- Beilschmiedia
-
Beilschmiedia 
Beilschmiedia miersii Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae (unranked): Angiosperms (unranked): Magnoliids Order: Laurales Family: Lauraceae Genus: Beilschmiedia
NeesSpecies See text.
Synonyms - Bernieria Baill.
- Hufelandia Nees
- Lauromerrillia C.K.Allen
- Nesodaphne Hook.f.
- Thouvenotia Danguy
- Tylostemon Engl.
Beilschmiedia is a genus of trees and shrubs in family Lauraceae. Most of species grow in tropical climates but few of them are native to temperate regions, they are widespread in tropical Asia, Africa, Madagascar, Australia, New Zealand, North America, Central America, the Caribbean and South America as south as Chile.[1] The best known species in Europe and the United States are the Chilean B. berteroana and B. miersii because of their frost tolerance. Seeds of B. bancroftii were used as a source of food by Australian Aborigines[2][3]. Timbers of some species are very valuable.
Contents
Overview
It is a genus of about 240-250 mainly pantropical trees and shrubs[4]. Commonly are canopy trees in lowland forests, with alternate or opposite leaves. Altitudinal range came from near sea level to 2200 m. Trees Growing in well developed rain forest, they are found also in warm or temperate forest on poorer sedimentary soils.[5][6][7] Most of species grow in tropical climates but a few of them are native to temperate regions. They are widespread in tropical Africa, Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Central America, the Caribbean and South America.[8] Timbers of some species are very valuable.
Ecology
The Lauraceae, the Beilschmiedia family, are aromatic evergreen trees or shrubs. Many botanical species are having similar foliage to the Lauraceae due to convergent evolution. Those plants are adapted to high rainfall and humidity. The patterns of speciation in the Lauraceae family, indicate that since the onset of aridification on the continents 15 million years ago, rainforest species diversified.[9] One of the products of aridification is the isolation of populations and this likely caused the increase in the rate of speciation as found in the Lauraceae. This genus has species adapted to the laurel forest habitat, so common in the Lauraceae and species adapted to a more Mediterranean-type climate with a dry season with lower rainfall. The morphology of sclerophyllous species is divergent from other humid tropical climate species of the genus. The greatest diversity of species and a greater presence of the genus is given in Cloud forest and tropical rainforest in Asia and Southeast Asia.[10][11]
The genus Beilschmiedia is present in a greater climatic distribution area that other genera of Lauraceae, Beilschmiedia grows well in moist, well drained ground, and tolerate a variety of soil types, attained a maximun in tropical and wetter areas of distribution, but its pattern of speciation is resulting in some cases from the product of aridification of the habitat. There are available to some Beilschmiedia species more drier conditions that are adapted to, than the typical lauraceae.[12] Some endangered relict species are living in temperate areas[13] and are distributed in Mediterranean climate, and tropical and subtropical lowland forests and montane rainforest.[14] Beilschmiedia genus responded to favourable climatic periods and expanded across the available habitat adapting also to more extreme conditions but depending on favorable soil edaphic conditions. Beilschmiedia need an annual oscillation of the temperature moderated by the proximity of the ocean and many species resist bad cold and frost.
A related vegetal community evolved millions of years ago on the supercontinent of Gondwana, and species of this community are now found on several separate areas of the Southern Hemisphere, including South America, Africa, New Zealand, Australia and New Caledonia. These lauroide leaves plant communities are twofold to tropical climate and temperate climate, having the more temperate climate their origin in the named Antarctic flora.[15]
The genus Beilschmiedia is present in Mexico, Venezuela, southern Chile and Argentina from the Pacific Ocean to the Andes between 38 º and 45 º latitude, where rainfall is abundant, from 1500 to 2500 mm according to locality, distributed throughout the year, but with some subhumid Mediterranean climate influence in 3–4 months in summer. The temperatures are unchanging enough and mild, with no month falling below 5 °C, and the warmest month below 22 °C.[16] Also is present in the eastern end of Malesia, including New Guinea, that also has many additional elements of the Antarctic flora, including southern beech (Nothofagus) and Eucalypts.
The highlands of New Guinea and New Britain was linked to Australia around 40 million years ago, the Indo-Australian tectonic plate began to split apart from the ancient supercontinent Gondwana. The laurifolia appears in Cape York Peninsula, mountains of the coastal strip of New South Wales in Australia, New Guinea, New Caledonia, Tasmania, and New Zealand. This laurel forests are home to species related to those in the Valdivian laurel forests, including Southern Beech (Nothofagus) through the connection of the Antarctic flora.
Description
Frequently the bark is pale to dark brown, smooth or coarse and they are having fine reddish brown hairs densely covering the branchlets, and the young leaves reddish. The dark green leaves are alternate, leathery. Sometimes broad, other small and narrow, leaves have distinctive depressed veins. The flowers are greenish, cream, to yellow-green pedicellate of 4-6mm. The flowers often are clothed in dense reddish-brown hairs. The flowers are hermaphrodite and arranged in inflorescences. The inflorescence is an erect panicle arising from the axils of leaves. [17]The stamens are in two whorls, the ovary is in superior position, reversal, the first optimisation.[18]
The fruit is variable from one species to other. in some species it is a drupe large globose green, 12 cm in diameter with a tip at the apex. In other species the berry is a erect plum-like dark purple or sometimes is an erect, elliptical to ovoid drupe dark purple when ripe, and covered in a waxy bloom. Others the fruit is a black round drupe with a glaucous bloom, with a single seed inside. In The Beilschmiedia genus the dispersal of seeds is due to birds that swallow them, so the berries are shaped to attract the birds. The fruits are an important food source for birds. It contains one seed. Fruits are a favorite food of the native pigeons in New Zealand.
Species
There are three endemic Beilschmiedia species in New Zealand. The others are the common canopy tree tawa, (B. tawa), which has thin willow-like leaves, and the tawaroa (B. tawaroa) which is similar to tawa but has broader leaves. New Zealand pigeon is the only species which can disperse the large seeds of the taraire pass through its gut unharmed.
Chileans Beilschmiedia miersii and Beilschmiedia berteroana are sclerophyllous endangered trees endemics to central Chile.
The North Belloto (B.miersii) grows in coastal forest, while the South Belloto (B.berteroana) grows in sub-mountain Andean zone of the temperate deciduous forest region of central Chile. Both forest associations are currently represented in the System of Wild Protected Areas by the government of Chile (SNASPE), they are endangered.
It contains the following species (but this list may be incomplete):
- Beilschmiedia albiramea
- Beilschmiedia alloiophylla (Rusby) Kosterm.
- Beilschmiedia ambigua Robyns & R. Wilczek
- Beilschmiedia anay (S.F. Blake) Kosterm.
- Beilschmiedia appendiculata S. Lee et Y. T. Wei
- B. assamica (Syn.: B. praecox)
- Beilschmiedia bancroftii, (Yellow walnut, wanga)
- Beilschmiedia baotingensis S. Lee et Y. T. Wei
- Beilschmiedia berteroana (Gay) Kosterm., (Southern belloto)
- Beilschmiedia borneensis Merr
- Beilschmiedia brachythyrsa H.W. Li
- Beilschmiedia bracteata Robyns & R. Wilczek
- Beilschmiedia brenesii C.K. Allen
- Beilschmiedia brevipaniculata Allen
- Beilschmiedia brevipes Ridley
- Beilschmiedia bullata
- Beilschmiedia castrisinensis
- Beilschmiedia costaricensis Mez & Pittier
- Beilschmiedia curviramea (Meisn.) Kosterm.
- Beilschmiedia cylindrica
- Beilschmiedia delicata S．Lee ＆ Y．T．Wei
- Beilschmiedia dictyoneura
- Beilschmiedia elliptica
- Beilschmiedia emarginata
- Beilschmiedia erythrophloia, (Hayata)
- Beilschmiedia fasciata H. W. Li
- Beilschmiedia fordii Dunn
- Beilschmiedia fluminensis Kosterm.
- Beilschmiedia furfuracea Chun et H. T. Chang
- Beilschmiedia gammieana
- Beilschmiedia gemmiflora Kosterm.
- Beilschmiedia giorgii Robyns & R. Wilczek
- Beilschmiedia glauca
- Beilschmiedia hondurensis Kosterm.
- Beilschmiedia immersinervis Sa. Nishida
- Beilschmiedia insignis Gamble
- Beilschmiedia intermedia
- Beilschmiedia javanica Miq
- Beilschmiedia kunstleri Gamble
- Beilschmiedia kweo (Mildbr.) Robyns & Wilczek
- Beilschmiedia laevis
- Beilschmiedia letouzeyi
- Beilschmiedia linocieroides
- Beilschmiedia longipetiolata
- Beilschmiedia lucidula (Miq.) Kosterm.
- Beilschmiedia lumutensis Gamble
- Beilschmiedia macropoda
- Beilschmiedia malaccensis
- Beilschmiedia madagascariensis
- Beilschmiedia madang Blume , (Indonesia)
- Beilschmiedia maingayi
- Beilschmiedia mayumbensis Robyns & R. Wilczek
- Beilschmiedia membranacea Gamble
- Beilschmiedia mexicana
- Beilschmiedia micrantha Merr.
- Beilschmiedia miersii (Gay) Kosterm., (Northern belloto)
- Beilschmiedia muricata H. T. Chang
- Beilschmiedia obconica
- Beilschmiedia obscurinervia H. T. Chang
- Beilschmiedia obtusifolia (Meisn.) F.Muell., blush-walnut, hard bolly-gum
- Beilschmiedia oligandra
- Beilschmiedia ovalis (S.F. Blake) C.K. Allen
- Beilschmiedia pahangensis Gamble
- Beilschmiedia pauciflora
- Beilschmiedia penangiana Gamble
- Beilschmiedia pendula (Sw.) Hemsl.
- Beilschmiedia peninsularis
- Beilschmiedia percoriacea Allen
- Beilschmiedia pergamentacea Allen
- Beilschmiedia preussii Engler
- Beilschmiedia punctilimba H.W. Li
- Beilschmiedia rigida (Mez) Kosterm.
- Beilschmiedia robusta
- Beilschmiedia roxburghiana Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck
- Beilschmiedia rufohirtella H.W. Li
- Beilschmiedia sichourensis
- Beilschmiedia sikkimensis
- Beilschmiedia sulcata (Ruiz & Pav.) Kosterm.
- Beilschmiedia tarairi A. Cunn., (Taraire)
- Beilschmiedia tawa (A. Cunn.) Kirk, Tawa
- Beilschmiedia tilaranensis Sa. Nishida
- Beilschmiedia tooram
- Beilschmiedia tovarensis (Meisn.) Sa. Nishida
- Beilschmiedia tsangii Merr.
- Beilschmiedia tungfangensis
- Beilschmiedia ugandensis Rendle
- Beilschmiedia undulata
- Beilschmiedia velutina
- Beilschmiedia vermoesenii Robyns & R. Wilczek
- Beilschmiedia wangii Allen
- Beilschmiedia wightii
- Beilschmiedia yaanica
- Beilschmiedia yunnanensis Hu
- Beilschmiedia zapoteoides
- Beilschmiedia zeylanica Trimen
External links and references
- ^ http://www.mnhn.fr/publication/adanson/a03n1a8.pdf
- ^ "Australian aborigines from Rainforests". http://earthsci.org/aboriginal/Ngadjonji%20History/photos/artefacts/Grinding%20Stones.htm.
- ^ "Walnuts: information from invista". http://www.innvista.com/HEALTH/foods/seeds/walnut.htm.
- ^ http://www.mobot.org/mobot/research/APweb/orders/studentone.html
- ^ http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?pid=S0717-92002004000100006&script=sci_arttext
- ^ http://www.florachilena.cl/Niv_tax/Angiospermas/Ordenes/Laurales/Lauraceae/Beilschmiedia/B.%20berteroana/Belloto%20del%20Sur.htm
- ^ http://www.chileflora.com/Florachilena/FloraEnglish/HighResPages/EH0980.htm
- ^ http://www.chileflora.com/Florachilena/FloraEnglish/HighResPages/EH0980.htm
- ^ http://www.saber.ula.ve/bitstream/123456789/24186/1/articulo44_1_5.pdf
- ^ http://www.mnhn.fr/publication/adanson/a03n1a8.pdf
- ^ http://www.mobot.org/mobot/research/APweb/orders/studentone.html
- ^ http://www.mobot.org/mobot/research/APweb/orders/studentone.html
- ^ http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?pid=S0717-92002004000100006&script=sci_arttext
- ^ http://www.saber.ula.ve/bitstream/123456789/24186/1/articulo44_1_5.pdf
- ^ http://www.chileflora.com/Florachilena/FloraEnglish/HighResPages/EH0980.htm
- ^ http://www.saber.ula.ve/bitstream/123456789/24186/1/articulo44_1_5.pdf
- ^ http://www.mnhn.fr/publication/adanson/a03n1a8.pdf
- ^ http://www.mobot.org/mobot/research/APweb/orders/studentone.html
- Beilschmiedia: information from Hebe Society New Zealand
- Beilschmiedia: information from Encyclopedia of Chilean Flora
- Commercial timbers: Beilschmiedia
Categories:- Beilschmiedia
- Laurales genera
- Laurales stubs
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
