Nectandra
Encyclopedia
Nectandra is a genus of plant
in family Lauraceae
.
s and bush
es, hermaphrodite
s. The leaves are alternate, entire, glabrous or pubescent, pinnatinervias, with longitudinal grooves. Simple, alternate, petiole 0.9 to 2.2 cm in length canalicular limbo 11 to 28 cm long and 5 to 11 cm wide, with 16-28 secondary veins; base acute decurrent and revolute, entire, apex elliptically shaped, green dark, and very oblique secondary veins visible on the underside. terminal buds whitish. The inflorescence
s are pseudo-axillary, paniculate, the last divisions cimosas, mostly somewhat pubescent, the flower
s are small, rarely more than 1 cm in diameter, white or greenish tepals equal. The fruit
is a bay
set on a shallow dome. Drupa domed red-pink fleshy fruit ovoid, green when are immature and black when ripe.
with it is closely related, but the best characters to distinguish them are the position of the locules in the anther, in an arc in Nectandra,in 2 rows in Ocotea, papillose pubescence are present and the fact that Nectandra tepals are fused at the base itself and fall as a unit in the old flowers, while they are free in Nectandra in Ocotea fall individually. Many species are looking for timber.
Medium trees reach 60 cm in diameter, 25 m in height and they have a cup irregular. Bole straight and cylindrical, with modifications of low and thin fins in its base. Species are located mostly in the middle stratum of forest. Medium trees slender, with thin fins and downs
The Family Lauraceae
was part of Gondwana
land flora and many genera also, migrated to South America via Antarctica in ocean landbridges by Paleocene time.
There they spread over most of the continent. When the north American and south American tectonic plates joined in late Neogene, volcanic mountain building created island chains which later formed the meso-American landbridge. Pliocene elevation created new habitats for speciation. While some genera died out in increasingly xerophytic Africa, starting with the freezing of Antarctica about 20 million years ago and the formation of the Benguela current, others, like Beilschmiedia
, and Nectandra, which also reached south and meso-America, are still surviving today in Africa in a number of species. The genus Persea
, however, died out in Africa, except for Persea indica
, surviving in the fog shrouded mountains of the Canary Islands, which with Madagascar constitutes Africa's Laurel forest
plant refugia. In meso-America, the genus Nectandra proliferated into new species and the berries of some of them constitute a valuable food supply for the quetzal
, that lives in the montane rainforests of meso-America. Since this habitat is constantly threatened by encroching agriculture, the laurel forest animal or vegetal species had already become rare in many of its former habitats and are threatened by habitat loss.
The quetzal favorite fruits are berries of relatives of the avocado
family. Their differing maturing times in the Cloud forest
determine the migratory movements of the quetzals to differing elevation levels in the forests. With a gape width of 21 mm, the quetzal swallows the small berries (aquacatillos) whole, which he catches while flying through the lower canopy of the tree, and then regurgitates the seed within 100 meters from the tree. Wheelright in 1983 observed that parent quetzals take far less time intervals to deliver fruits to the young brood than insects or lizards, reflecting the ease of procuring fruits, as opposed to capturing animal prey. Since the young are fed exclusively berries in the first 2 weeks after hatching, these berries must be of high nutritional value. Usually only the total percentage of water, sugar, nitrogen, crude fats and carbohydrates are reported by ornithologists
Plant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
in family Lauraceae
Lauraceae
The Lauraceae or Laurel family comprises a group of flowering plants included in the order Laurales. The family contains about 55 genera and over 3500, perhaps as many as 4000, species world-wide, mostly from warm or tropical regions, especially Southeast Asia and South America...
.
Overview
Plants from this genus have been used in the treatment of several clinical disorders in humans. It has been demonstrated that Nectandra plants have potential analgesic, antiinflammatory, febrifuge, energetic and hypotensive activities. Nectandra also has been investigated as a possible antitumoral agent and the presence of neolignans was suggested as potential chemotherapeutics. Crude extracts of Nectandra contain alkaloids and lignans, berberine and sipirine. Some authors have postulated that tannins play important roles as antioxidant compounds in the scavenging of free radicals. It is reported that an extract of N. salicifolia has potent relaxant activity on vascular smooth muscle. Researchers of the entire world agree that pre-clinical large studies on herbal medicine are important and urgent, specially high-quality clinical and pre-clinical trials.Description
They are treeTree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s and bush
Bush
-Nouns:* Shrub, a type of woody plant, smaller than normal trees. Usually grows in the soil. Most bushes are low to the ground and have branches which rise up from the bottom of the plant....
es, hermaphrodite
Hermaphrodite
In biology, a hermaphrodite is an organism that has reproductive organs normally associated with both male and female sexes.Many taxonomic groups of animals do not have separate sexes. In these groups, hermaphroditism is a normal condition, enabling a form of sexual reproduction in which both...
s. The leaves are alternate, entire, glabrous or pubescent, pinnatinervias, with longitudinal grooves. Simple, alternate, petiole 0.9 to 2.2 cm in length canalicular limbo 11 to 28 cm long and 5 to 11 cm wide, with 16-28 secondary veins; base acute decurrent and revolute, entire, apex elliptically shaped, green dark, and very oblique secondary veins visible on the underside. terminal buds whitish. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
s are pseudo-axillary, paniculate, the last divisions cimosas, mostly somewhat pubescent, the flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are small, rarely more than 1 cm in diameter, white or greenish tepals equal. The fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
is a bay
Bay
A bay is an area of water mostly surrounded by land. Bays generally have calmer waters than the surrounding sea, due to the surrounding land blocking some waves and often reducing winds. Bays also exist as an inlet in a lake or pond. A large bay may be called a gulf, a sea, a sound, or a bight...
set on a shallow dome. Drupa domed red-pink fleshy fruit ovoid, green when are immature and black when ripe.
Ecology
A neotropical genus with 114 species. The genus is similar to OcoteaOcotea
Ocotea is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Lauraceae. The genus includes over 200 species of evergreen trees and shrubs, distributed mostly in tropical and subtropical regions of Central and South America, the West Indies, also with a few species in Africa and Madagascar, and...
with it is closely related, but the best characters to distinguish them are the position of the locules in the anther, in an arc in Nectandra,in 2 rows in Ocotea, papillose pubescence are present and the fact that Nectandra tepals are fused at the base itself and fall as a unit in the old flowers, while they are free in Nectandra in Ocotea fall individually. Many species are looking for timber.
Medium trees reach 60 cm in diameter, 25 m in height and they have a cup irregular. Bole straight and cylindrical, with modifications of low and thin fins in its base. Species are located mostly in the middle stratum of forest. Medium trees slender, with thin fins and downs
The Family Lauraceae
Lauraceae
The Lauraceae or Laurel family comprises a group of flowering plants included in the order Laurales. The family contains about 55 genera and over 3500, perhaps as many as 4000, species world-wide, mostly from warm or tropical regions, especially Southeast Asia and South America...
was part of Gondwana
Gondwana
In paleogeography, Gondwana , originally Gondwanaland, was the southernmost of two supercontinents that later became parts of the Pangaea supercontinent. It existed from approximately 510 to 180 million years ago . Gondwana is believed to have sutured between ca. 570 and 510 Mya,...
land flora and many genera also, migrated to South America via Antarctica in ocean landbridges by Paleocene time.
There they spread over most of the continent. When the north American and south American tectonic plates joined in late Neogene, volcanic mountain building created island chains which later formed the meso-American landbridge. Pliocene elevation created new habitats for speciation. While some genera died out in increasingly xerophytic Africa, starting with the freezing of Antarctica about 20 million years ago and the formation of the Benguela current, others, like Beilschmiedia
Beilschmiedia
Beilschmiedia is a genus of trees and shrubs in family Lauraceae. Most of its species grow in tropical climates, but a few of them are native to temperate regions, and they are widespread in tropical Asia, Africa, Madagascar, Australia, New Zealand, North America, Central America, the Caribbean,...
, and Nectandra, which also reached south and meso-America, are still surviving today in Africa in a number of species. The genus Persea
Persea
Persea is a genus of about 150 species of evergreen trees belonging to the laurel family, Lauraceae. The best-known member of the genus is the avocado, P. americana, widely cultivated in subtropical regions for its large, edible fruit.-Overview:...
, however, died out in Africa, except for Persea indica
Persea indica
Persea indica is a species of plant in the Lauraceae family.It is found in the Azores, Madeira, and Canary Islands in Macaronesia. It is threatened by habitat loss.-Overview:...
, surviving in the fog shrouded mountains of the Canary Islands, which with Madagascar constitutes Africa's Laurel forest
Laurel forest
Laurel forest is a subtropical or mild temperate forest, found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable and mild temperatures. They are characterized by tree species with evergreen, glossy, enlongated leaves, known as laurophyll or lauroide...
plant refugia. In meso-America, the genus Nectandra proliferated into new species and the berries of some of them constitute a valuable food supply for the quetzal
Quetzal
Quetzals are strikingly colored birds in the trogon family . They are found in forests and woodlands, especially in humid highlands, with the five species from the genus Pharomachrus being exclusively Neotropical, while the single Euptilotis species is almost entirely restricted to western Mexico...
, that lives in the montane rainforests of meso-America. Since this habitat is constantly threatened by encroching agriculture, the laurel forest animal or vegetal species had already become rare in many of its former habitats and are threatened by habitat loss.
The quetzal favorite fruits are berries of relatives of the avocado
Avocado
The avocado is a tree native to Central Mexico, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel...
family. Their differing maturing times in the Cloud forest
Cloud forest
A cloud forest, also called a fog forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical evergreen montane moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud cover, usually at the canopy level. Cloud forests often exhibit an abundance of mosses covering the ground and...
determine the migratory movements of the quetzals to differing elevation levels in the forests. With a gape width of 21 mm, the quetzal swallows the small berries (aquacatillos) whole, which he catches while flying through the lower canopy of the tree, and then regurgitates the seed within 100 meters from the tree. Wheelright in 1983 observed that parent quetzals take far less time intervals to deliver fruits to the young brood than insects or lizards, reflecting the ease of procuring fruits, as opposed to capturing animal prey. Since the young are fed exclusively berries in the first 2 weeks after hatching, these berries must be of high nutritional value. Usually only the total percentage of water, sugar, nitrogen, crude fats and carbohydrates are reported by ornithologists