''Syzygium claviflorum'' is a

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, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

in the

Myrtaceae Myrtaceae, the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All spe ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

. It is native to the north of the

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal ...

continent and in tropical and subtropical Asia. It is used for timber, as fuel, as human and cattle food, and for dye. Stunted specimens can be found on the top of the plateau of

Bokor National Park Preah Monivong Bokor National Park ( km, ឧទ្យានជាតិព្រះមុនីវង្ស បូកគោ, ) is a national park in southern Cambodia's Kampot Province that was established in 1993 and covers . It is designated as ...

, Cambodia.

Description

An evergreen tree that grows some 10-20m tall in Southeast Asia, 3-15m tall in Zhōngguó/China. Trees in the North Queensland Rainforests grow quickly to a large size, reaching some 180 to 270cm diameter. The bark is often rather pale, greyish-white to greyish-brown. The leaves have a depressed midrib and a grooved petiole on the upper surface, the blade is 6.5-13.2 by 2.9-5.8cm in size. Oil dots that are quite variable in size can be seen with a hand-lens. There are about 16-37 lateral veins on each side of the midrib. The inflorescence bracts are deciduous, and absent at full flower opening,

anthesis Anthesis is the period during which a flower is fully open and functional. It may also refer to the onset of that period. The onset of anthesis is spectacular in some species. In ''Banksia'' species, for example, anthesis involves the extension ...

. In the flowers the

calyx Calyx or calyce (plural "calyces"), from the Latin ''calix'' which itself comes from the Ancient Greek ''κάλυξ'' (''kálux'') meaning "husk" or "pod", may refer to: Biology * Calyx (anatomy), collective name for several cup-like structures ...

tube,

hypanthium In angiosperms, a hypanthium or floral cup is a structure where basal portions of the calyx, the corolla, and the stamens form a cup-shaped tube. It is sometimes called a floral tube, a term that is also used for corolla tube and calyx tube. It ...

, and

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

are around 10-20mm long together, the calyx tube is some 2-5mm in diameter, there are 4-5 rounded, small and inconspicuous calyx lobes, rarely greater than 0.5mm in length. There are 6-8

orbicular Orbicular is an adjective meaning "circular" Orbicular may also refer to: * Orbicular leaf, a plant leaf shape * Orbicularis oculi muscle, a muscle around the eye * Orbicularis oris muscle, a muscle around the mouth * Orbicular batfish, a species ...

petals, when fully grown around 2-3mm in diameter, more or less cohering (largely as the apices of all petals fold into a cylinder at the centre between the staminal filaments). There are up to 20-30 oil dots on the petals. The outer staminal filaments are some 3-8mm long.

Anthers The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

are roughly 0.8 by 0.5mm in size, with a terminal gland, reasonably conspicuous. Each

locule A locule (plural locules) or loculus (plural loculi) (meaning "little place" in Latin) is a small cavity or compartment within an organ or part of an organism (animal, plant, or fungus). In angiosperms (flowering plants), the term ''locule'' usu ...

has about 9-16 ovules. The rather stout style is some 3-8mm long, the same or slightly longer than the stamens. The edible fruit is of variable shape, from cylindrical to

turbinate In anatomy, a nasal concha (), plural conchae (), also called a nasal turbinate or turbinal, is a long, narrow, curled shelf of bone that protrudes into the breathing passage of the nose in humans and various animals. The conchae are shaped like ...

pyriform Piriform, sometimes ''pyriform'', means pear-shaped (from Latin ''pirum'' "pear" and ''forma'' "shape"). It may also refer to: Going pear-shaped * Going wrong or going pear-shaped Anatomy * Piriform aperture, more commonly known as anterior ...

. It is often galled and irregular, it is excavated at the apex and when mature 11-14 by 9-10mm in size. The calyx lobes are not obvious. The pericarp is succulent. Cells radiate from the endocarp to the exocarp. Seeds are about 7-8 by 7-8mm, with the testa apparently absent. The seedlings have about 3 pairs of reduced leaves,

cataphyll In plant morphology, a cataphyll (sometimes also called a ''cataphyllum'' or cataphyll leafJackson, Benjamin, Daydon; A Glossary of Botanic Terms with their Derivation and Accent; Published by Gerald Duckworth & Co. London, 4th ed 1928) is a reduce ...

s, before the first pair of true leave appear, these cataphylls are some present between the leaves at later stages. At the tenth leaf stage, conspicuously quadrangled or shortly winged twigs appear, with a lanceolate to ovate leaf, whose apex is acuminate to acute, and a cuneate base. Oil dots are numerous, just visible to the naked eye, clearly visible with a hand-lens. Seeds germinate between 38-95 days. The wood specific gravity is some 0.72-0.88, wood density some 0.607g/cm³. Flowering occurs from January to March, June and November in Cambodia and Vietname, while fruiting is in March and April, June and August. In Zhōngguó/China the tree flowers in March and April, fruiting in May and June. The specimens identified in Kerala, India flower and fruit from March to May, while those in the Sikkim Himalaya fruit from August to October. Discussing the Papuasian subgenus Perkion, Craven distinguishes ''S. claviflorum'' in having the bark on the inflorescence branchlet of granular-papillate texture and having a flat staminal disc. Traits used to distinguish ''S. claviflorum'' from other ''Szygium'' species in Cambodia and Vietnam are the large leaf blade (6-22 by 1.5-7.5cm); and the long petiole (0.3-0.6cm).

Phylogeny

This species is in the subgenus Perikion, for which it is the type species. At a lower level it is in a clade with siblings ''

Syzygium apodophyllum ''Syzygium apodophyllum'' is a tree in the Myrtaceae family endemic to north Queensland. The fruit is edible. It is a host for the exotic plant-pathogen fungus ''Austropuccinia psidii'', which is causing a lot of damage to vegetation communities ...

'', '' S. corynanthum'' and ''

Syzygium canicortex ''Syzygium canicortex'', commonly known as yellow satinash, is a tree in the family Myrtaceae native to Queensland, Australia, first described in 1983. Description ''Syzygium canicortex'' is a tree growing up to about tall and diameter, and ...

''.

Distribution

The tree grows on the Australian continent and across Wallacea, Southeast Asia to India and up to southern Zhōngguó/China. Countries and regions where the plant is native include: Australia (central- and north-eastern Queensland and Cape York; Yermalner/Melville Island, Bathurst Island, Northern Territory);

Papua Niugini Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

(eastern New Guinea); Indonesia ( West Papua,

Aru Islands The Aru Islands Regency ( id, Kabupaten Kepulauan Aru) is a group of about 95 low-lying islands in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia. It also forms a regency of Maluku Province, with a land area of . At the 2011 Census the Regency had a p ...

, Sulawesi, Kalimantan, Jawa); Philippines; Malaysia (Sabah, Sarawak, Peninsular Malaysia); Thailand; Cambodia; Vietnam; Zhōngguó/China (Hainan, Yunnan); Laos; Myanmar; Bangladesh; India (Andaman Islands, Assam, Meghalaya, Sikkim); Bhutan; Eastern Himalaya; Sri Lanka. The species has been reported from southern India, in the southern Western Ghats in the state of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South C ...

Habitat, ecology

In Australia, the tree grows in well developed gallery forest and in lowland and upland rainforest on a variety of sites. It occurs from sea level to 800m altitude. In Southeast Asia it primarily occurs in dense lowland forests. In Zhōngguó/China the tree is found in dense or open

angiosperm Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of br ...

evergreen forest in valley and in the hills, with an elevation range of below 100m to 1300m. In North Queensland rainforests the taxa grows best on basic volcanic/basalt derived soils. Growing in New Guinea and the Aru Islands, the species occurs in a wide variety of communities: oak forest, rainforest, swamp forest, mangrove edges, riparian forest edges, riverine forest, lowland hill forest, tall open forest, forest on low stony hills, and oak-beech forest; at elevations from sea level to 2750m. The populations in Cambodia and Vietnam are found in lowland to montane forests, including primary, secondary and beach forest, up to 1050m elevation. On top of the plateau of

(

Kampot Province Kampot ( km, កំពត ) is a province in southwestern Cambodia. It borders the provinces of Koh Kong and Kampong Speu to the north, Takéo to the east, Kep and the country of Vietnam ( Kiên Giang) to the south, and Sihanoukville to the ...

, Cambodia, at some 1045m.a.s.l., this species grows as a shrub or small tree (2-4m tall) amongst a

sclerophyll Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaves, short internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is parallel or oblique to direct ...

ous stunted forest community on rocky soils. It is also reported as common in open bogs at between 930 and 1043m. In the Chemunji Hills, Kerala it is common along streams in evergreen forest, while in Ponmudi, Kerala, it is common in exposed rocky areas of evergreen forests. At both localities associated species are ''

Polyalthia malabarica ''Polyalthia malabarica'' (formerly placed in the genus ''Phaeanthus'' as ''Phaeanthus malabaricus'') is a species of plant in the family Annonaceae and tribe Miliuseae. It is endemic to south-west India. It is threatened by habitat loss ...

'', ''

Syzygium gardneri ''Syzygium'' () is a genus of flowering plants that belongs to the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. The genus comprises about 1200 species, and has a native range that extends from Africa and Madagascar through southern Asia east through the Pacific. I ...

'', '' S. lanceolatum'', '' S. munroi'', ''

Elaeocarpus serratus ''Elaeocarpus serratus'' is a tropical flowering plant in the family Elaeocarpaceae. It is a medium to large tree, with white flowers. It has a disjunctive distribution, with the species occurring in Sri Lanka and southern India, and in Assa ...

'' var. ''weibelii'', and ''

Aporosa acuminata ''Aporosa acuminata'' is a species of plant in the family Phyllanthaceae. It is endemic to Western Ghats of India and Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்� ...

''.

Conservation

The "Least Concern" rating by the IUCN (see infobox above) is a result of the species having a large population, a very wide distribution and no current or future major threats have been identified. However the IUCN notes that there is " ntinuing decline in area, extent and/or quality of habitat." However in the Northern Territory, Australia, the plant is listed by the government as "Near Threatened", as the distribution of the tree is limited to Yermalner/Melville Island and Bathurst Island.

Vernacular names

* (="mouse droppings", alluding to the small fruits), (

Khmer Khmer(s) may refer to: Cambodia *''Srok Khmer'' (lit. "Khmer land" or "Land of the Khmer(s)"), a colloquial exonym used to refer to Cambodia by Cambodians; see * *Khmer people, the ethnic group to which the great majority of Cambodians belong ** ...

) * (

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

) *棒花蒲桃, (

Standard Chinese Standard Chinese ()—in linguistics Standard Northern Mandarin or Standard Beijing Mandarin, in common speech simply Mandarin, better qualified as Standard Mandarin, Modern Standard Mandarin or Standard Mandarin Chinese—is a modern standa ...

) *''harejamun'', (Sikkim). *''grey satinash'', ''satinash'', ''trumpet'', ''trumpet satinash'', ''watergum'' ( Australian English, note: ''grey satinash'', ''satinash'' and ''watergum'' are names also applied to other taxa)

Uses

The wood is a useful structural timber, and in Australia is marketed under the name ''grey satinash''. People who live in the Bung Khong Long Non-Hunting Area (

Nong Khai Province Nong Khai province ( th, หนองคาย, ) was formerly the northernmost of the northeastern (Isan) provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand until its eight eastern districts were split off to form Thailand's newest province, Bueng Kan provinc ...

, Thailand) use the bark for dyeing nets (to enhance their strength) and the fruit as cattle feed. In Cambodia the fruit are eaten and the wood is good firewood for heating. In the

Chittagong Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...

region of Myanmar and in Kerala and the Sikkim Himalaya, the fruit are eaten locally.

History

The species was described in 1841 by the German physician and botanist

Ernst Gottlieb von Steudel Ernst Gottlieb von Steudel (30 May 1783 – 12 May 1856) was a German physician and an authority on grasses. Biography Ernst Gottlieb von Steudel was born at Esslingen am Neckar in Baden-Württemberg. He was educated at the University of Tübinge ...

(1783-1841), whose main work was on grasses. He published the description in the second edition of his work ''Nomenclator botanicus'' (1840-1). He was building on others work. Firstly that of

Nathaniel Wallich Nathaniel Wolff Wallich FRS FRSE (28 January 1786 – 28 April 1854) was a surgeon and botanist of Danish origin who worked in India, initially in the Danish settlement near Calcutta and later for the Danish East India Company and the Briti ...

(1786-1854), the Danmark-born botanist who worked in India, who did not quite validly describe the taxa. Before that,

William Roxburgh William Roxburgh FRSE FRCPE FLS (3/29 June 1751 – 18 February 1815) was a Scottish surgeon and botanist who worked extensively in India, describing species and working on economic botany. He is known as the founding father of Indian botany. ...

(1751-1815), a Scottish surgeon and botanist who worked in India, had described the basionym taxa, that which this present accepted taxa is based: ''Eugenia claviflora'' Roxb. This was described in 1832 in Roxburgh's posthumously published work ''Flora Indica; or, Descriptions of Indian Plants''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q11116527 claviformis Flora of Assam (region) Flora of Borneo Flora of Cambodia Flora of East Himalaya Flora of Hainan Flora of Indo-China Flora of Java Flora of Kerala Flora of Laos Flora of Malesia Flora of Meghalaya Flora of Myanmar Flora of New Guinea Flora of Peninsular Malaysia Flora of Queensland Flora of Sikkim Flora of Sri Lanka Flora of Sulawesi Flora of Thailand Flora of the Andaman Islands Flora of the Indian subcontinent Flora of the Lesser Sunda Islands Flora of the Northern Territory Flora of the Philippines Flora of tropical Asia Flora of Vietnam Flora of Yunnan Plants described in 1841 Taxa named by Ernst Gottlieb von Steudel