Mezilaurus

Mezilaurus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Magnoliids
Order:	Laurales
Family:	Lauraceae
Genus:	Mezilaurus Kuntze ex Taub.
Species
See text.
Synonyms
Clinostemon Kuhlm. & Samp. Silvia Allemão

Mezilaurus is a genus of plant in family Lauraceae. Mezilaurus is a neotropical genus consisting of 18-27 species occurring from Costa Rica to the southeast of Brazil (Werff 1987).

In Brazil, 13 species are identified distributed mostly in the Amazon region. In the State of Rio de Janeiro is only recorded occurrence of M. navalium (Allemão) Taub. ex Mez.

Overview

Its name Mezilaurus (half laurel) refers to its appearance similar to the genus Laurus. Mezilaurus is a neotropical botanical genus with 18-27 species of flowering plants, shrubs and trees, mostly hardwood evergreen trees belonging to the family Lauraceae. ^[1] They are extended mostly in the drainage area of the Amazon from South America but is present from Costa Rica to the Atlantic rainforest of southern Brazil. Some species are reported for Cerrado, Cerradão, and Semideciduous Forest surrounding the Pantanal Matogrossense. The genus was described by Paul Hermann Wilhelm Taubert ex Carl Christian Mez and published in Centralblatt Botanischer 50: 21 in 1892. The type species is Mezilaurus navalium (Allemão) Taub. Ex Mez. Flower with 3 fertile stamens. Stamens of the third grade are fertile. Leaves congested at the apex of the branches, flowers in panicles with racemose endings, when present small dome over the fruit and single border. This genus is closely related to Licaria and Aiouea.

They are monoecious trees or shrubs with leaves alternate, usually congested at the apex of the branches, without papillae on the abaxial epidermis. The inflorescence are panicle with racemose terminations. The flowers are monoclinic with urceolated hypanthium, uncompressed below the tepals, 6 tepals usually erect and equal, the inner surface without papillae. Androecium with three stamens fertile, thinner fillets or undifferentiated anthers, anthers bilocelares (in Brazilian species): 1st and 2nd series with stamens absent; 3th grade with 3 stamens, pairs of glands at the base of fillets (absent in Brazilian species), reduced, never fused, anthers extrorse or apical-extrorse, exsertas general; 4th grade estaminodial absent. Fruit is black, sometimes cupulated. The cupula when present with pateliforme summit, small in relation to the fruit and with only one margin, the tepals are deciduous.^[2]

The fruit, a berry, are an important food source for birds, usually this birds are from specialized genus: Cotingidae, Columbidae, Rhamphastidae, Trogonidae, Turdidae, etc. Birds eat the whole fruit and regurgitate seeds intact, expanding the seeds in the best conditions for germination (ornitochory). In some species the seed dispersal is carried out by monkeys, chipmunks, porcupines, Opossums or fishes.

This genus have many high commercial value plant species with few or none chemical or biological studies. At least seven species were supplied by wood industry.

Species selected

• Mezilaurus itauba, (Meissner) Taubert ex Mez
• Mezilaurus navalium, (Fr. Allem.) Taub.
• Mezilaurus anacardioides (Meisn.) Taub. ex Mez
• Mezilaurus caatingae van der Werff
• Mezilaurus campaucola van der Werff
• Mezilaurus crassiramea (Meisn.) Taub. ex Mez
• Mezilaurus decurrens (Ducke) Kosterm.

References

1. ^ "Error: no |title= specified when using {{Cite web}}". http://www.tropicos.org/Name/40018309. 
2. ^ http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0102-33062005000300017