''Alphitonia'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of arborescent

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s comprising about 20

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

, constituting part of the buckthorn family (

Rhamnaceae The Rhamnaceae are a large family of flowering plants, mostly trees, shrubs, and some vines, commonly called the buckthorn family. Rhamnaceae is included in the order Rosales. The family contains about 55 genera and 950 species. The Rhamnaceae h ...

). They occur in tropical regions of

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a region, geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of ...

and

Polynesia Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...

. These are large trees or shrubs. In

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, they are often called "ash trees" or "sarsaparilla trees". This is rather misleading however; among the

s, ''Alphitonia'' is not closely related to the true ash trees (''

Fraxinus ''Fraxinus'' (), common name, commonly called ash, is a genus of flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45–65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous, though a number of Subtropics, subtropic ...

'' of the asterids), and barely at all to the

monocot Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, (Lilianae ''sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are grass and grass-like flowering plants (angiosperms), the seeds of which typically contain only one embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. They constitute one of ...

sarsaparilla vines ('' Smilax''). The name is derived from Greek ''álphiton'' (, "

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley pr ...

- meal"), from the mealy quality of their fruits' mesocarps.. Another interpretation is that "baked barley meal" alludes to the mealy red covering around the hard cells in the fruit.

Alexander Floyd Alexander Geoffrey Floyd (1 April 1926 – 12 December 2022) was an Australian botanist with an expert knowledge of rainforest plants, particularly the rainforest trees of New South Wales. He has worked with the New South Wales Forestry Commiss ...

, ''Rainforest Trees of Mainland South-eastern Australia'', Inkata Press 2008, page 322 The lanceolate coriaceous leaves are alternate, about 12 cm long. The margins are smooth. Venation is

pinnate Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and in ...

. They have white to rusty complex hairs on the under surface. The petiole is less than a quarter the length of a blade. Stipules are present. The small

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s form terminal or axillary clusters of small creamy blossoms during spring. The flowers are bisexual.

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 ...

is present. The flowers show 5 sepals, 5 petals and 5 stamens. The ovary is inferior. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

s are ovoid, blackish non-fleshy capsules, with one seed per

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 ...

. ''Alphitonia'' species are used as food plants by the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

the hepialid

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

Aenetus mirabilis ''Aenetus mirabilis'' is a moth of the family Hepialidae. It is known from Queensland. The larvae feed on ''Alphitonia ''Alphitonia'' is a genus of arborescent flowering plants comprising about 20 species, constituting part of the buckthorn fa ...

'', which feed only on these trees. They burrow horizontally into the trunk, then vertically down.

Selected species

* ''

Alphitonia carolinensis ''Alphitonia'' is a genus of arborescent flowering plants comprising about 20 species, constituting part of the buckthorn family ( Rhamnaceae). They occur in tropical regions of Southeast Asia, Oceania and Polynesia. These are large trees or shru ...

'' * ''

Alphitonia excelsa ''Alphitonia excelsa'', commonly known as the red ash or soap tree, is a species of tree in the family Rhamnaceae. It is endemic to Australia, being found in New South Wales, Queensland, Northern Territory and the northeastern tip of Western A ...

'' (Fenzl) Reissek ex

Benth. George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studie ...

– soap tree, red ash (

) * ''

Alphitonia ferruginea ''Alphitonia'' is a genus of arborescent flowering plants comprising about 20 species, constituting part of the buckthorn family (Rhamnaceae). They occur in tropical regions of Southeast Asia, Oceania and Polynesia. These are large trees or shrub ...

'' * '' Alphitonia franguloides'' * '' Alphitonia incana'' * '' Alphitonia macrocarpa'' * ''

Alphitonia marquesensis ''Alphitonia marquesensis'' is a species of plant in the family Rhamnaceae. It is endemic to the Marquesas Islands The Marquesas Islands (; french: Îles Marquises or ' or '; Marquesan: ' ( North Marquesan) and ' ( South Marquesan), both ...

'' F.Brown – ''makee'' (

Marquesas Islands The Marquesas Islands (; french: Îles Marquises or ' or '; Marquesan: ' ( North Marquesan) and ' ( South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in th ...

) * '' Alphitonia moluccana'' * '' Alphitonia neocaledonica''

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

* '' Alphitonia obtusifolia'' * ''

Alphitonia petriei ''Alphitonia petriei'', commonly known as the white ash, is a rainforest tree in the family Rhamnaceae from eastern and northern Australia. Other common names include red ash, white-leaf, pink almond and pink ash. It was originally collected fr ...

'' – pink ash, white ash (Australia) * ''

Alphitonia ponderosa ''Alphitonia ponderosa'' is a species of Flowering plant, flowering tree in the family Rhamnaceae, that is Endemism, endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. It is locally known as ''kauila'', as is the related ''Colubrina oppositifolia''. Description ...

'' Hillebr. – ''kauila'' (

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

) * '' Alphitonia philippinensis'' * '' Alphitonia rubiginota'' * '' Alphitonia whitei'' – red ash (Australia) * ''

Alphitonia zizyphoides ''Alphitonia'' is a genus of arborescent flowering plants comprising about 20 species, constituting part of the buckthorn family ( Rhamnaceae). They occur in tropical regions of Southeast Asia, Oceania and Polynesia. These are large trees or shru ...

'' (Solander) A.Gray – ''toi'' (

)

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1955527 Rhamnaceae genera