Sideroxylon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the oxymoron introduced by Arthur Schopenhauer, see Wooden iron. "Sideroxylon" may be occasionally used for petrified wood; it is also a 1983 album by The Celibate Rifles.

"Bully Tree" (and variants thereof) redirect here. The term is also used for the related Broad-leafed Lacuma (Pouteria multiflora).

Sideroxylon
Sideroxylon persimile
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Subclass: Asteridae Order: Ericales Family: Sapotaceae Genus: Sideroxylon L.
Species
About 70, see text
Synonyms
Bumelia Sw.

Sideroxylon is a genus of flowering plants in the family Sapotaceae. There are about 70 species, collectively known as bully trees. The genus is distributed mainly in the neotropics, but also in Africa, Madagascar, and the Mascarene Islands. Some species, such as Gum Bully (S. lanuginosum), S. tenax, and Buckthorn Bully (S. lycioides), are found into subtropical areas of North America. The only South African species, the White Milkwood (S. inerme), is associated with three historical sites, and these individuals were declared national monuments due to their unusual longevity.

Several species have become rare due to logging and other forms of habitat destruction. The Tambalacoque of Mauritius (S. grandiflorum, syn. Calvaria major) was affected by the extinction of the birds which dispersed its seed; it was suggested that the species entirely depended on the dodo for that purpose and nearly became a victim of coextinction, but this is not correct.^[1][2] Bully trees provide food for the caterpillars of certain Lepidoptera, such as the Bumelia Webworm Moth (Urodus parvula).

[edit] Selected species

Sideroxylon acunae Sideroxylon acutangulum Ducke Sideroxylon alachuense Sideroxylon altamiranoi Sideroxylon americanum (Mill.) T.D. Penn. Sideroxylon angustum Sideroxylon anomalum Sideroxylon argenteum Pierre Sideroxylon australe – Australian Native Plum Sideroxylon bangii Rusby Sideroxylon betsimisarakum Lecomte Sideroxylon bolivianum Rusby Sideroxylon borbonicum A.DC. Sideroxylon boutonianum Sideroxylon bullatum Sideroxylon capiri Sideroxylon cartilagineum Sideroxylon celastrinum (Kunth) T.D. Penn. – Saffron Plum Sideroxylon cinereum Sideroxylon confertum Sideroxylon contrerasii Sideroxylon costatum Sideroxylon crassipedicellatum Mart. & Eichler Baehni Sideroxylon cubense – Espejuelo Sideroxylon cuneatum Raunk. Sideroxylon cuspidatum A.DC. Sideroxylon cylindrocarpum Poepp. Sideroxylon cymosum Sideroxylon cyrtobotryum Mart. Sideroxylon dominicanum Sideroxylon durifolium Sideroxylon eerwah Sideroxylon elegans A.DC. Sideroxylon eriocarpum Sideroxylon eucoriaceum Sideroxylon excavatum Sideroxylon fimbriatum Sideroxylon floribundum Griseb. Sideroxylon foetidissimum Jacq. Sideroxylon galeatum Sideroxylon gardnerianum A.DC. Sideroxylon grandiflorum – Tambalacoque, Calvaria Tree, Dodo Tree Sideroxylon grandifolium Sideroxylon guyanense A.DC. Sideroxylon hirtiantherum Sideroxylon horridum (Griseb.) T.D.Penn.

Sideroxylon ibarrae Sideroxylon inerme L. – White Milkwood Sideroxylon jubilla Sideroxylon lanuginosum – Gum Bully Sideroxylon leucophyllum Sideroxylon lycioides – Buckthorn Bully Sideroxylon macranthum Sideroxylon majus (Gaertn.f.) Baehni Sideroxylon marginatum (Decne. Ex Webb) Sideroxylon mascatense (A. DC.) T.D. Penn. Sideroxylon mastichodendroides Sideroxylon mirmulano Sideroxylon montanum Sideroxylon obovatum – Breakbill Sideroxylon obtusifolium (Roem. & Schult.) T.D.Penn. Sideroxylon occidentale (Hemsl.) T.D.Penn. Sideroxylon octosepalum Sideroxylon pacurero Loefl. Sideroxylon palmeri Sideroxylon peninsulare Sideroxylon persimile (Hemsl.) T.D. Penn. Sideroxylon portoricense Urb. – Puerto Rico Bully Sideroxylon puberulum Sideroxylon reclinatum – Florida Bully, Everglades Bully Sideroxylon repens (Urb. and Ekman) T.D. Penn. Sideroxylon reticulatum Britton Sideroxylon retinerve Sideroxylon robustum Mart. & Eichler Sideroxylon rotundifolium Sideroxylon rubiginosum Sideroxylon rufum Mart. & Eichler Sideroxylon rugosum Roem. & Schult. Sideroxylon saldanhaei Glaz. Sideroxylon saxorum Lecomte Sideroxylon sessiliflorum Sideroxylon socorrense Sideroxylon spinosum Sideroxylon spruceanum Mart. & Miq. Sideroxylon stevensonii Sideroxylon tempisque Sideroxylon tenax L. – Tough Bully Sideroxylon thornei – Georgia Bully Sideroxylon venulosum Mart. & Eichler Sideroxylon wightianum S. Mori

[edit] Formerly placed here

• Miracle Fruit, Synsepalum dulcificum (as Sideroxylon dulcificum)
• Spiniluma discolor (as Sideroxylon discolor)
• Dipholis salicifolia (as Sideroxylon salicifolium(L.) Lam) – White Bully, Willow Bustic

[edit] References

1. ^ Witmer, M. C. & Cheke, A. S. (1991): The dodo and the tambalacoque tree: an obligate mutualism reconsidered. Oikos 61(1): 133-137. HTML abstract
2. ^ Hershey, D. R. (2004): The widespread misconception that the tambalacoque absolutely required the dodo for its seeds to germinate. Plant Science Bulletin 50: 105-108.