Licania

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Licania
Oitizeiro (Licania tomentosa)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Subclass: Rosidae (unranked) Eurosids I Order: Malpighiales Family: Chrysobalanaceae Genus: Licania
Species
Numerous, see text

Licania is a plant genus in the family Chrysobalanaceae. Mainly due to deforestation, several species of these shrubs and smallish trees have declined, some markedly so, and L. caldasiana from Colombia appears to have gone extinct in recent years.

Several species are used as ornamental plants. Licania fruit are important food for many animals and can also be eaten by humans. Caterpillars of a possible new taxon of the Astraptes fulgerator cryptic species complex were found on L. arborea but do not seem to eat them regularly^[1].

[edit] Selected species

• Licania arborea
• Licania caldasiana
• Licania chiriquiensis
• Licania conferruminata
• Licania fasciculata
• Licania grandibracteata
• Licania hedbergii
• Licania kunthiana Hook.f.
• Licania longicuspidata
• Licania longipetala
• Licania megalophylla
• Licania michauxii – Gopher Apple, Ground Oak
• Licania morii
• Licania pyrifolia Grisebach – Merecure Licania
• Licania rigida Mart.
• Licania salicifolia
• Licania splendens
• Licania tomentosa (Benth) Fritsch. – oitizeiro (Brazil)
• Licania vasquezii
• Licania velutina

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] References

• Brower, Andrew V.Z. (2006): Problems with DNA barcodes for species delimitation: ‘ten species’ of Astraptes fulgerator reassessed (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae). Systematics and Biodiversity 4(2): 127–132. doi:10.1017/S147720000500191X PDF fulltext
• Hébert, Paul D.N.; Penton, Erin H.; Burns, John M.; Janzen, Daniel H. & Hallwachs, Winnie (2004): Ten species in one: DNA barcoding reveals cryptic species in the semitropical skipper butterfly Astraptes fulgerator. PNAS 101(41): 14812-14817. doi:10.1073/pnas.0406166101 PDF fulltext Supporting Appendices