Nauclea
Encyclopedia
Nauclea is a genus
of flowering plant
s in the Rubiaceae
family
. The species are evergreen
trees or shrubs that are native to the paleotropics
. The terminal vegetative buds are usually strongly flattened. The generic name is derived
from the Ancient Greek
words naus, meaning "ship" and kleio, meaning "to close". It refers to the resemblance of the cells of the capsule
to a ship's hull.
is a large tree from West Africa
that is widely cultivated
elsewhere. Its wood
is resistant to borers and is used at harbors and in other places where wood is in constant contact with water.
Naucleeae
and is sister to a clade
consisting of Burttdavya and Sarcocephalus
. The current type species
for the genus is Nauclea orientalis
. Linnaeus originally named
it Cephalanthus orientalis in the first edition of Species Plantarum
but transferred it to Nauclea when he erected that genus in the second edition in 1762.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
s in the Rubiaceae
Rubiaceae
The Rubiaceae is a family of flowering plants, variously called the coffee family, madder family, or bedstraw family. The group contains many commonly known plants, including the economically important coffee , quinine , and gambier , and the horticulturally valuable madder , west indian jasmine ,...
family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
. The species are evergreen
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
trees or shrubs that are native to the paleotropics
Paleotropical Kingdom
The Paleotropical Kingdom is a floristic kingdom comprising tropical areas of Africa, Asia and Oceania , as proposed by Ronald Good and Armen Takhtajan. Its flora is characterized by about 40 endemic plant families, e.g. Nepenthaceae, Musaceae, Pandanaceae, Flagellariaceae...
. The terminal vegetative buds are usually strongly flattened. The generic name is derived
Etymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
from the Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
words naus, meaning "ship" and kleio, meaning "to close". It refers to the resemblance of the cells of the capsule
Capsule (fruit)
In botany a capsule is a type of simple, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. A capsule is a structure composed of two or more carpels that in most cases is dehiscent, i.e. at maturity, it splits apart to release the seeds within. A few capsules are indehiscent, for example...
to a ship's hull.
Cultivation and Use
Nauclea diderrichiiNauclea diderrichii
Nauclea diderrichii is a species of plant in the Rubiaceae family. It is found in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Ghana, Liberia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Uganda. Its natural habitat is...
is a large tree from West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
that is widely cultivated
Gardening
Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants. Ornamental plants are normally grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance; useful plants are grown for consumption , for their dyes, or for medicinal or cosmetic use...
elsewhere. Its wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
is resistant to borers and is used at harbors and in other places where wood is in constant contact with water.
Taxonomy
Nauclea is a member of the tribeTribe (biology)
In biology, a tribe is a taxonomic rank between family and genus. It is sometimes subdivided into subtribes.Some examples include the tribes: Canini, Acalypheae, Hominini, Bombini, and Antidesmeae.-See also:* Biological classification* Rank...
Naucleeae
Naucleeae
Naucleeae is a tribe of flowering plants in the Rubiaceae family and contains about 180 species in 23 genera. Species belonging to Naucleeae occur from Australasia, tropical Asia, Madagascar, tropical Africa, and to the Neotropics and North America.-Genera:...
and is sister to a clade
Clade
A clade is a group consisting of a species and all its descendants. In the terms of biological systematics, a clade is a single "branch" on the "tree of life". The idea that such a "natural group" of organisms should be grouped together and given a taxonomic name is central to biological...
consisting of Burttdavya and Sarcocephalus
Sarcocephalus
Sarcocephalus is a genus of flowering plants in the Rubiaceae family. It holds two species of shrubs or trees native to tropical Africa. Sarcocephalus latifolius has edible fruits known as African peach, Guinea peach, Sierra Leone peach or Country fig....
. The current type species
Type species
In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...
for the genus is Nauclea orientalis
Nauclea orientalis
Nauclea orientalis is a species of tree in the Rubiaceae family. It is commonly known as the Leichhardt tree and yellow cheesewood, among other names. It grows to a maximum of around in height and has large glossy leaves. It bears spherical clusters of fragrant flowers that develop into golf...
. Linnaeus originally named
Botanical name
A botanical name is a formal scientific name conforming to the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature and, if it concerns a plant cultigen, the additional cultivar and/or Group epithets must conform to the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants...
it Cephalanthus orientalis in the first edition of Species Plantarum
Species Plantarum
Species Plantarum was first published in 1753, as a two-volume work by Carl Linnaeus. Its prime importance is perhaps that it is the primary starting point of plant nomenclature as it exists today. This means that the first names to be considered validly published in botany are those that appear...
but transferred it to Nauclea when he erected that genus in the second edition in 1762.
Species
- Nauclea diderrichiiNauclea diderrichiiNauclea diderrichii is a species of plant in the Rubiaceae family. It is found in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Ghana, Liberia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Uganda. Its natural habitat is...
(De Wild.Émile Auguste Joseph De WildemanÉmile Auguste Joseph De Wildeman was a Belgian botanist.His botanis author abbreviation is De Wild.-Works:* Les phanérogames des Terres Magellaniques., 1905.* Documents pour l'ètude de la geo-botanique congolaise, 1913....
) Merr.Elmer Drew MerrillElmer Drew Merrill was an American botanist, specializing in the flora of the Asia-Pacific region.He was born in East Auburn, Maine, and attended the University of Maine where he received a B.S. in 1898... - Nauclea gilletii (De Wild.Émile Auguste Joseph De WildemanÉmile Auguste Joseph De Wildeman was a Belgian botanist.His botanis author abbreviation is De Wild.-Works:* Les phanérogames des Terres Magellaniques., 1905.* Documents pour l'ètude de la geo-botanique congolaise, 1913....
) Merr.Elmer Drew MerrillElmer Drew Merrill was an American botanist, specializing in the flora of the Asia-Pacific region.He was born in East Auburn, Maine, and attended the University of Maine where he received a B.S. in 1898... - Nauclea officinalis (Pierre ex Pit.) Merr.Elmer Drew MerrillElmer Drew Merrill was an American botanist, specializing in the flora of the Asia-Pacific region.He was born in East Auburn, Maine, and attended the University of Maine where he received a B.S. in 1898...
& Chun - Nauclea orientalisNauclea orientalisNauclea orientalis is a species of tree in the Rubiaceae family. It is commonly known as the Leichhardt tree and yellow cheesewood, among other names. It grows to a maximum of around in height and has large glossy leaves. It bears spherical clusters of fragrant flowers that develop into golf...
(L.Carolus LinnaeusCarl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...
) L.Carolus LinnaeusCarl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...
- Common names: Kanluang, Bangkal, Leichhardt Tree, Cheesewood, Yellow Cheesewood, Canary Cheesewood - Nauclea parva (Havil.) Merr.Elmer Drew MerrillElmer Drew Merrill was an American botanist, specializing in the flora of the Asia-Pacific region.He was born in East Auburn, Maine, and attended the University of Maine where he received a B.S. in 1898...
- Nauclea robinsonii Merr.Elmer Drew MerrillElmer Drew Merrill was an American botanist, specializing in the flora of the Asia-Pacific region.He was born in East Auburn, Maine, and attended the University of Maine where he received a B.S. in 1898...
- Nauclea subdita (Korth.Pieter Willem KorthalsPieter Willem Korthals was a Dutch botanist. Korthals was the official botanist with the Dutch East India Service from 1831 to 1836....
) Steud. - Common names: Bongkol, Bulubangkal - Nauclea tenuiflora (Havil.) Merr.Elmer Drew MerrillElmer Drew Merrill was an American botanist, specializing in the flora of the Asia-Pacific region.He was born in East Auburn, Maine, and attended the University of Maine where he received a B.S. in 1898...
- Nauclea vanderguchtii (De Wild.Émile Auguste Joseph De WildemanÉmile Auguste Joseph De Wildeman was a Belgian botanist.His botanis author abbreviation is De Wild.-Works:* Les phanérogames des Terres Magellaniques., 1905.* Documents pour l'ètude de la geo-botanique congolaise, 1913....
) E.M.A.Petit - Nauclea xanthoxylon (A.Chev.Auguste Jean Baptiste ChevalierAuguste Jean Baptiste Chevalier was a French botanist, taxonomist, and explorer of tropical Africa, especially of French colonial empire Africa and Côte d'Ivoire. He also explored and collected plants in South America and tropical Asia...
) Aubrév.