Altingia

Taxobox
name = "Altingia"
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo = Saxifragales
familia = Altingiaceae
genus = "Altingia" Noronha
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = See text.

"Altingia" is a genus of 11 species of flowering plants in the family Altingiaceae, formerly often treated in the related family Hamamelidaceae. The genus is native to southeastern Asia, in Bhutan, Cambodia, southern China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.

They are evergreen trees growing to 10-50 m tall. The leaves are spirally arranged, simple unlobed, 4-15 cm long and 2-7 cm broad, with a serrated margin. The flowers are produced in a dense globose inflorescence, similar to those of the related genus "Liquidambar".

Some recent genetic evidence suggests "Altingia" should be merged into a broader circumscription of "Liquidambar", but other evidence maintains their separation. [Ickert-Bond, S. M. (2004). Botany 2004 Abstracts. [http://www.2004.botanyconference.org/engine/search/index.php?func=detail&aid=690 Abstract] .] [cite journal | url = http://www.amjbot.org/cgi/content/full/92/8/1234 | journal = American Journal of Botany | date = 2005 | volume = 92 | pages = 1234–1255 | title = Comparative infructescence morphology in Liquidambar (Altingiaceae) and its evolutionary significance | author = Stefanie M. Ickert-Bond, Kathleen B. Pigg and Jun Wen | doi = 10.3732/ajb.92.8.1234 ]

;Selected species:
*"Altingia chinensis"
*"Altingia excelsa"
*"Altingia gracilipes"
*"Altingia multinervis"
*"Altingia obovata"
*"Altingia poilanei"
*"Altingia siamensis"
*"Altingia tenuifolia"
*"Altingia yunnanensis"

The leaves are used as food by the larvae of some Lepidoptera, including "Endoclita damor".

References

External links

* [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=101223 Flora of China: "Altingia"]