''Commidendrum robustum'', the Saint Helena gumwood, is a species of tree
endemic to
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.
[Cairns-Wicks, R. 2003]
''Commidendrum robustum''.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2003. Downloaded on 16 September 2015. Though it is now comparatively rare, it was once one of the most abundant trees of mid-elevations of the island of
Saint Helena
Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...
in the South Atlantic Ocean. A small tree to 7–8 m, it was cut extensively for fuel in the early years of settlement of the island by the
English East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southe ...
. It has given its name to certain placenames on the island such as "Gumwoods". It is one of several species in the endemic genus ''
Commidendrum''.
The Commidendrum robustum is closely related to the Melanodendron integrifolium, Black cabbage tree, which also inhabits Saint Helena. The two species most likely evolved from a common ancestor. Today, the closest relatives are South African, in the small shrub genus ''Felicia'' Cass. and ''Amellus'' L.
See also
*
Flora of St Helena The flora of Saint Helena, an isolated island in the South Atlantic Ocean, is exceptional in its high level of endemism and the severe threats facing the survival of the flora. In phytogeography, it is in the phytochorion St. Helena and Ascension ...
References
Further reading
*
Cronk, Q.C.B. (1995) ''The Endemic Flora of St Helena''. Anthony Nelson Ltd., Oswestry.
* Eastwood, A., Gibby, M., & Cronk, B. (2004, January). Evolution of St Helena arborescent astereae (Asteraceae): relationships of the genera Commidendrum and Melanodendron. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society.
robustum
Flora of Saint Helena
Plants described in 1836
{{Astereae-stub