Pisonia
Encyclopedia
Pisonia is a genus of flowering plant
s in the four o'clock flower
family, Nyctaginaceae
. It was named for Dutch
physician and naturalist Willem Piso
(1611-1678). Certain species in this genus are known as Catchbirdtrees because their sticky seed
s reportedly trap
small bird
s. Such sticky seeds are postulated to be an evolution
ary feature of some island species for adherence of their seeds to bird
s; thereby facilitating dispersal of seeds between islands. These include P. brunoniana
of Australasia
and Polynesia
and P. umbellifera
, which is widespread in the tropical Indo-Pacific
region.
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 four o'clock flower
Mirabilis jalapa
Mirabilis jalapa is the most commonly grown ornamental species of Mirabilis, and is available in a range of colours. Mirabilis in Latin means wonderful and Jalapa is a town in Mexico...
family, Nyctaginaceae
Nyctaginaceae
Nyctaginaceae, the Four O'Clock Family, is a family of around 33 genera and 290 species of flowering plants, widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions, with a few representatives in temperate regions...
. It was named for Dutch
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
physician and naturalist Willem Piso
Willem Piso
Willem Piso was a Dutch physician and naturalist who participated as an expedition doctor in Dutch Brazil from 1637 - 1644, sponsored by Earl Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen and the Dutch West India Company...
(1611-1678). Certain species in this genus are known as Catchbirdtrees because their sticky seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s reportedly trap
Birdlime
Birdlime is an adhesive substance used in trapping birds. It is spread on a branch or twig, upon which a bird may land and be caught. Its use is illegal in many jurisdictions....
small bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s. Such sticky seeds are postulated to be an evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
ary feature of some island species for adherence of their seeds to bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s; thereby facilitating dispersal of seeds between islands. These include P. brunoniana
Pisonia brunoniana
Pisonia brunoniana is a species of flowering tree in the Bougainvillea family, Nyctaginaceae, that is native to New Zealand, Norfolk Island, Lord Howe Island and Hawaii. The common names in New Zealand are Parapara or Birdcatcher tree.-Habit:...
of Australasia
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
and Polynesia
Polynesia
Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs...
and P. umbellifera
Pisonia umbellifera
Pisonia umbellifera, commonly known as the Bird-lime Tree, is a species of plant in the Nyctaginaceae family. It grows throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific. It is native to the Andaman Islands, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Taiwan, Hawaii and Madagascar and the...
, which is widespread in the tropical Indo-Pacific
Indo-Pacific
The Indo-Pacific is a biogeographic region of the Earth's seas, comprising the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the seas connecting the two in the general area of Indonesia...
region.
Species
- Pisonia aculeata L. – Pullback (pantropicalPantropicalIn biogeography, a pantropical distribution one which covers tropical regions of all of the major continents, i.e. in Africa, in Asia and in the Americas. Examples include the plant genera Acacia and Bacopa....
) - Pisonia alba Span.
- Pisonia albida (Heimerl) BrittonNathaniel Lord BrittonNathaniel Lord Britton was an American botanist and taxonomist who founded the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, New York. Britton was born in New Dorp in Staten Island, New York...
ex Standl.Paul Carpenter StandleyPaul Carpenter Standley was an American botanist.Standley was born in Avalon, Missouri...
– Corcho Bobo - Pisonia brunonianaPisonia brunonianaPisonia brunoniana is a species of flowering tree in the Bougainvillea family, Nyctaginaceae, that is native to New Zealand, Norfolk Island, Lord Howe Island and Hawaii. The common names in New Zealand are Parapara or Birdcatcher tree.-Habit:...
Endl. – Australasian Catchbirdtree (AustralasiaAustralasiaAustralasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
and PolynesiaPolynesiaPolynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs...
) - Pisonia capitata (S.WatsonSereno WatsonSereno Watson was an American botanist.Graduating from Yale in 1847, he drifted through various occupations until, in California, he joined the Clarence King Expedition and eventually became its expedition botanist...
) Standl. – Mexican Devil's-Claws - Pisonia donnell-smithiiPisonia donnell-smithiiPisonia donnell-smithii is a species of plant in the Nyctaginaceae family. It is found in El Salvador and Guatemala. It is threatened by habitat loss.-Source:* World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. . Downloaded on 23 August 2007....
Heimerl ex Standl. (El SalvadorEl SalvadorEl Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
, GuatemalaGuatemalaGuatemala 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...
) - Pisonia ekmaniPisonia ekmaniPisonia ekmani is a species of plant in the Nyctaginaceae family. It is endemic to Cuba.-Source:* Areces-Mallea, A.E. 1998. . Downloaded on 23 August 2007....
Heimerl (Cuba) - Pisonia excelsa BlumeCarl Ludwig BlumeCharles Ludwig de Blume or Karl Ludwig von Blume was a German-Dutch botanist.He was born at Braunschweig in Germany, but studied at Leiden University and spent his professional life working in the Dutch East Indies and in the Netherlands, where he was Director of the Rijksherbarium at Leiden...
- Pisonia floridana Britt. ex SmallJohn Kunkel SmallJohn Kunkel Small was an American botanist.He was the first Curator of Museums at The New York Botanical Garden, a post in which he served from 1898 until 1906. From 1906 to 1934 he was Head Curator and then from 1934 until his death he was Chief Research Associate and Curator...
– Rock Key Devil's-Claws - Pisonia graciliscensPisonia graciliscensPisonia graciliscens is a species of plant in the Nyctaginaceae family. It is endemic to French Polynesia.-Source:* Florence, J. 1998. . Downloaded on 23 August 2007....
(Heimerl) Stenmerik (French PolynesiaFrench PolynesiaFrench Polynesia is an overseas country of the French Republic . It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory...
) - Pisonia grandisPisonia grandisPisonia grandis is a species of flowering tree in the Bougainvillea family, Nyctaginaceae.-Description:The tree has broad, thin leaves, smooth bark and bears clusters of green sweet-smelling flowers that mature into sticky barbed seeds....
R.Br.Robert Brown (botanist)Robert Brown was a Scottish botanist and palaeobotanist who made important contributions to botany largely through his pioneering use of the microscope...
– Grand Devil's-Claws (Indo-PacificIndo-PacificThe Indo-Pacific is a biogeographic region of the Earth's seas, comprising the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the seas connecting the two in the general area of Indonesia...
) - Pisonia notundata Griseb.August GrisebachAugust Heinrich Rudolf Grisebach was a German botanist and phytogeographer. Born in Hannover on April 17, 1814, he died at Göttingen on May 9, 1879.- Biography :...
- Pisonia rotundata Griseb. – Smooth Devil's-Claws
- Pisonia sandwicensis Hillebr.William HillebrandWilliam Hillebrand was a German physician. He traveled the world, including over 20 years in the Hawaiian islands. In 1850, Hillebrand lived at what is now Foster Botanical Garden in Honolulu. He also became known as a botanist.-Life and career:...
– Āulu (HawaiiHawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
) - Pisonia sechellarumPisonia sechellarumPisonia sechellarum is a species of plant in the Nyctaginaceae family. It is endemic to Seychelles. It is threatened by habitat loss.-Source:* World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. . Downloaded on 23 August 2007....
F.Friedmann (SeychellesSeychellesSeychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....
) - Pisonia siphonocarpaPisonia siphonocarpaPisonia siphonocarpa is a species of plant in the Nyctaginaceae family. It is endemic to French Polynesia.-Source:* Florence, J. 1998. . Downloaded on 23 August 2007....
(Heimerl) Stenmerik (French Polynesia) - Pisonia subcordata Sw.Olof SwartzOlof Peter Swartz was a Swedish botanist and taxonomist. He is best known for his taxonomic work and studies into pteridophytes...
– Water Mampoo - Pisonia umbelliferaPisonia umbelliferaPisonia umbellifera, commonly known as the Bird-lime Tree, is a species of plant in the Nyctaginaceae family. It grows throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific. It is native to the Andaman Islands, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Taiwan, Hawaii and Madagascar and the...
(J.R.Forst.Johann Reinhold ForsterJohann Reinhold Forster was a German Lutheran pastor and naturalist of partial Scottish descent who made contributions to the early ornithology of Europe and North America...
& G.Forst.Georg ForsterJohann Georg Adam Forster was a German naturalist, ethnologist, travel writer, journalist, and revolutionary. At an early age, he accompanied his father on several scientific expeditions, including James Cook's second voyage to the Pacific...
) Seem.Berthold Carl SeemannBerthold Carl Seemann 25 February 1825 Hanover, Germany - 10 October 1871 Nicaragua, Central America, was a German botanist. He travelled widely and collected and described plants from the Pacific and South America....
– Umbrella Catchbirdtree (Indo-Pacific) - Pisonia wagnerianaPisonia wagnerianaPāpala kēpau or Kauai catchbirdtree is a species of flowering tree in the Bougainvillea family, Nyctaginaceae, that is endemic to Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands. It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:...
FosbergFrancis Raymond FosbergFrancis Raymond "Ray" Fosberg was an American botanist. A prolific collector and author, he played a significant role in the development of coral reef and island studies.-History:...
– Kauai Catchbirdtree, Pāpala kēpau (island of KauaiKauaiKauai or Kauai, known as Tauai in the ancient Kaua'i dialect, is geologically the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of , it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, and the 21st largest island in the United States. Known also as the "Garden Isle",...
in HawaiiHawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
) - Pisonia zapallo Griseb.
Formerly placed here
- Guapira discolor (Spreng.) Little (as P. discolor Spreng.)