Gamanthera
Encyclopedia
Gamanthera is a flowering plant
genus
in the family
Lauraceae
, with a single species endemic of Central America
. These tree
s have a resilient wood, used as timber
.
plants of Cloud forest
in Costa Rica
in Central America.
They are tree
s to 8 m tall; They are plants hermaphrodite
s. The leaves are lauroide, alternate, rarely opposite, entire, sometimes undulated, subcoriaceous, glabrous on the upper, glabrous or pubescent on the underside, pinnatinervium. The inflorescence
s in axillary, paniculata. It has small flowers. The fruit
is a small-medium berry
dispersed by birds.
and like most of their counterparts laurifolia in the world, it is a 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
.
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...
genus
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...
in the 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...
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...
, with a single species endemic of Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
. These tree
Tree
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 have a resilient wood, used as timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
.
Description
Evergreen laurel forestLaurel 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...
plants of 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...
in Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
in Central America.
They are tree
Tree
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 to 8 m tall; They are plants 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 lauroide, alternate, rarely opposite, entire, sometimes undulated, subcoriaceous, glabrous on the upper, glabrous or pubescent on the underside, pinnatinervium. 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 in axillary, paniculata. It has small flowers. 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 small-medium berry
Berry
The botanical definition of a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary. Grapes are an example. The berry is the most common type of fleshy fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp. They may have one or more carpels with a thin covering and fleshy interiors....
dispersed by birds.
Ecology
The ecological requirements of the genus are those of the laurel forestLaurel 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...
and like most of their counterparts laurifolia in the world, it is a 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
Deforestation
Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....
.
Because of the special lack of worldwide knowledge about 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...
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
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...
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
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,...
, and species of this community are now found on several separate areas of the Southern Hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
, including South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
.