''Ruptiliocarpon'' is a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

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 ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in the

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 ...

Lepidobotryaceae.Vernon H. Heywood, Richard K. Brummitt, Ole Seberg, and Alastair Culham. ''Flowering Plant Families of the World''. Firefly Books: Ontario, Canada. (2007). The genus has only one

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), ...

, ''Ruptiliocarpon caracolito''.Klaus Kubitzky. "Lepidobotryaceae" In: Klaus Kubitzki (ed.). ''The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants'' vol.VI. Springer-Verlag: Berlin, Heidelberg, Germany (2004). It is a tall

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

that grows in several small isolated areas of Central and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. It is known from

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, and

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

. It is locally common on hillsides and other well-drained areas, often in red

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

, from near sea level to 400 m in elevation. The seed is surrounded by two

endocarp Fruits are the mature ovary or ovaries of one or more flowers. They are found in three main anatomical categories: aggregate fruits, multiple fruits, and simple fruits. Fruitlike structures may develop directly from the seed itself rather th ...

s which fall away and litter the ground below. To those who live where it grows, it is known as ''cedro caracolito'', the "little

snail A snail is a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gas ...

cedar Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae * Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona ...

", because the larger of the two endocarps resembles a small shell. The wood of ''Ruptiliocarpon'' is light and used in cabinet-making, but is often overlooked by wood harvesters.Hammel, 1993Barry E. Hammel and Nelson A. Zamora (1993). "''Ruptiliocarpon''(Lepidobotryaceae): A New Arborescent Genus and Tropical American Link to Africa, with a Reconsideration of the Family". ''Novon'' 3(4):408-417.

Taxonomic history

''Ruptiliocarpon'' was named and described by Barry Hammel and Nelson Zamora in the journal ''

Novon The Missouri Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located at 4344 Shaw Boulevard in St. Louis, Missouri. It is also known informally as Shaw's Garden for founder and philanthropist Henry Shaw. Its herbarium, with more than 6.6 million s ...

'' in 1993. They saw that it was a close relative of ''Lepidobotrys'' and made it the second member of Lepidobotryaceae. In the same paper, they wrote a reassessment of the family. ''Novon'' published two other studies of ''Ruptiliocarpon'' in the same issue. They confirmed that ''Ruptiliocarpon'' was closely related to ''Lepidobotrys'', but came to no firm conclusions on the relationships of this pair to other groups of rosids. One study found that the wood anatomy of ''Ruptiliocarpon'' was very much like that of ''Lepidobotrys'' and shared some traits with the wood anatomy of ''

Trichilia ''Trichilia'' is a flowering plant genus in the family (biology), family Meliaceae. These plants are particularly diverse in sub-Saharan Africa and tropical South America. Several species are used in folk medicine and shamanism – e.g. ''Tr ...

'', a member of the family

Meliaceae Meliaceae, the mahogany family, is a flowering plant family of mostly trees and shrubs (and a few herbaceous plants, mangroves) in the order Sapindales. They are characterised by alternate, usually pinnate leaves without stipules, and by syncarp ...

.Alberta M.W. Mennega (1993). "Comparative Wood Anatomy of ''Ruptiliocarpon caracolito'' (Lepidobotryaceae)". ''Novon'' 3(4):418-422. The wood of ''Ruptiliocarpon'' was different from the wood of all others to which it was compared in having vestured pits on the walls of its xylem cells. Another study found some similarities in flower structure with Meliaceae, but also found that ovule and seed morphology suggested a relationship with Phyllanthaceae, a family that the authors did not consider to be separate from Euphorbiaceae.Hiroshi Tobe and Barry E. Hammel (1993). "Floral Morphology, Embryology, and Seed Anatomy of ''Ruptiliocarpon caracolito'' (Lepidobotryaceae)". ''Novon'' 3(4):423-428.

Names

''Cedro caracolito'' is not a

in the strictest sense, but in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

, the term ''cedro'' is applied to a wide variety of trees. In Costa Rica, where most of the specimens were collected, the term ''cedro'', with a qualifying adjective, is applied to ''

Carapa ''Carapa'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mahogany family, Meliaceae. These are trees up to 30 meters tall occurring in tropical South America, Central America,Hogan, C. M. 2008Isthmian-Atlantic moist forests.Encyclopedia of Earth, Worl ...

'' (Meliaceae), ''

Cedrela ''Cedrela'' is a genus of several species in the mahogany family, Meliaceae. They are evergreen or dry-season deciduous trees with pinnate leaves, native to the tropical and subtropical New World, from southern Mexico south to northern Argentina. ...

'' (Meliaceae), ''

Tapirira ''Tapirira'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Anacardiaceae The Anacardiaceae, commonly known as the cashew family or sumac family, are a family of flowering plants, including about 83 genera with about 860 known species. Members ...

'' (

Anacardiaceae The Anacardiaceae, commonly known as the cashew family or sumac family, are a family of flowering plants, including about 83 genera with about 860 known species. Members of the Anacardiaceae bear fruits that are drupes and in some cases produce ...

), and ''

Calophyllum ''Calophyllum'' is a genus of tropical flowering plants in the family Calophyllaceae. They are mainly distributed in Asia, with some species in Africa, the Americas, Australasia, and the Pacific Islands. History Members of the genus ''Calophyll ...

'' (

Clusiaceae The Clusiaceae or Guttiferae Juss. (1789) (''nom. alt. et cons.'' = alternative and valid name) are a family (biology), family of plants including 13 genera and ca 750 species. Several former members of Clusiacae are now placed in Calophyllaceae ...

). ''Ruptiliocarpon caracolito'' has long been known to local inhabitants, but it was not named and described in the botanical literature until 1993, when sufficient material for such a description was finally collected. At that time, Barry Hammel and Nelson Zamora named it ''Ruptiliocarpon caracolito'', basing their description mostly on

specimen Specimen may refer to: Science and technology * Sample (material), a limited quantity of something which is intended to be similar to and represent a larger amount * Biological specimen or biospecimen, an organic specimen held by a biorepository f ...

s from Costa Rica. ''Ruptiliocarpon'' is a

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two diff ...

name. ''Ruptilio'', in Latin, means "to split irregularly", and "carpon" is the Greek word for

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

. The name describes the characteristic opening of the fruit and is an obvious difference from '' Lepidobotrys'', the other member of the family. Though some language purists frown on the creation of hybrid names, and the

ICBN The ''International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants'' (ICN or ICNafp) is the set of rules and recommendations dealing with the formal botanical names that are given to plants, fungi and a few other groups of organisms, all tho ...

discourages it, Hammel and Zamora created this name because, as they said, "we consider the purely Greek or Latin options decidedly inelegant". When Hammel and Zamora described ''Ruptiliocarpon'', two other detailed studies of its anatomy were published at the same time. These studies confirmed that ''Ruptiliocarpon'' was correctly placed in Lepidobotryaceae, but they were inconclusive about the relationships of Lepidobotryaceae to other families. The authors suggested possible relationships to the Meliaceae and

Phyllanthaceae Phyllanthaceae is a Family (biology), family of flowering plants in the eudicot Order (biology), order Malpighiales. It is most closely related to the family Picrodendraceae.Kenneth J. Wurdack and Charles C. Davis. 2009. "Malpighiales phylogeneti ...

, but it is now known that Lepidobotryaceae belongs in

Celastrales The Celastrales are an order (biology), order of flowering plants found throughout the tropics and subtropics, with only a few species extending far into the Temperateness, temperate regions. The 1200"Lepidobotryaceae", "Parnassiaceae", and "Celas ...

Seasons

In Costa Rica, ''R. caracolito'' blooms in late March and early April, soon after the emergence of new leaves. The flowers are small and green and they attract little attention. Because of this, and because of the short flowering time, flowering material has rarely been collected. The fruits mature by the following January and remain on the tree into February. Trees are easily grown from seed.

Description

Because ''R. caracolito'' was not botanically described until 1993, descriptions of Lepidobotryaceae from before that time are obsolete. The

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * ...

material for the species is from near Limón, on the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

coast of Costa Rica. It has been reported that the flowers of the South American trees are quite different from those of the Costa Rican trees, but flowering specimens from South America have not been collected. ''Ruptiliocarpon caracolito'' is a tree, 20 to 30 m, or rarely 40 m tall. The trunk is straight and 50 to 90 cm in

diameter at breast height Diameter at breast height, or DBH, is a standard method of expressing the diameter of the trunk or bole of a standing tree. DBH is one of the most common dendrometric measurements. Tree trunks are measured at the height of an adult's breast, ...

. The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are arranged alternately in two rows along the

stem Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...

. The leaf

blade A blade is the Sharpness (cutting), sharp, cutting portion of a tool, weapon, or machine, specifically designed to puncture, chop, slice, or scrape surfaces or materials. Blades are typically made from materials that are harder than those they a ...

elliptic In mathematics, an ellipse is a plane curve surrounding two focal points, such that for all points on the curve, the sum of the two distances to the focal points is a constant. It generalizes a circle, which is the special type of ellipse in ...

in shape and the margin is

entire Entire may refer to: * Entire function, a function that is holomorphic on the whole complex plane * Entire (animal), an indication that an animal is not neutered * Entire (botany) This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions o ...

. The leaves appear simple, but are actually

compound Compound may refer to: Architecture and built environments * Compound (enclosure), a cluster of buildings having a shared purpose, usually inside a fence or wall ** Compound (fortification), a version of the above fortified with defensive struc ...

and

unifoliate The following terms are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade is divided into two or more leaflets) ...

. The leaf consists of a single leaflet on the end of a

rachis In biology, a rachis (from the [], "backbone, spine") is a main axis or "shaft". In zoology and microbiology In vertebrates, ''rachis'' can refer to the series of articulated vertebrae, which encase the spinal cord. In this case the ''rachi ...

.Glossary In: Peter F. Stevens (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. In: Missouri Botanical Garden Website. (see External links below). The

petiolule In botany, the petiole () is the stalk that attaches the leaf blade to the stem. It is able to twist the leaf to face the sun, producing a characteristic foliage arrangement (spacing of blades), and also optimizing its exposure to sunlight. Outg ...

is swollen for its entire length and a conspicuous joint separates it from the rachis. This joint bears a single, elongate

stipel TIM S.p.A. (formerly Telecom Italia S.p.A.) is an Italian telecommunications company with headquarters in Rome, Milan, and Naples (with the Telecom Italia Tower (Naples), Telecom Italia Tower), which provides fixed telephony, fixed, Public telep ...

. There is a pair of fused

stipule In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole (botany), petiole). They are primarily found among dicots and rare among monocots. Stipules are considered part ...

s at the base of the

petiole Petiole may refer to: *Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem *Petiole (insect anatomy) In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, and ...

. The stipel and stipules soon fall away. The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

is an irregular arrangement of several

spike Spike, spikes, or spiking may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Books * ''The Spike'' (novel), a novel by Arnaud de Borchgrave * ''The Spike'' (Broderick book), a nonfiction book by Damien Broderick * ''The Spike'', a starship in Peter ...

s attached opposite a leaf. The

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s are small and green with five

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s and five

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s that are nearly alike. The flower

bud In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or Plant embryogenesis, embryonic Shoot (botany), shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of a Plant stem, stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormancy, dormant conditi ...

opens only slightly, producing a small hole in its end. The male and female flowers are only slightly different in appearance, with each tree bearing flowers of only one sex. The 10 stamens are united into a tube, which secretes

nectar Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by Plant, plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to an ...

. Five

anther The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s are attached to the top of the tube, and between them, five more are mounted on short

filament The word filament, which is descended from Latin ''filum'' meaning " thread", is used in English for a variety of thread-like structures, including: Astronomy * Galaxy filament, the largest known cosmic structures in the universe * Solar filament ...

s. The

ovary The ovary () is a gonad in the female reproductive system that produces ova; when released, an ovum travels through the fallopian tube/ oviduct into the uterus. There is an ovary on the left and the right side of the body. The ovaries are end ...

has two compartments that are separated by a partition. The

ovule In seed plants, the ovule is the structure that gives rise to and contains the female reproductive cells. It consists of three parts: the ''integument'', forming its outer layer, the ''nucellus'' (or remnant of the sporangium, megasporangium), ...

s are attached to the partition, near its top. The two stigmas are short and attached directly to the apex of the ovary. The fruit is a capsule, 2.5 to 3.5 cm long and 1.5 to 2.5 cm wide, containing one, or rarely, two

seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

s. The capsule breaks up and its pieces fall, leaving the seed and the surrounding endocarps. The endocarps then fall, leaving the seeds hanging on the tree. The seed is shiny and black with its lower third covered by an orange

aril An aril (), also called arillus, is a specialized outgrowth from a seed that partly or completely covers the seed. An arillode, or false aril, is sometimes distinguished: whereas an aril grows from the attachment point of the seed to the ova ...

Relationships

''Ruptiliocarpon caracolito'' is one of only two species in the family Lepidobotryaceae, the other being the small African tree '' Lepidobotrys staudtii''. The two are much alike in being trees with alternate, elliptic, unifoliate leaves in two rows along the twigs. The flowers are small, green or greenish, with five sepals and five petals that are nearly alike, and 10 stamens in two series. The fruit is a capsule with one or rarely, two seeds. ''Ruptiliocarpon caracolito'' differs from ''L. staudtii'' in several characters. The stigma is short, rather than elongated, and the ovary has two rather than three compartments. The most obvious differences are in the male parts of the flower and in the opening of the fruit. In ''R. caracolito'', the stamens have filaments that are short and united into a tube, rather than long and fused only at the base. The

s are basifixed instead of versatile. The capsule ruptures irregularly, instead of splitting along a seam.

References

External links

Botanic Glossary
{{Taxonbar, from=Q9284783 Monotypic Celastrales genera Flora of Colombia Flora of Costa Rica Flora of Peru Flora of Suriname Celastrales Taxa named by Barry Edward Hammel Taxa named by Nelson A. Zamora