Schima is a genus of evergreen trees belonging to the tea family, Theaceae.[1]

Schima
flowers and leaves of Schima wallichii
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Theaceae
Genus: Schima
Reinw. ex Blume (1823)
Species

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The genus inhabits warm temperate to subtropical climates across southern and southeastern Asia, from the eastern Himalaya of Nepal and eastern India across Indochina, southern China, Taiwan, and the Ryukyu Islands. There are about 30 species, 21 species distributed in China (six endemic[1]), among which Schima superba is the most common.[2]

Fossil record

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Fossil fruits of Schima have been described as †Schima nanlinensis, from the Miocene of Nanlin Formation in Longchuan Basin, Dehong Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China. The fossil fruits are 5-loculed capsules with flat reniform seeds. The genus Schima is known as fossils from the Palaeogene and Neogene of Germany and Austria. †Schima nanlinensis represents the first fossil record of the genus in Asia.[3]

Species (accepted)

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Species (unresolved)

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References

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  1. ^ a b Tianlu Min & Bruce Bartholomew. "Schima". Flora of China. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  2. ^ 张 蕊, 王舒琪 (2020-01-13). "木上荷花:生物防火卫士" (in Chinese). www.forestry.gov.cn. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  3. ^ Fruits of Schima (Theaceae) and seeds of Toddalia (Rutaceae) from the Miocene of Yunnan Province, China by Ya Li, Jian Yang, Nilamber Awasthi and Cheng-Sen Li in Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 193:119–127 · June 2013