| Gardenia imperialis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Gentianales |
| Family: | Rubiaceae |
| Genus: | Gardenia |
| Species: | G. imperialis |
| Binomial name | |
| Gardenia imperialis | |
Gardenia imperialis is a small to medium sized tree within the Rubiaceae family, it is found in swamp savannahs or forests in Tropical Africa.
The species grows up to 18 meters tall, trunk is greyish in color. [2] Leaves have a simple, opposite arrangement, and are sometime sticky, they are broadly obovate and large in outline; upper surface is glabrous while abaxial surface is sometimes velvety with ant's nesting cavity around the midrib; its leaf-blade is 15–38 cm long and 10–22 cm wide. [3] [4] White fragrant flowers, it has large narrow funnel shaped corolla tubes, the outer surface of the tubes is pinkish while the inner surface is whitish. [5] Fruit is ovoid to ellipsoid in shape and reddish-brown in color. [6]
The species occurs in Senegal in West Africa, eastwards to Uganda and Southwards towards Zimbabwe. [7] Grows on the margins of streams and lakes, in swamp forests and riverine areas. [2]
Test on root bark extracts identified two triterpenoid compounds, 3-epi-β-amyrin and β-amyrin acetate. [8]
The Rubiaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the coffee, madder, or bedstraw family. It consists of terrestrial trees, shrubs, lianas, or herbs that are recognizable by simple, opposite leaves with interpetiolar stipules and sympetalous actinomorphic flowers. The family contains about 13,500 species in about 620 genera, which makes it the fourth-largest angiosperm family. Rubiaceae has a cosmopolitan distribution; however, the largest species diversity is concentrated in the tropics and subtropics. Economically important species include Coffea, the source of coffee, Cinchona, the source of the antimalarial alkaloid quinine, some dye plants, and ornamental cultivars.
Genipa is a genus of trees in the family Rubiaceae. This genus is native to the American tropical forests.
Gardenia is a genus of flowering plants in the coffee family, Rubiaceae, native to the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Asia, Madagascar and Pacific Islands, and Australia.
Rothmannia annae is a species of plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is endemic to the Seychelles. It is found in its natural state only on Aride Island, where its habitat is protected by Island Conservation Society.
Aeschynomene elaphroxylon, also known as an ambatch, pith-tree, balsa wood tree, or umburu, is a common large shrub to small tree of the genus Aeschynomene in the family Fabaceae growing in swamps, lakes and rivers in Tropical Africa. It grows two to nine, exceptionally up to twelve, metres high, with a straight, thick, swollen, conical trunk. This is an unusual leguminous tree in that it grows in water as a freshwater mangrove, with an extremely lightweight wood acting as a float and a specialised root system sprouting from the trunk which forms a tangled web hanging through the water and sprawling through the mud. It has adventitious roots and roots which are differentiated into special structures adapted to the swamp environment. It can even grow as floating islands of drifting forests.
Afrocanthium is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It consists of deciduous, unarmed trees, and shrubs. They are native to East Africa, from Sudan and Ethiopia to South Africa.
Atractocarpus fitzalanii, the brown gardenia or yellow mangosteen, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae found in tropical Queensland in Australia. The beautifully scented flowers and lush growth has seen this plant enter cultivation in subtropical gardens in Eastern Australia.
Tylopilus plumbeoviolaceus, commonly known as the violet-grey bolete, is a fungus of the bolete family. First described in 1936, the mushroom has a disjunct distribution, and is distributed in eastern North America and Korea. The fruit bodies of the fungus are violet when young, but fade into a chocolate brown color when mature. They are solid and relatively large—cap diameter up to 15 cm (5.9 in), with a white pore surface that later turns pink, and a white mycelium at the base of the stem. The mushroom is inedible. A number of natural products have been identified from the fruit bodies, including unique chemical derivatives of ergosterol, a fungal sterol.
Pulveroboletus bembae is a species of fungus in the family Boletaceae that was first described in 2009. It is known only from the rainforest of northern Gabon, a region known for its high level of species diversity. Like all boletes, P. bembae has fleshy fruit bodies that form spores in tubes perpendicular to the ground on the underside of the cap. These yellowish tubes form a surface of pores, each about 1–2 mm in diameter. The brownish caps may reach up to 3.5 cm (1.4 in) wide, and rest atop pale brown stems up to 5.5 cm (2.2 in) long. The stems have a woolly, whitish yellow ring of tissue that is short-lived, and may be absent in older specimens. The spores of P. bembae are spindle- or fuse-shaped, and have rough surfaces—a detail observable when viewed with scanning electron microscopy. The fungus grows in a mycorrhizal relationship with Gilbertiodendron dewevrei, the dominant tree species of the Guineo-Congolian rainforest. Other similar Pulveroboletus species in the area include P. annulus and P. croceus, which may be differentiated from P. bembae by a combination of macro- and microscopic characteristics.
Momordica foetida is a perennial climbing vine native of tropical Africa, closely related to the bitter melon and balsam apple. Its species name ("bad-smelling") refers to its unpleasant smell. It was previously named M. morkorra and M. cordata (Cogn.)
Harungana madagascariensis is a flowering plant found in Madagascar that is commonly known as the dragon's blood tree, orange-milk tree or haronga.
Nauclea orientalis is a species of tree in the family Rubiaceae, native to Southeast Asia, New Guinea, and Australia. It has many common names, including bur tree, canary wood, Leichhardt pine and yellow cheesewood. It grows to a maximum of around 30 m (98 ft) in height and has large glossy leaves. It bears spherical clusters of fragrant flowers that develop into golf ball-sized edible but bitter fruits. The yellowish to orange soft wood is also used for timber and in woodcarving and folk medicine. Much recently, it has been called the coronavirus tree because its flowerhead resembles the virus.
Pentaclethra macroloba is a large and common leguminous tree in the genus Pentaclethra native to the wet tropical areas of the northern Neotropics, which can form monocultural stands in some seasonally flooded habitats. It has giant, bipinnate leaves shaped like feathers. It uses seed dispersal by water to establish itself in new areas, having floating seeds that are left behind after the waters recede after floods or tides. It has hard timber which is not very resistant to rot in the tropics, but it can be treated, has a pretty pink-red colour when dry, and has a number of uses. Oil used in cosmetics is extracted from the large seeds. In the northern Amazon region the bark is used in herbal medicine as an antivenom, and in the Guianas the bark has been used as a fish poison. Despite their toxicity, the seeds are eaten by variegated squirrels, parrots and macaws, and serve as the nurseries of the larvae of the moth Carmenta surinamensis.
Vachellia reficiens, commonly known as red-bark acacia, red thorn, false umbrella tree, or false umbrella thorn, is a deciduous tree or shrub of the pea family (Fabaceae) native to southern Africa, often growing in an upside-down cone shape and with a relatively flat crown.
Scaevola taccada, also known as beach cabbage, sea lettuce, beach naupaka, naupaka kahakai (Hawaiian), magoo (Divehi), merambong (Malay), bapaceda or papatjeda, ngahu (Tongan) is a flowering plant in the family Goodeniaceae found in coastal locations in the tropical areas of the Indo-Pacific. It is a common beach shrub throughout the Arabian Sea, the tropical Indian Ocean and the tropical islands of the Pacific Ocean.
The amyrins are three closely related natural chemical compounds of the triterpene class. They are designated α-amyrin (ursane skeleton), β-amyrin (oleanane skeleton) and δ-amyrin. Each is a pentacyclic triterpenol with the chemical formula C30H50O. They are widely distributed in nature and have been isolated from a variety of plant sources such as epicuticular wax. In plant biosynthesis, α-amyrin is the precursor of ursolic acid and β-amyrin is the precursor of oleanolic acid. All three amyrins occur in the surface wax of tomato fruit. α-Amyrin is found in dandelion coffee.
Nigroporus vinosus is a species of poroid fungus in the family Steccherinaceae, and the type species of the genus Nigroporus. Its fruit bodies have brownish caps with tinges of purple or red. The cap underside has a pore surface the same colour as the cap, and minute pores. Nigroporus vinosus has a pantropical distribution. It has been recorded from Africa, North America, Central America, South America, Asia, and Oceania. It is a wood-decay fungus that causes a white rot.
Drypetes arguta, commonly known as the water ironplum, is a species of small tree or large bush in the family Putranjivaceae. It is native to tropical East Africa. It was first described in 1920 by the English botanist John Hutchinson, who named it Cyclostemon argutus. It was later transferred to the genus Drypetes.
Erlangea calycina is a perennial herb within the Asteraceae family. Its occurs in Tanzania and Kenya.
Gardenia erubescens is a shrub or small tree species with edible fruits that occurs in the Guinea and Sudan savannah vegetation of West and Central Africa. It is within the Rubiaceae family.