Gironniera
Content
Description
Shrubs or large-sized trees, very rarely buttressed.
Bark smooth to finely fissured, grey-brown, often lenticellate.
Leaves pinnately nerved, nerves parallel, regularly well-spaced.
Stipules extrapetiolar, free but overlapping each other and completely enclosing the bud, on falling leaving a circular scar around the node.
Inflorescence ♂ or ♀, very rarely ♂♀, axillary or borne on older, leafless branchlets, 1-many-flowered, paniculate, racemose, thyrsoid, or capitate;
Seed coat membranous, a few cells thick;
Distribution
Andaman Is present, Asia-Temperate: China South-Central (Yunnan present); Hainan (Hainan present), Asia-Tropical: Lesser Sunda Is. absent; Thailand (Thailand present), Burma present, Canton present, Ceylon present, Hongkong present, Kwangtung present, Melanesia present, Micronesia present, Pacific: Fiji (Fiji present); Samoa (Samoa present), Palau present, Polynesia present, Ponape Is present, SE. Asia present, SE. Moluccas absent, Solomons present, eastern part of Java absent
6 spp., SE. Asia: Ceylon, Andaman Is., Burma, Thailand, Indo-China, China (Yunnan, Kwangtung, Canton, Hainan, Hongkong), Micronesia (Palau and Ponape Is.), Melanesia (Solomons), Polynesia (Samoa, Fiji); in Malesia: throughout the region except for the eastern part of Java, the Lesser Sunda Islands, and the SE. Moluccas. .
Notes
Gironniera spp. have a continuous, flush-wise growth habit and have the ability to produce flowers and fruits at a very young (sapling) stage (2-3 m tall). Since the plants are often very common locally both in the primary and secondary forests, produce flowers and fruits regularly, and are very easy to collect, most of the examined specimens were gathered from these young plants. The presence of so many specimens collected from juvenile plants hampers proper identification even when they are fertile.
In the present revision, the characters used in the key were taken from specimens collected from mature or fully grown trees, while those mentioned in the description of each species include also data from specimens collected from the young plants, thus to include the total morphological variability.
On the material and field notes so far available it is impossible at this stage to determine whether the genus is strictly monoecious or dioecious. In most cases, the specimens display only fruits or ♂ inflorescences, thus giving the impression that the genus is dioecious. However, there are a few collections (in all species but G. hirta) which have both ♂ influorescences and infructescences attached to the same branch-let, or they are borne on separate branchlets belonging to a single collecting number.
Mrs. PHUPHATHANAPHONG l.c. accommodated the Malesian specimens into two species, G. nervosa and G. celtidifolia, without argumentation. I cannot agree with this view.
In the present revision, the characters used in the key were taken from specimens collected from mature or fully grown trees, while those mentioned in the description of each species include also data from specimens collected from the young plants, thus to include the total morphological variability.
On the material and field notes so far available it is impossible at this stage to determine whether the genus is strictly monoecious or dioecious. In most cases, the specimens display only fruits or ♂ inflorescences, thus giving the impression that the genus is dioecious. However, there are a few collections (in all species but G. hirta) which have both ♂ influorescences and infructescences attached to the same branch-let, or they are borne on separate branchlets belonging to a single collecting number.
Mrs. PHUPHATHANAPHONG l.c. accommodated the Malesian specimens into two species, G. nervosa and G. celtidifolia, without argumentation. I cannot agree with this view.
Citation
Miq. 1859 – In: Fl. Ind. Bat.: 222
GAUDICH. 1888 – In: Fl. Br. Ind.: 485
PHUPHATHANAPHONG 1972 – In: Thai For. Bull.: 49
ENGL 1888 – In: E. & P., Nat. Pfl. Fam., ed. 3, 1: 66
BERNARD 1906: p. 34. – In: Bull. Herb. Boiss.: map 24
HOOK.F 1880 – In: B. & H., Gen. Pl. 3: 356
HUTCH. 1967 – In: Gen. Fl. Pl.: 149
PLANCH 1873 – In: DC., Prod. 17: 205
PLANCH. 1848 – In: Ann. Sc. Nat.: 338
J. J. SMITH 1910 – In: K. & V., Bijdr. 12: 665
SOEPADMO 1973 – In: Whitmore, Tree FL Mai. 2: 417
Bl. 1856 – In: Mus. Bot.: 72