Alectryon (plant)

Alectryon is a genus of about 30 species of trees and shrubs from the family Sapindaceae. They grow naturally across Australasia, Papuasia, Melanesia, western Polynesia, east Malesia and Southeast Asia, including across mainland Australia, especially diverse in eastern Queensland and New South Wales, the Torres Strait Islands, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa, Hawaii, Indonesia and the Philippines.[4][5][6][7] They grow in a wide variety of natural habitats, from rainforests, gallery forests and coastal forests to arid savannas and heaths.

Alectryon
Tītoki Alectryon excelsus (type species) fruiting, New Zealand
Alectryon tomentosus fruiting, Queensland, Australia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Sapindaceae
Subfamily: Sapindoideae
Genus: Alectryon
Gaertn.[1][2]
Type species
Alectryon excelsus
Gaertn[1][2][3]
Species

See text

Synonyms[2]
  • Heterodendrum Desf.
  • Spanoghea Blume

Mainland Australia, especially the eastern Queensland and New South Wales rainforests and the monsoon tropics, harbours the global centre of Alectryon species diversity, having 15 species, 12 of them endemic to Australia.[2][6] In the continent of, combined New Guinea including Papua New Guinea and West Papua, Australia and all of their continental islands, including the Torres Strait Islands, known collectively in biogeography as the Sahul continent, lives the even greater diversity and endemism of 21 and 19 species, respectively.

Conservation

Alectryon macrococcus scarce remaining small trees across the Hawaiian islands and in both its varieties, have obtained the "critically endangered" species global conservation status of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).[8][9]

In Australia:

  • A. ramiflorus small trees only remain naturally growing in a very restricted area of southeastern Queensland, thus they have obtained the "endangered" species global conservation status of the IUCN (1998) and 2013 national and state conservation statuses of the Australian and Queensland governments.[10][11]:32
  • A. repandodentatus small trees in northeastern Qld, the Torres Strait Islands and New Guinea have obtained the "vulnerable" species global conservation status of the IUCN (1998), and the Queensland state government's 2013 "endangered" species conservation status.[11]:32[12]
  • A. semicinereus small trees in eastern Qld have obtained the Qld government "near threatened" species conservation status.[11]:64

Naming and classification

German botanist Joseph Gaertner formally named and described this genus and the New Zealand type species A. excelsus in 1788.[1][2][3][7]

The name Alectryon is derived from Greek word for "rooster". This refers to the cockscomb appearance of aril on the fruit. See also: Alectryon (mythology)

During the 1800s German–Australian botanist Ferdinand von Mueller published formal scientific descriptions of numerous Australian species under the now synonym genus name Spanoghea.[2][6] In 1879 Bavarian botanist Ludwig A. T. Radlkofer published updates of numerous species to names within Alectryon.[6][13] In 1988 Pieter W. Leenhouts published a revision of the genus across Malesia.[6][14]

Its closest relative is Podonephelium from New Caledonia.[15]

Description

Species height varies form low shrubs to trees of 30 m. Their leathery leaves may be simple or pinnate foliage. Small flowers, form usually at the ends of the stems. Fruiting follows, when ripe each fruit opens along a rough–edged split revealing a seed, often black, surrounded by a fleshy aril, often red. These juicy aril appendages attract birds and other seed dispersing animals.

Species
A. diversifolius foliage, Qld, Australia
Tītoki A. excelsus (type species) fruiting, branches, New Zealand
A. macrococcus var auwahiensis new growth, Maui (Hawaii)
A. tomentosus foliage, flowers, Qld

This listing was sourced from the Australian Plant Name Index and Australian Plant Census,[2] peer reviewed scientific papers,[6][14] Flora Malesiana,[7] the Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants information system,[16] Fruits of the Australian Tropical Rainforest,[17] the Census of Vascular Plants of Papua New Guinea,[5] the Checklist of the Vascular Indigenous Flora of New Caledonia,[4] the Flora of the Hawaiian Islands online version,[9] the Flora of New Zealand online version,[3] Flora Vitiensis (Fiji),[18] the Flora of New South Wales and the Flora of Australia.:[19][20]

synonyms: A. celebicus Radlk., A. excisus Radlk., A. inaequilaterus Radlk., Alectryon ochraceus Radlk., A. serratus Radlk., A. sphaerococcus Radlk.
gollark: As of now, wouldn't it probably be better to just find some abandoned desert, stick a lot of solar panels there, and somehow run power cables back to somewhere useful?
gollark: Water vapour apparently self-regulates somehow.
gollark: Honestly, given politicking, I think the only way we'll actually fix the climate thing is if there's some relatively easy geoengineering solution.
gollark: Trees respiring?
gollark: I'm pretty sure animals are not very significant compared to industry and transport and whatnot.

References
  1. Gaertner, Joseph (1788). "CCLXIV. Alectryon; Alectryon excelsum". De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum (in Latin). 1. Stuttgart: Sumtibus Auctoris, Typis Academiae Carolinae, 1788–1791. pp. 216–217; tab. XLVI. Retrieved 13 Dec 2013.
  2. "Alectryon%". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS) database (listing by % wildcard matching of all taxa relevant to Australia). Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government. Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  3. Flora Committee (2010). "Alectryon". In Breitwieser, I.; Brownsey, P.; Ford, K.; Glenny, D.; Heenan, P.; Wilton, A. (eds.). Search. Flora of New Zealand. Online edition, accessed at www.nzflora.info. Retrieved 13 Dec 2013.
  4. Morat, P.; Jaffré, T.; Tronchet, F.; Munzinger, J.; Pillon, Y.; Veillon, J.-M.; Chalopin, M. (27 May 2014) [Dec 2012]. "The taxonomic database "Florical" and characteristics of the indigenous Flora of New Caledonia" (PDF). Adansonia. sér. 3. 34 (2): 177–219. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 8 Dec 2014. Lay summary – Herbier: Florical (2014).
  5. Conn, Barry J. (2008). "Alectryon". Census of Vascular Plants of Papua New Guinea. (search result listing, matching all starting with "Alectryon", via www.pngplants.org). Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  6. Edwards, Karen J.; Gadek, Paul A. (2001). "Evolution and Biogeography of Alectryon (Sapindaceae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 20 (1): 14–26. doi:10.1006/mpev.2001.0952. PMID 11421645.
  7. Leenhouts (1994) Flora Malesiana. Digitised, online Alectryon. Noordhoff-Kolff. 1994. Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  8. "Alectryon macrococcus Radlk.". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2003. 2003. Retrieved 24 Dec 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  9. Wagner, W. L.; Herbst, D. R.; Lorence, D. H. (2005). "Query results: Alectryon". Flora of the Hawaiian Islands website. Retrieved 13 Dec 2013.
  10. "Alectryon ramiflorus S.Reynolds". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1998. 1998. Retrieved 24 Dec 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  11. Queensland Government (27 Sep 2013). "Nature Conservation (Wildlife) Regulation 2006" (PDF). Nature Conservation Act 1992. Online, accessed from www.legislation.qld.gov.au. Australia. Retrieved 14 Dec 2013.
  12. "Alectryon repandodentatus Radlk.". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1998. 1998. Retrieved 24 Dec 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  13. Radlkofer, Ludwig A. T. (1879). "Ueber die Sapindaceen Holländisch-Indiens". Actes du congrès international de botanistes, d'horticulteurs, de négociants et de fabricants de produits du règne végétal tenu à Amsterdam, 1877 (in German). Leide: A. W. Sijthoff.
  14. Leenhouts, Pieter W. (1988). "A revision of Alectryon (Sapindaceae) in Malesia". Blumea. 33: 313–327.
  15. Buerki, S., F. Forest, M. W. Callmander, P. P. Lowry, D. S. Devey, and J. Munzinger. (2012) Phylogenetic Inference of New Caledonian Lineages of Sapindaceae: Molecular Evidence Requires a Reassessment of Generic Circumscriptions. Taxon 61 (1): 109–19.
  16. Hyland et al. (2010) [RFK 6.1] "Factsheet – Sapindaceae". Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 13 Dec 2013.
  17. Cooper, Wendy; Cooper, William T. (June 2004). "Alectryon Gaertn.". Fruits of the Australian Tropical Rainforest. Clifton Hill, Victoria, Australia: Nokomis Editions. pp. 476–477. ISBN 9780958174213. Archived from the original on 2013-04-09. Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  18. Smith, Albert C. (1985). "Alectryon Gaertn.; Alectryon grandifolius A.C.Sim; Alectryon samoensis Christopherson". Flora Vitiensis nova: a new Flora of Fiji. biodiversitylibrary.org (Digitised, online). 3. Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii: Pacific Tropical Botanical Garden. pp. 593–596. Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  19. Harden (2001) New South Wales Flora Online. "Alectryon". July 2001. Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  20. Reynolds (1985) Flora of Australia. Online "Alectryon Gaertn". Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  21. Leenhouts (1994) Flora Malesiana. Digitised, online Alectryon affinis Radlk. Noordhoff-Kolff. 1994. Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  22. Leenhouts (1994) Flora Malesiana. Digitised, online Alectryon cardiocarpus Leenh. Noordhoff-Kolff. 1994. Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  23. Hyland et al. (2010) [RFK 6.1] "Factsheet – Alectryon connatus". Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  24. Reynolds (1985) Flora of Australia. Online "Alectryon connatus (F.Muell.) Radlk". Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  25. Leenhouts (1994) Flora Malesiana. Digitised, online Alectryon connatus Radlk. Noordhoff-Kolff. 1994. Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  26. Harden (2001) New South Wales Flora Online. "Alectryon coriaceus (Benth.) Radlk". July 2001. Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  27. Reynolds (1985) Flora of Australia. Online "Alectryon coriaceus (Benth.) Radlk". Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  28. Harden (2001) New South Wales Flora Online. "Alectryon diversifolius (F.Muell.) S.T.Reynolds". July 2001. Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  29. Reynolds (1985) Flora of Australia. Online "Alectryon diversifolius (F.Muell.) S.T.Reynolds". Retrieved 12 Dec 2013. Was previously described there as "Heterodendrum diversifolium F.Muell".
  30. deLange, P. J.; Cameron, E. K.; Murray, B. G. (1999). "Alectryon excelsus subsp. grandis (Sapindaceae): a new combination for an uncommon small tree endemic to the Three Kings Islands, New Zealand". New Zealand Journal of Botany. 37 (1): 7–16. doi:10.1080/0028825x.1999.9512608.
  31. Leenhouts (1994) Flora Malesiana. Digitised, online Alectryon ferrugineus (Blume) Radlk. Noordhoff-Kolff. 1994. Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  32. Harden (2001) New South Wales Flora Online. "Alectryon forsythii (Maiden & Betche) Radlk". July 2001. Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  33. Reynolds (1985) Flora of Australia. Online "Alectryon forsythii (Maiden & Betche) Radlk". Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  34. Leenhouts (1994) Flora Malesiana. Digitised, online Alectryon fuscus Radlk. Noordhoff-Kolff. 1994. Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  35. Leenhouts (1994) Flora Malesiana. Digitised, online Alectryon glaber (Blume) Radlk. Noordhoff-Kolff. 1994. Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  36. Leenhouts (1994) Flora Malesiana. Digitised, online Alectryon kangeanensis Leenh. Noordhoff-Kolff. 1994. Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  37. Hyland et al. (2010) [RFK 6.1] "Factsheet – Alectryon kimberleyanus". Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  38. Reynolds (1985) Flora of Australia. Online "Alectryon kimberleyanus S.T.Reynolds". Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  39. Leenhouts (1994) Flora Malesiana. Digitised, online Alectryon myrmecophilus Leenh. Noordhoff-Kolff. 1994. Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  40. Harden (2001) New South Wales Flora Online. "Alectryon oleifolius (Desf.) S.T.Reynolds". July 2001. Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  41. Reynolds (1985) Flora of Australia. Online "Alectryon oleifolius (Desf.) S.T.Reynolds". Retrieved 12 Dec 2013. Was previously described there as "Heterodendrum oleifolium Desf".
  42. Reynolds (1985) Flora of Australia. Online "Alectryon pubescens S.T.Reynolds". Retrieved 12 Dec 2013. Was previously described there as "Heterodendrum pubescens S.T.Reynolds".
  43. Reynolds (1985) Flora of Australia. Online "Alectryon ramiflorus S.T.Reynolds". Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  44. Leenhouts (1994) Flora Malesiana. Digitised, online Alectryon repandodentatus Radlk. Noordhoff-Kolff. 1994. Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  45. Reynolds (1985) Flora of Australia. Online "Alectryon repandodentatus Radlk". Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  46. Leenhouts (1994) Flora Malesiana. Digitised, online Alectryon reticulatus Radlk. Noordhoff-Kolff. 1994. Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  47. Hyland et al. (2010) [RFK 6.1] "Factsheet – Alectryon reticulatus". Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  48. Reynolds (1985) Flora of Australia. Online "Alectryon reticulatus Radlk". Retrieved 12 Dec 2013. Was previously described there as "Alectryon unilobatus S.T.Reynolds".
  49. Hyland et al. (2010) [RFK 6.1] "Factsheet – Alectryon semicinereus". Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  50. Reynolds (1985) Flora of Australia. Online "Alectryon semicinereus (F.Muell.) Radlk". Retrieved 12 Dec 2013. Was previously subsumed there within "Alectryon coriaceus (Benth.) Radlk".
  51. Harden (2001) New South Wales Flora Online. "Alectryon subcinereus (A.Gray) Radlk". July 2001. Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  52. Reynolds (1985) Flora of Australia. Online "Alectryon subcinereus (A.Gray) Radlk". Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  53. Harden (2001) New South Wales Flora Online. "Alectryon subdentatus (F.Muell. ex Benth.) Radlk". July 2001. Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  54. Reynolds (1985) Flora of Australia. Online "Alectryon subdentatus (F.Muell. ex Benth.) Radlk". Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  55. Hyland et al. (2010) [RFK 6.1] "Factsheet – Alectryon tomentosus". Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  56. Harden (2001) New South Wales Flora Online. "Alectryon tomentosus (F.Muell.) Radlk". July 2001. Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  57. Reynolds (1985) Flora of Australia. Online "Alectryon tomentosus (F.Muell.) Radlk". Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  58. Hyland et al. (2010) [RFK 6.1] "Factsheet – Alectryon tropicus ". Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  59. Reynolds (1985) Flora of Australia. Online "Alectryon tropicus S.T.Reynolds". Retrieved 12 Dec 2013. Was previously described there as "Heterodendrum tropicum S.T.Reynolds".

Cited works
  • Harden, Gwen J. (July 2001). "Alectryon – New South Wales Flora Online". PlantNET – The Plant Information Network System. 2.0. Sydney, Australia: The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust. Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Hyland, B. P. M.; Whiffin, T.; Zich, F. A.; et al. (Dec 2010). "Home". Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants (6.1, online version RFK 6.1 ed.). Cairns, Australia: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), through its Division of Plant Industry; the Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research; the Australian Tropical Herbarium, James Cook University. Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.
  • Reynolds, Sally T. (1985). "Alectryon". Flora of Australia: Volume 25—Melianthaceae to Simaroubaceae (online version). Flora of Australia series. CSIRO Publishing / Australian Biological Resources Study. pp. 24–31. ISBN 978-0-644-03724-2. Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Leenhouts, Pieter W. (1994). "Alectryon Gaertn.". In Adema, F.; Leenhouts, P. W.; van Welzen, P. C. (eds.). Flora Malesiana (Digitised, online). Series I, Spermatophyta : Flowering Plants. Vol. 11 pt. 3: Sapindaceae. Leiden, The Netherlands: Rijksherbarium / Hortus Botanicus, Leiden University. pp. 450–458. ISBN 978-90-71236-21-1. Retrieved 12 Dec 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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