''Degeneria'' is a

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 ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

. It is the only genus in the family Degeneriaceae. The

APG IV system The APG IV system of flowering plant classification is the fourth version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy for flowering plants (angiosperms) being developed by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG). It was publish ...

of 2016 (unchanged from the

APG system The APG system (Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system) of plant classification is the first version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy. Published in 1998 by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, it was replaced by the improved ...

of 1998, the

APG II system The APG II system (Angiosperm Phylogeny Group II system) of plant classification is the second, now obsolete, version of a modern, mostly Molecular phylogenetics, molecular-based, list of systems of plant taxonomy, system of plant taxonomy that ...

of 2003 and the

APG III system The APG III system of flowering plant classification is the third version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy being developed by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG). Published in 2009, it was superseded in 2016 by a f ...

of 2009), recognizes this family, and assigns it to the order

Magnoliales The Magnoliales are an order of flowering plants. Well-known members of Magnoliales include: magnolias, Liriodendron, tulip trees, Annona squamosa, custard apples, Asimina triloba, American pawpaw, cherimoyas, Cananga odorata, ylang-ylang, Sours ...

in the clade

magnoliids Magnoliids, Magnoliidae or Magnolianae are a clade of flowering plants. With more than 10,000 species, including magnolias, nutmeg, bay laurel, cinnamon, avocado, black pepper, tulip tree and many others, it is the third-largest group of angiospe ...

. ''Degeneria'' was named after Otto Degener, who first found ''D. vitiensis'' in 1942. Classical studies of native stands of ''Degeneria'' from Vanua Levu and Viti Levu islands were conducted more than 30 years ago. A 45-cent stamp issued in 1988 depicted a flowering branch of ''Degeneria vitiensis.'' This species appears on Fiji's five-dollar bill. A one-dollar 1988 philatelic commemorated the discovery of ''Degeneria roseiflora'' earlier in that same year. The genus contains two species of trees, both native to

: * '' Degeneria roseiflora'' John M.Mill. –

Vanua Levu Vanua Levu (pronounced , , ), formerly known as Sandalwood Island, is the second largest island of Fiji. Located to the north of the larger Viti Levu, the island has an area of and a population of 135,961 . Geology Fiji lies in a tectonic ...

Taveuni Taveuni (pronounced ) is the third-largest island in Fiji, after Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, with a total land area of . The cigar-shaped island, a massive shield volcano which rises from the floor of the Pacific Ocean, is situated east of Vanua ...

– karawa * '' Degeneria vitiensis'' L.W.Bailey & A.C.Sm. –

Viti Levu Viti Levu (pronounced ; ) is the largest island in Fiji. It is the site of the country's capital and largest city, Suva, and home to a large majority of Fiji's population. Geology Fiji lies in a plate tectonics, tectonically complex area betwe ...

– masiratu.

Floral structure

The stage-specific movements of floral organs, including scent emissions of degenerias studied by Miller in 1989, are remarkably similar to those observed in other Magnoliales.Pang, C.-C. and R. M. K. Saunders. 2015. Floral biology and pollination ecology of ''Desmos chinensis'' (Annonaceae): Assessing the efficacy of floral synchrony for promoting xenogamy. International Journal of Plant Sciences 176(4): 333–345 Further, the floral structure of ''Degeneria'' is unusual, considered to be primitive among the

s. The

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 are similar to those in '' Austrobaileya'', '' Galbulimima'', and some

Magnoliaceae The Magnoliaceae () are a flowering plant family, the magnolia family, in the order Magnoliales. It consists of two genera: '' Magnolia'' and ''Liriodendron'' (tulip trees). Unlike most angiosperms, whose flower parts are in whorls (rings), ...

; they do not have distinguishable anther, filament, and connective, but instead are leaf-like, with two pairs of microsporangia embedded in the surface. There are three veins, rather than the single vein in the stamen of most flowering plants. The

gynoecium Gynoecium (; ; : gynoecia) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl (botany), whorl of a flower; it consists ...

develops in an unusual way, similar to

Winteraceae Winteraceae is a primitive family of tropical trees and shrubs including 93 species in five genera. It is of particular interest because it is such a primitive angiosperm family, distantly related to Magnoliaceae, though it has a much more south ...

, with laminal placentation, i.e., the young carpel is cup-shaped, and 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 develop on its upper surface. The margins of the carpel never fully fuse. A cleft remains filled with hairs, through which the pollen tubes grow towards the ovules.

References

External links

Degeneriaceae
in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards).
The families of flowering plants
descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval.'' Version: 27 April 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20070103200438/http://delta-intkey.com/.

NCBI Taxonomy Browser

links at CSDL, Texas
Magnoliales Magnoliid genera Endemic flora of Fiji Taxa named by Albert Charles Smith {{Magnoliales-stub