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''Polyscias rodriguesiana'' (formerly ''Gastonia rodriguesiana'', locally known as "bois blanc") is a rare species of
It is
It has a soft, swollen trunk and thick branches. It can reach a height of 6 meters, but is usually shorter and more compact.
Its leaves are heterophyllous, like its close relative ''
plant
Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...
in the family Araliaceae
The Araliaceae are a family of flowering plants composed of about 43 genera and around 1500 species consisting of primarily woody plants and some herbaceous plants commonly called the ginseng family. The morphology of Araliaceae varies widely ...
.
Habitat
It is 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 ...
to the island of Rodrigues
Rodrigues ( ; Mauritian Creole, Creole: ) is a Autonomous administrative division, autonomous Outer islands of Mauritius, outer island of the Republic of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, about east of Mauritius. It is part of the Mascarene Isl ...
, in Mauritius
Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...
. It used to occur throughout Rodrigues island, but was especially common in coastal regions and on limestone or old coral sediments.
It is now critically endangered
An IUCN Red List critically endangered (CR or sometimes CE) species is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. As of December 2023, of t ...
.
Description
It has a soft, swollen trunk and thick branches. It can reach a height of 6 meters, but is usually shorter and more compact.
Its leaves are heterophyllous, like its close relative ''Polyscias maraisiana
''Polyscias maraisiana'' is a species of plant in the family Araliaceae, formerly named ''Gastonia mauritiana''.
It is endemic to Mauritius, where it was formerly common on forest verges and also in coastal areas. It was formerly grown as an orn ...
'' on Mauritius island to the west. Adult plants' leaves are shiny, rounded and bright green.
References
rodriguesiana Endemic flora of Rodrigues Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Araliaceae-stub