Cunonia

Cunonia
C. capensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Oxalidales
Family:	Cunoniaceae
Genus:	Cunonia L.
Species
Cunonia alticola Cunonia antholyza Cunonia aoupiniensis Cunonia atrorubens Cunonia austrocaledonica Cunonia balansae Cunonia bernieri Cunonia bullata Cunonia capensis Cunonia cardioptera Cunonia celebica Cunonia cerifera Cunonia deplanchei Cunonia engleriana Cunonia lenormandii Cunonia linearisepala Cunonia macrophylla Cunonia montana Cunonia nervosa Cunonia ouaiemensis Cunonia pseudoverticilliata Cunonia pterophylla Cunonia pulchella Cunonia purpurea Cunonia rotundifolia Cunonia rupicola Cunonia schinziana Cunonia varijuga Cunonia veillardii

Cunonia austrocaledonica - MHNT

Cunonia is a genus of flowering plants, which includes several species of evergreen trees and shrubs. Some authors merge Weinmannia into Cunonia.

The genus has a disjunct distribution, with 25-30 species native to New Caledonia in the Pacific, and one lone species (Cunonia capensis) in Southern Africa.

Cunonia capensis, commonly known as the African red alder or Butterspoon Tree, is a small tree found along watercourses and in the afromontane forests of Southern Africa, ranging from the Western Cape of South Africa eastwards to Swaziland and southern Mozambique. It is grown as an ornamental in gardens for its attractive glossy foliage and its clusters of small, scented, white flowers.

The large stipules which enclose the growth tip are pressed together to form a spoon-like shape, giving the tree its common name of "Butterspoon Tree".

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cunonia.

References

• Kubizki, Klaus ed. (2004). Flowering Plants, Dicotyledons: Celastrales, Oxalidales, Rosales, Cornales, Ericales (The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants, Volume VI). Springer, Berlin.
• Missouri Botanic Garden TROPICOS Nomenclatural Database. Accessed December 28, 2007.