Povedadaphne
| Povedadaphne | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Magnoliids |
| Order: | Laurales |
| Family: | Lauraceae |
| Genus: | Povedadaphne |
Povedadaphne is a genus of plant in family Lauraceae. They are evergreen "lauroid" trees belonging to the tropical Laurel forest habitat, a type of Cloud forest in Costa Rica, in Central America.
Overview
The genus name, laurel of Poveda, is dedicated to Luis J. Poveda Alvarez. Professor of National University of Costa Rica. Where the single species of genus has been found. Povedadaphne is related with neotropical lauraceae genus Williamodendron,[1] by the position of the anter cells, at the flat apical portion, of the anters, which is unusual in Lauraceae. The genus is characterized by an extremely rare combination of characters that have occurred in the species in its own distinct genus. There is little information regarding the species due to its scarcity.
Povedadaphne quadriporata is an evergreen hermaphrodite tree of 25 m tall, of tropical mountain Cloud forest with leathery leaves alternate, simple and entire. The flowers are bisexual. Known from sites in the San Ramón Forest Reserve, near Ciudad Quesada and east of Sarapiquí river, in Heredia Province of Costa Rica.
Ecology
The ecological requirements of the genus are those of the laurel forest and like most of their counterparts laurifolia in the world, they are vigorous species with a great ability to populate the habitat that is conducive. The natural habitat is rainforest which is cloud-covered for much of the year. The species is found in forests that face threats of destruction by human deforestation.
Because of the special lack of worldwide knowledge about the family lauraceae in general, very little is known about their diversity. The knowledge of this family on a national level is that to be expected in countries with limited economic means, i.e. the vast majority of species is indeterminate or at least poorly determined. On the other hand, a high percentage of recently described new species come from collections made in these countries. Therefore an increase in the study of the family on national level is of utmost importance for the progress of the systematics of the family in general. Recent monographs of the small and medium genera of lauraceae with up to 100 species per genus have produced a high increase in the number of known species. This high increase is expected for other genera as well, particularly for those with more than 150 species recorded, bringing an expected considerable increase in the total number of species of the family.
A related vegetal community evolved millions of years ago on the supercontinent of Gondwana, and species of this community are now found on several separate areas of the Southern Hemisphere, including South America, Africa, New Zealand, Australia and New Caledonia.
Species
It contains the following species (but this list may be incomplete):
- Povedadaphne quadriporata, W. Burger