Licania
Encyclopedia
Licania is a plant
genus
in the family
Chrysobalanaceae
. Mainly due to deforestation
, several species of these shrub
s and smallish tree
s have declined, some markedly so, and L. caldasiana
from Colombia
appears to have gone extinct in recent years.
Several species are used as ornamental plant
s. Licania fruit are important food for many animals and can also be eaten by humans. Caterpillar
s of a possible new taxon
of the Astraptes fulgerator cryptic species complex
were found on L. arborea but do not seem to eat them regularly.
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...
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...
Chrysobalanaceae
Chrysobalanaceae
Chrysobalanaceae is a family of trees, shrubs and flowering plants, consisting of 17 genera and about 460 species of leptocaul that grows in the Tropics or is subtropical and common in the Americas...
. Mainly due to 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....
, several species of these shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s and smallish 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 declined, some markedly so, and L. caldasiana
Licania caldasiana
Licania caldasiana was a species of plant in the Chrysobalanaceae family. It was endemic to Colombia.-Sources:* Calderon, E. 1998. . Downloaded on 22 August 2007....
from Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
appears to have gone extinct in recent years.
Several species are used as ornamental plant
Ornamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
s. Licania fruit are important food for many animals and can also be eaten by humans. Caterpillar
Caterpillar
Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...
s of a possible new taxon
Taxon
|thumb|270px|[[African elephants]] form a widely-accepted taxon, the [[genus]] LoxodontaA taxon is a group of organisms, which a taxonomist adjudges to be a unit. Usually a taxon is given a name and a rank, although neither is a requirement...
of the Astraptes fulgerator cryptic species complex
Cryptic species complex
In biology, a cryptic species complex is a group of species which satisfy the biological definition of species—that is, they are reproductively isolated from each other—but whose morphology is very similar ....
were found on L. arborea but do not seem to eat them regularly.
Selected species
- Licania arborea
- Licania caldasianaLicania caldasianaLicania caldasiana was a species of plant in the Chrysobalanaceae family. It was endemic to Colombia.-Sources:* Calderon, E. 1998. . Downloaded on 22 August 2007....
- Licania chiriquiensisLicania chiriquiensisLicania chiriquiensis is a species of plant in the Chrysobalanaceae family. It is endemic to Panama. It is threatened by habitat loss.-Sources:* Mitré, M. 1998. . Downloaded on 22 August 2007....
- Licania conferruminataLicania conferruminataLicania conferruminata is a species of plant in the Chrysobalanaceae family. It is endemic to Brazil.-Sources:* World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. . Downloaded on 22 August 2007....
- Licania fasciculataLicania fasciculataLicania fasciculata is a species of plant in the Chrysobalanaceae family. It is endemic to Panama. It is threatened by habitat loss.-Sources:* Mitré, M. 1998. . Downloaded on 21 August 2007....
- Licania grandibracteataLicania grandibracteataLicania grandibracteata is a species of plant in the Chrysobalanaceae family. It is endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montanes.-Sources:* Romero-Saltos, H. & Pitman, N. 2004. . Downloaded on 22 August 2007....
- Licania hedbergiiLicania hedbergiiLicania hedbergii is a species of plant in the Chrysobalanaceae family. It is endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montanes.-Sources:* Romero-Saltos, H. & Pitman, N. 2004. . Downloaded on 22 August 2007....
- Licania humilis Cham. & Schltdl.Diederich Franz Leonhard von SchlechtendalDiederich von Schlechtendal was a German botanist born in Xanten. He was Professor of Botany and Director of the Botanical Gardens at the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg from 1833 until his death in 1866, and Editor of the botanical journal Linnaea.His most important work was in...
- Licania kunthiana Hook.f.
- Licania longicuspidataLicania longicuspidataLicania longicuspidata is a species of plant in the Chrysobalanaceae family. It is endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montanes.-Sources:...
- Licania longipetala
- Licania megalophyllaLicania megalophyllaLicania megalophylla is a species of plant in the Chrysobalanaceae family. It is endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montanes.-Sources:* Romero-Saltos, H. & Pitman, N. 2004. . Downloaded on 22 August 2007....
- Licania michauxiiLicania michauxiiLicania michauxii, commonly known as Gopher Apple, is an evergreen shrub. It grows in the sandhills of peninsular Florida as well as coastal Mississippi and Georgia, and its fruit is eaten by wildlife and is being used in cancer research. It fruit is a food source for the gopher tortoise....
– Gopher Apple, Ground Oak - Licania moriiLicania moriiLicania morii is a species of plant in the Chrysobalanaceae family. It is endemic to Panama.-Sources:* Mitré, M. 1998. . Downloaded on 22 August 2007....
- Licania pyrifolia Grisebach – Merecure Licania
- Licania rigidaLicania rigidaLicania rigida, Oiticica, is a species of plant in the Chrysobalanaceae family. It is endemic to Brazil and Puerto Rico. The Oiticica grows deep in floods of rivers and streams, forming long, narrow avenues to the edge of ravines or floodplains staining the dark-green color of its large and dense...
(Benth) Mart. – oiticica (BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
) - Licania salicifoliaLicania salicifoliaLicania salicifolia is a species of plant in the Chrysobalanaceae family. It is endemic to Colombia.-Sources:* Calderon, E. 1998. . Downloaded on 22 August 2007....
- Licania splendensLicania splendensLicania splendens is a species of plant in the Chrysobalanaceae family. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.-References:* World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. . Downloaded on 22 August 2007....
- Licania tomentosa (Benth) Fritsch. – oitizeiro (BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
) - Licania vasqueziiLicania vasqueziiLicania vasquezii is a species of plant in the Chrysobalanaceae family. It is endemic to Peru.-Sources:* World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. . Downloaded on 22 August 2007....
- Licania velutinaLicania velutinaLicania velutina is a species of plant in the Chrysobalanaceae family. It is endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.-Sources:* Romero-Saltos, H. & Pitman, N. 2004. . Downloaded on 22 August 2007....