''Pennantia'' is the sole

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

in the plant

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Pennantiaceae. In older

classifications Classification is the activity of assigning objects to some pre-existing classes or categories. This is distinct from the task of establishing the classes themselves (for example through cluster analysis). Examples include diagnostic tests, identif ...

, it was placed in the family

Icacinaceae The Icacinaceae, also called the white pear family, are a family (biology), family of flowering plants,"Icacinaceae" At: Angiosperm Phylogeny Website At: Missouri Botanical Garden Website (see ''External links'' below). consisting of trees, shrub ...

. Most authorities have recognised three or four

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

, depending on whether they recognised ''

Pennantia baylisiana ''Pennantia baylisiana'', commonly known as Three Kings kaikōmako or (Māori language, Māori), is a species of plant in the family Pennantiaceae (Icacinaceae in older classifications). It is Endemism, endemic to Manawatāwhi / Three Kings Is ...

'' as a separate species from ''

Pennantia endlicheri ''Pennantia'' is the sole genus in the plant family Pennantiaceae. In older classifications, it was placed in the family Icacinaceae. Most authorities have recognised three or four species, depending on whether they recognised ''Pennantia baylisi ...

''. British-born botanist

David Mabberley Professor David John Mabberley , (born May 1948) is a British botanist, educator and writer. Among his varied scientific interests is the taxonomy of tropical plants, especially trees of the families Labiatae, Meliaceae and Rutaceae (in parti ...

has recognised two species. The species are small to medium, sometimes multi-trunked trees. Leaves are alternate, leathery, and with entire or sometimes toothed margins. Inflorescences are terminal and flowers are functionally unisexual; the species are more or less

dioecious Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dioecious, ) is a characteristic of certain species that have distinct unisexual individuals, each producing either male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproduction is ...

. ''Pennantia'' species grow naturally in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island ( , ; ) is an States and territories of Australia, external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head, New South Wales, Evans Head and a ...

, and eastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. In Australia, '' P. cunninghamii'' grows across a broad latitudinal natural range (nearly ), from the south coast of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

northwards through to north eastern

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. The genus name, ''Pennantia'', is in honor of

Thomas Pennant Thomas Pennant (16 December 1798) was a Welsh natural history, naturalist, traveller, writer and antiquarian. He was born and lived his whole life at his family estate, Downing Hall, near Whitford, Flintshire, in Wales. As a naturalist he had ...

, an 18th century Welsh zoologist and author.

Species

The following four species were recognised by New Zealand botanists Rhys O. Gardner and Peter J. de Lange in 2002. * ''

'', –

Three Kings Islands 3 (three) is a number, numeral (linguistics), numeral and numerical digit, digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cul ...

* ''

Pennantia corymbosa ''Pennantia corymbosa'', commonly known as kaikomako (from the Māori ), is a small dioecious tree endemic to New Zealand. Small, creamy flowers are produced between November and February, followed by a shiny black fruit in autumn. They are a ...

'' , 'kaikōmako' – New Zealand * ''

Pennantia cunninghamii ''Pennantia cunninghamii'', known as brown beech, is a species of flowering plant in the family Pennantiaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a tree with a fluted trunk, elliptic or oblong leaves and white, either bisexual or male flo ...

'' , 'brown beech' – NSW, Qld, Australia * ''

'' – Norfolk Island

References

External links

Missouri Botanical Garden Website−Mobot.org: Pennantiaceae + ''Pennantia''
Pennantiaceae Apiales genera Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Dioecious plants {{Apiales-stub