''Caldcluvia'' 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 ...

of flowering plants in the family

Cunoniaceae Cunoniaceae is a family of 27 genera and about 335 species of woody plants in the order Oxalidales, mostly found in the tropical and wet temperate regions of the Southern Hemisphere. The greatest diversity of genera are in Australia and Tasmania ...

. The only species in the genus is ''Caldcluvia paniculata'', known as tiaca, an

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

tree native to

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. It is found from Ñuble to Aisén (36 to 45°S). Most species that were previously placed in the genus are now placed in '' Ackama'', ''

Opocunonia ''Opocunonia'' is a Monotypic taxon, monotypic genus of trees in the family Cunoniaceae. Its only species is ''Opocunonia nymanii'', Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Caldcluvia nymanii''. It is native to New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago. Ref ...

'' and '' Spiraeopsis''.

Description

''Caldcluvia paniculata'' can grow up to 20 m (65 ft) in height and up to 60 cm (24 in) in diameter. The bark is grayish brown. The leaves are

opposite In lexical semantics, opposites are words lying in an inherently incompatible binary relationship. For example, something that is ''even'' entails that it is not ''odd''. It is referred to as a 'binary' relationship because there are two members i ...

ly arranged, have toothed edges, and are oblong and lanceolate shaped. Leaf size is 7-15 cm long, 2–4 cm wide, with the apex and base acute. Leaf color is glossy green above and whitish and somewhat hairy below. 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 ...

s are fluted and hairy about 0-7-1 cm long. The white flowers clustered in axillary peduncles are

hermaphrodite A hermaphrodite () is a sexually reproducing organism that produces both male and female gametes. Animal species in which individuals are either male or female are gonochoric, which is the opposite of hermaphroditic. The individuals of many ...

, peduncles and

pedicels In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to 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 branch ...

are hairy, 4-5 hairy

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 more or less imbricate, 4 –5 petals alternate to the sepals. 8-10

stamen 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, 2 styles. The fruit is an acuminate capsule, hairy and crowned by persistent styles, inside of which there are dark brown seeds about 1 mm long. The tree requires wet climate, tolerates up to 40% shade, and may need partial shade in some locations. It is classified in USDA Hardiness Zone 9. Germination from seeds has a success rate of less than 30%.

Taxonomy

''Caldcluvia'' was named after Scottish botanist

Alexander Caldcleugh Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are A ...

, who travelled to South America between 1819–1825; he collected plants for

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,10 ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. ,

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

accepted only one species, ''Caldcluvia paniculata''. The epithet ''paniculata'', or panicled, means "with

panicle In botany, a panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a p ...

s".

Cultivation and uses

The leaves are used as

herbal tea Herbal teas, technically known as herbal infusions, and less commonly called tisanes (UK and US , US also ), are beverages made from the infusion or decoction of herbs, spices, or other plant material in hot water. Often herb tea, or the plai ...

for the treatment of colds and stomach disorders. It has been planted in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

References

External links

* * * {{Taxonbar, from1=Q5018982, from2=Q5018979 Cunoniaceae Monotypic Oxalidales genera Taxa named by Antonio José Cavanilles Flora of the Valdivian temperate forests