Neocinnamomum (新樟属, xin zhang shu) is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Lauraceae. They are evergreen shrubs or small trees, indigenous to Bhutan, China, India, Indonesia (Sumatra), Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam. [1][2]
| Neocinnamomum | |
|---|---|
| |
| Neocinnamomum delavayi | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Magnoliids |
| Order: | Laurales |
| Family: | Lauraceae |
| Genus: | Neocinnamomum H.Liu |
| Species | |
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See text | |
Neocinnamomum require a warm and wet climate with no extremes of heat and cold. They occupy mid to high elevations and montane laurel forests.[3]
Neocinnamomum leaves resemble those of true cinnamon (Cinnamomum) in possessing strongly three-veined blades, but they are arranged alternately rather than oppositely. The flowers are very small and bisexual.[2][4][5] The inflorescences are highly condensed, with poorly defined branching, their overall shape described as "glomerules".[4] Pollination is by insects.[6] The seeds are dispersed by birds, which eat the fruit which are berry-like drupes.[2] The red fruits of N. caudatum are eaten by humans.[7] The fruits are ellipsoid or globose (round). Some species also propagate vegetatively.[2]
Neocinnamomum mekongense is a species that grows in the mountains north of Dali, China. It is popular with butterflies, which possibly are attracted by secretions from extrafloral nectaries.[8]
It has been suggested that fossil flowers from the late Cretaceous of North America known as Neusenia tetrasporangi are a close match to Neocinnamomum,[9] and phylogenetic analysis from living plants might also indicate that Neocinnamomum is one of the earliest surviving lineages of the Lauraceae.[9]
- Neocinnamomum caudatum (Nees) Merrill
- Neocinnamomum delavayi (Lecomte) H.Liou
- Neocinnamomum fargesii (Lecomte) Kosterm.
- Neocinnamomum lecomtei H.Liou
- Neocinnamomum mekongense (Hand.-Mazz.) Kosterm.
References
edit
- ^ a b Flora of China online database
- ^ a b c d Flora of China Neocinnamomum treatment (pdf)
- ^ a b Wang, Z.-h.; Li, J.; Conran, J.; Li, H.-w. (2010). "Phylogeny of the Southeast Asian endemic genus Neocinnamomum H. Liu (Lauraceae)". Plant Systematics and Evolution. 290 (1): 173–184. Bibcode:2010PSyEv.290..173W. doi:10.1007/s00606-010-0359-1.
- ^ Caroline K. Allen (1939). "Studies in Cinnamomum and Neocinnamomum". Journal of the Arnold Arboretum. 20: 44–63.
- ^ Susan S. Renner (2004). "Variation in diversity among Laurales, Early Cretaceous to Present" (PDF). Biologiske Skrifter. 55: 441–458.
- ^ "Wild edible plants used by the Garo tribes of Nokrek Biosphere Reserve, Mechalaya, India" (PDF). Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge.
- ^ Zipcode Zoo
- ^ a b Andre S. Chanderbali; Henk van der Werff & Susanne S. Renner (2001). "Phylogeny and Historical Biogeography of Lauraceae: Evidence from the Chloroplast and Nuclear Genomes" (PDF). Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. 88 (1): 104–134. doi:10.2307/2666133. JSTOR 2666133.
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