Petenaea
Encyclopedia
Petenaea cordata was first described in Elaeocarpaceae
and later placed in Tiliaceae
, but most authors have been uncertain about its familial affinities. It was considered a taxon incertae sedis in the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification (APG III). Molecular analyses based on a recent collection from Guatemala indicate a distant, weakly supported sister-group relationship to the African genus Gerrardina (Gerrardinaceae; Huerteales
). As no obvious synapomorphies exist for Gerrardina and Petenaea, the new monogeneric family, Petenaeaceae, was proposed. The polymorphic order Huerteales
now comprises four small families: Dipentodontaceae
, Gerrardinaceae, Petenaeaceae and Tapisciaceae
.
Description
Trees to c. 10 m, or large shrubs. Stems often tinged red, villous-tomentose. Leaves minutely stipulate; petioles 5–11 cm, densely short villous, red; blades 8.5-15.5 × 6.5-14.5 cm, chartaceous, densely villous below, glabrescent above, turning red with age, palmately veined at base with 5-7 primary veins, the secondary venation reticulate, the base broadly cordate, the margins minutely denticulate, the apices acute to broadly short-acuminate. Stipules minute, soon caducous. Inflorescences axillary, cymose, long-pedunculate, rose-pink, the branches villous-tomentose; pedicels 5–12 mm, pink. Flowers with the sepals c. 4 mm, valvate, lanceolate, attenuate from the base to the apex, reflexed, reddish pink, the base bearing 2-3 obovoid subsessile glands, and densely villous with hairs c. 2 mm, moniliform, pink; petals absent; disc annular, glandular; stamens 8-12, glabrous, the anthers yellow, opening by an apical pore-like slit; ovary superior, sessile, tomentose; style slender; stigma discoid. Berry 6–12 mm, shallowly 4-5 lobed, ovoid to subglobose, pulpy, sweet, sparsely pubescent; seeds numerous, c. 1 mm, oblong-pyramidal or irregular. Flowering and fruiting continuously.
Distribution
Endemic to northern Mesoamerica
, Mexico
(Chiapas
, Tabasco
), Belize
, Guatemala
(Peten
).
Elaeocarpaceae
Elaeaocarpaceae is a family of flowering plants. The family approximately contains 605 species of trees and shrubs in 12 genera. The largest genera are Elaeocarpus, with about 350 species, and Sloanea, with about 150....
and later placed in Tiliaceae
Tiliaceae
Tiliaceae is a botanical name for a family of flowering plants. Such a family is not part of APG II, but it is found all through the botanical literature and remains prominently listed by nomenclatural databases such as IPNI....
, but most authors have been uncertain about its familial affinities. It was considered a taxon incertae sedis in the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification (APG III). Molecular analyses based on a recent collection from Guatemala indicate a distant, weakly supported sister-group relationship to the African genus Gerrardina (Gerrardinaceae; Huerteales
Huerteales
Huerteales is the botanical name for an order of flowering plants. It is one of the 17 orders that make up the large eudicot group known as the rosids in the APG III system of plant classification. Within the rosids, it is one of the orders in Malvidae, a group formerly known as eurosids II and...
). As no obvious synapomorphies exist for Gerrardina and Petenaea, the new monogeneric family, Petenaeaceae, was proposed. The polymorphic order Huerteales
Huerteales
Huerteales is the botanical name for an order of flowering plants. It is one of the 17 orders that make up the large eudicot group known as the rosids in the APG III system of plant classification. Within the rosids, it is one of the orders in Malvidae, a group formerly known as eurosids II and...
now comprises four small families: Dipentodontaceae
Dipentodontaceae
Dipentodon is a genus of flowering plants in the family Dipentodontaceae. Its only species, Dipentodon sinicus, is a small, deciduous tree native to southern China, Burma, and northern India. It has been little studied and until recently its affinities remained obscure.- Description :Dipentodon...
, Gerrardinaceae, Petenaeaceae and Tapisciaceae
Tapisciaceae
Tapisciaceae is the botanical name for a family of flowering plants. Until recently it had been abandoned by taxonomists, and it was not recognised in the APG II system of 2003. Recently, however, it has been reinstated to encompass the two small genera Tapiscia and Huertea....
.
Description
Trees to c. 10 m, or large shrubs. Stems often tinged red, villous-tomentose. Leaves minutely stipulate; petioles 5–11 cm, densely short villous, red; blades 8.5-15.5 × 6.5-14.5 cm, chartaceous, densely villous below, glabrescent above, turning red with age, palmately veined at base with 5-7 primary veins, the secondary venation reticulate, the base broadly cordate, the margins minutely denticulate, the apices acute to broadly short-acuminate. Stipules minute, soon caducous. Inflorescences axillary, cymose, long-pedunculate, rose-pink, the branches villous-tomentose; pedicels 5–12 mm, pink. Flowers with the sepals c. 4 mm, valvate, lanceolate, attenuate from the base to the apex, reflexed, reddish pink, the base bearing 2-3 obovoid subsessile glands, and densely villous with hairs c. 2 mm, moniliform, pink; petals absent; disc annular, glandular; stamens 8-12, glabrous, the anthers yellow, opening by an apical pore-like slit; ovary superior, sessile, tomentose; style slender; stigma discoid. Berry 6–12 mm, shallowly 4-5 lobed, ovoid to subglobose, pulpy, sweet, sparsely pubescent; seeds numerous, c. 1 mm, oblong-pyramidal or irregular. Flowering and fruiting continuously.
Distribution
Endemic to northern Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
(Chiapas
Chiapas
Chiapas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas is one of the 31 states that, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 118 municipalities and its capital city is Tuxtla Gutierrez. Other important cites in Chiapas include San Cristóbal de las...
, Tabasco
Tabasco
Tabasco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tabasco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa....
), Belize
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
, Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
(Peten
Petén
Petén or Peten may refer to:*Petén , a department of Guatemala*Petén Basin, the geographical / archaeological region of Mesoamerica and a center of the Maya civilization*Lake Petén Itzá, a lake in the Petén Basin region...
).