Jellyfish tree

Taxobox

---

image_caption = Jellyfish tree with fruit.
color = lightgreen
name = Jellyfish tree
status = CR
status_system = iucn2.3
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo = Malpighiales
familia = Medusagynaceae
familia_authority = Engl. & Gilg
genus = "Medusagyne"
genus_authority = Baker
species = "M. oppositifolia"
binomial = "Medusagyne oppositifolia"
binomial_authority = Baker

The jellyfish tree ("Medusagyne oppositifolia"), the only species of the family Medusagynaceae, is a critically endangered and unusual tree indigenous to the island of Mahé, of the Seychelles. The plant was thought to be extinct until a few individuals were discovered in the 1970s.

The gynoecium of the flower resembles the tentacles of a jellyfish, hence the common and generic names of the plant.

The genus "Medusagyne" is often included in the family Ochnaceae, e.g. in the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification. The small tropical American family Quiinaceae is also included in this broad concept of Ochnaceae.

References

* Listed as Critically Endangered (CR A2be, D v2.3)

* Fay, M. F., Swensen, S. M. & Chase, M. W. (1997). Taxonomic affinities of "Medusagyne oppositifolia". Kew Bulletin 52: 111-120.

External links

* [http://delta-intkey.com/angio/www/medusagy.htm Medusagynaceae] in [http://delta-intkey.com/angio/ L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval.] http://delta-intkey.com