genus: Simarouba
Aubl. 1775 [1]
Type species
Simarouba amara
Species

Simarouba amara
Simarouba berteroana
Simarouba glauca
Simarouba laevis
Simarouba tulae
Simarouba versicolor

Contents

Simarouba is a genus of trees and shrubs in the family Simaroubaceae, native to the neotropics. It has been grouped in the subtribe Simaroubina along with the Simaba and Quassia genera. They have compound leaves, with between 1 and 12 pairs of alternate pinnate leaflets. Their flowers are unisexual, relatively small (around 1 cm long) and arranged in large panicles. Plants are dioecious, bearing only male or female flowers. [2] The individual flowers have between 4 and 6 sepals and petals and between 8 and 12 stamens. The fruit is a carpophore and has up to 5 drupaceous mericarps.


In 1944, Adolf Engler and Arthur Cronquist separated the species in the genus, [3] based mainly on the morphology of their flowers, but also using differences in their leaf structure. S. amara, S. glauca and S. versicolor are continental tree species and are often confused with each other, particularly in areas where more than one species is present in the flora. S. amara can be distinguished by having smaller flowers and anthers than S. glauca and S. versicolor and by it having straight, rather than curved petals; its fruit are also smaller. S. glauca can be distinguished by the lack of trichomes on its leaves compared with those of S. versicolor, which has dense tomentose leaves. S. versicolor has a greater variation in flower size than S. glauca and the leaf veins of S. glauca are generally more evident than those of S. versicolor. Geographically, S. glauca and S. versicolor are easy to distinguish since the southerly range of S. glauca is limited to Panama, whereas S. versicolor is only found in South America. [3] [4] A phylogenetic analysis in 1995 based on the large sub-unit of rubisco suggested that Simarouba was most closely related to the Leitneria and Ailanthus genera, [5] but a later study in 2007, based on three chloroplastic genes and one nuclear gene, [6] found it was most closely related to Pierreodendron and Simaba . [7]

StructureS. amaraS. glaucaS. versicolor
Flower3–5 mm long4–7.5 mm long4–7.5 mm long
Anthers0.4–1.2 mm long1.3–2.0 mm long1.0–1.5 mm long
PetalsStraight, dull yellow-green to whiteCurved, brighter yellow with a touch of orange or redCurved
Fruits1.0–1.5 x 0.6–1.0 cm2.0–2.5 x 1.2–1.5 cm2.0–2.5 x 1.5–2.0 cm
Inflorescence of Simarouba tulae Simarouba tulae.jpg
Inflorescence of Simarouba tulae

S. berteroana, S. laevis and S. tulae are endemic to the Caribbean islands. [4]

Discovery and uses

In 1713, the genus was discovered by French explorers. Between 1718 and 1725, the bark was exported to France where it was used to treat an epidemic of dysentery. The bark of Simarouba species has been used by indigenous tribes as a tea to treat many diseases. [8] [9] The seeds of Simarouba glauca have been proposed as suitable for producing edible oils in India. [10] Simarouba amara is harvested for timber, with its bright and lightweight timber being highly sought after in European markets to use in making fine furniture and veneers. [11] Simarouba glauca , also known as Lakshmi Taru in India, is also valued for its wood.

Ecology

The alianthus webworm ( Atteva aurea ) is a pest of the genus Simarouba. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ericales</span> Order of eudicot flowering plants

The Ericales are a large and diverse order of dicotyledons. Species in this order have considerable commercial importance including for tea, persimmon, blueberry, kiwifruit, Brazil nuts, argan, and azalea. The order includes trees, bushes, lianas, and herbaceous plants. Together with ordinary autophytic plants, the Ericales include chlorophyll-deficient mycoheterotrophic plants and carnivorous plants.

<i>Quassia</i> Genus of plants in the Simaroubaceae family found in the tropics of the world

Quassia is a plant genus in the family Simaroubaceae. Its size is disputed; some botanists treat it as consisting of only one species, Quassia amara from tropical South America, while others treat it in a wide circumscription as a pantropical genus containing up to 40 species of trees and shrubs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sapindales</span> Order of flowering plants

Sapindales is an order of flowering plants. Well-known members of Sapindales include citrus; maples, horse-chestnuts, lychees and rambutans; mangos and cashews; frankincense and myrrh; mahogany and neem.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rutaceae</span> Family of flowering plants in the order Sapindales

The Rutaceae is a family, commonly known as the rue or citrus family, of flowering plants, usually placed in the order Sapindales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geraniales</span> Order of flowering plants in the rosid subclade of eudicots

Geraniales is a small order of flowering plants, included within the rosid subclade of eudicots. The largest family in the order is Geraniaceae with over 800 species. In addition, the order includes the smaller Francoaceae with about 40 species. Most Geraniales are herbaceous, but there are also shrubs and small trees.

<i>Acorus</i> Genus of aquatic plants

Acorus is a genus of monocot flowering plants. This genus was once placed within the family Araceae (aroids), but more recent classifications place it in its own family Acoraceae and order Acorales, of which it is the sole genus of the oldest surviving line of monocots. Some older studies indicated that it was placed in a lineage, that also includes aroids (Araceae), Tofieldiaceae, and several families of aquatic monocots. However, modern phylogenetic studies demonstrate that Acorus is sister to all other monocots. Common names include calamus and sweet flag.

<i>Moringa</i> (genus) Genus of flowering plants

Moringa is the sole genus in the plant family Moringaceae. It contains 13 species, which occur in tropical and subtropical regions of Africa and Asia and that range in size from tiny herbs to massive trees. Moringa species grow quickly in many types of environments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simaroubaceae</span> Family of plants

The Simaroubaceae are a small, mostly tropical, family in the order Sapindales. In recent decades, it has been subject to much taxonomic debate, with several small families being split off. A molecular phylogeny of the family was published in 2007, greatly clarifying relationships within the family. Together with chemical characteristics such as the occurrence of petroselinic acid in Picrasma, in contrast to other members of the family such as Ailanthus, this indicates the existence of a subgroup in the family with Picrasma, Holacantha, and Castela.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burseraceae</span> Family of flowering plants

The Burseraceae are a moderate-sized family of 17-19 genera and about 540 species of woody flowering plants. The actual numbers given in taxonomic sources differ according to taxonomic revision at the time of writing. The Burseraceae are also known as the torchwood family, the frankincense and myrrh family, or simply the incense tree family. The family includes both trees and shrubs; its species are native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia, Australasia, and the Americas.

<i>Quassia amara</i> Species of tree

Quassia amara, also known as amargo, bitter-ash, bitter-wood, or hombre grande is a species in the genus Quassia, with some botanists treating it as the sole species in the genus. The genus was named by Carl Linnaeus who named it after the first botanist to describe it: the Surinamese freedman Graman Quassi. Q. amara is used as insecticide, in traditional medicine and as additive in the food industry.

Pierreodendron is a genus of plants in the family Simaroubaceae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magnoliids</span> Clade of flowering plants

Magnoliids, Magnoliidae or Magnolianae are a clade of flowering plants. With more than 10,000 species, including magnolias, nutmeg, bay laurel, cinnamon, avocado, black pepper, tulip tree and many others, it is the third-largest group of angiosperms after the eudicots and monocots. The group is characterized by trimerous flowers, pollen with one pore, and usually branching-veined leaves.

<i>Simarouba glauca</i> Species of tree

Simarouba glauca is a flowering tree that is native to Florida, South America, and the Caribbean. Common names include paradise-tree, dysentery-bark, and bitterwood. The tree is well suited for warm, humid, tropical regions. Its cultivation depends on rainfall distribution, water holding capacity of the soil, and sub-soil moisture. It is suited for temperature range of 10 to 40 °C, and can grow at elevations from sea level to 1,000 m (3,300 ft). It grows 40 to 50 ft tall and has a span of 25 to 30 ft. It bears yellow flowers and purple elongated oval fleshy fruits.

<i>Simarouba amara</i> Species of tree in the family Simaroubaceae

Simarouba amara is a species of tree in the family Simaroubaceae, found in the rainforests and savannahs of South and Central America and the Caribbean. It was first described by Aubl. in French Guiana in 1775 and is one of six species of Simarouba. The tree is evergreen, but produces a new set of leaves once a year. It requires relatively high levels of light to grow and grows rapidly in these conditions, but lives for a relatively short time. In Panama, it flowers during the dry season in February and March, whereas in Costa Rica, where there is no dry season it flowers later, between March and July. As the species is dioecious, the trees are either male or female and only produce male or female flowers. The small yellow flowers are thought to be pollinated by insects, the resulting fruits are dispersed by animals including monkeys, birds and fruit-eating bats and the seeds are also dispersed by leaf cutter ants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quassinoid</span> Class of chemical compounds

Quassinoids are degraded triterpene lactones of the Simaroubaceae plant family grouped into C-18, C-19, C-20, C-22 and C-25 types. The prototypical member of the group, quassin, was first described in the 19th century from plants of the genus Quassia from which it gets its name. It was isolated in 1937, and its structure elucidated in 1961.

Bitter wood is a common name for several trees, all from the family Simaroubaceae, and may refer to:

Samadera harmandiana is a freshwater mangrove shrub or small tree in the Simaroubaceae family. It is found in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. The wood provides firewood. Certain fish eat the poisonous fruit

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

Simaba is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Simaroubaceae.

<i>Samadera</i> Genus of flowering trees

Samadera is a genus of trees belonging to the family Simaroubaceae, in the order Sapindales. The genus is native to eastern Africa (Tanzania), across to parts of tropical Asia and parts of eastern Australia.

<i>Samadera indica</i> Species of plant

Samadera indica, the bitter wood or Niepa bark tree, is a species of plant in the family Simaroubaceae. It is a shrub or tree and grows primarily in wet tropical regions, from west Africa, through India, then down through Indonesia to Malesia.

References

  1. Simarouba Aubl. in Hist. Pl. Guiane: 859 (1775), nom. cons.
  2. Clayton, Joshua William (2008). Evolutionary history of Simaroubaceae (Sapindales): Systematics, biogeography and diversification (PhD). University of Florida.
  3. 1 2 Cronquist, A. (1944). "Studies in the Simaroubaceae-II. The Genus Simarouba". Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. 71 (3): 226–234. doi:10.2307/2481702. JSTOR   2481702.
  4. 1 2 Franceschinelli, E. V.; Yamamoto, K.; Shepherd, G. J. (1998). "Distinctions among Three Simarouba Species". Systematic Botany. 23 (4): 479–488. doi:10.2307/2419379. JSTOR   2419379.
  5. Fernando, E. S.; Gadek, P. A.; Quinn, C. J. (1995). "Simaroubaceae, an Artificial Construct: Evidence from rbcL Sequence Variation". American Journal of Botany. 82 (1): 92–103. doi:10.2307/2445791. JSTOR   2445791.
  6. Clayton, J.W.; Fernando, E.S.; Soltis, P.S.; Soltis, D.E. (2007). "Molecular phylogeny of the Tree-of-Heaven family (Simaroubaceae) based on chloroplast and nuclear markers". Int. J. Plant Sci. 168 (9): 1325–1339. doi:10.1086/521796.
  7. Klaus Kubitzki (29 January 2011). Flowering Plants. Eudicots: Sapindales, Cucurbitales, Myrtaceae. Springer. p. 413. ISBN   978-3-642-14396-0 . Retrieved 10 January 2011.
  8. "Database Entry: Simaruba – Simarouba glauca, amara Simaruba – Simarouba glauca". Rain-tree.com. 2010-03-20. Retrieved 2010-08-02.
  9. Wright, CW; O'Neill, MJ; Phillipson, JD; Warhurst, DC (1988). "Use of microdilution to assess in vitro antiamoebic activities of Brucea javanica fruits, Simarouba amara stem, and a number of quassinoids". Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. 32 (11): 1725–9. doi:10.1128/aac.32.11.1725. PMC   175958 . PMID   2908094.
  10. Simarouba – A potential tree borne oilseed for edible oil 5 May 2009 National Oilseeds and Vegetable Oils Development Board
  11. Schulze, M.; Grogan, J.; Landis, R.; Vidal, E. (2008). "How rare is too rare to harvest?Management challenges posed by timber species occurring at low densities in the Brazilian Amazon". Forest Ecology and Management. 256 (7): 1443–1457. Bibcode:2008ForEM.256.1443S. doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2008.02.051.
  12. "Catalogue of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Bulgaria - Pensoft". Archived from the original on 2012-07-12. Retrieved 2010-08-08.