![Antidesma](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Antidesma.platyphyllum2.jpg)
''Antidesma'' is a genus of
tropical
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in
the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
plant
Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...
in the family
Phyllanthaceae
Phyllanthaceae is a family of flowering plants in the eudicot order Malpighiales. It is most closely related to the family Picrodendraceae.Kenneth J. Wurdack and Charles C. Davis. 2009. "Malpighiales phylogenetics: Gaining ground on one of the ...
formally described by Linnaeus in 1753.
[Tropicos, ''Antidesma'' L.]
/ref>
It is native to tropical Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
, S + E + SE Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
, 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 ...
, and various oceanic islands. The greatest diversity occurs in 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 ...
.[Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]
/ref>
Description
''Antidesma'' is a variable genus which may be short and shrubby or tall and erect, approaching 30 metres in height. It has large oval shaped leathery evergreen leaves up to about 20 centimetres long and seven wide. The flowers have a strong, somewhat unpleasant scent. The staminate flowers are arranged in small bunches and the pistillate flowers grow on long racemes which will become the long strands of fruit. The fruits are spherical and just under a centimeter wide, hanging singly or paired in long, heavy bunches. They are white when immature and gradually turn red, then black. When they are still white they have sour and astringent taste, sour taste when they are red and have sweet and sour taste when they are black.
The evergreen (sometimes deciduous) simple leaves
A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
have fine hairs and show no glands. They grow in an alternate arrangement, with entire, symmetrical blades. They are connected to the stem with a petiole (leaf stalk) and stipule
In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole). Stipules are considered part of the anatomy of the leaf of a typical flowering plant, although in many speci ...
s (appendage at the base of a leaf stalk).
The 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 grow in a raceme
A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...
, with 1 bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...
per flower, on a short pedicel (tiny stalk, supporting a single flower). Their color is light yellowish green, but may turn red when mature. These plants are dioecious
Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...
, i.e. unisexual, with male and female flowers on separate plants. There are 3 to 8 fused sepals, but no petals. The male flowers have 2 to 8 stamen
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 filame ...
s, but no pistil
Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...
s. The female flowers have 2 to 6 stigmas. They have a 1-locular ovary with 2 ovules.
The globose to ellipsoid 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 resemble a drupe. Their color varies from green to white, red and black. The fleshy and juicy fruits are edible with a sour to bitter sweet taste. Some individuals find ''Antidesma bunius'' berries to have a bitter taste. Those who detect this bitter taste (about 15% of subjects tested) cannot taste PTC, and similarly those who can taste PTC (about 68% of the subjects) cannot taste any bitterness in ''Antidesma bunius'', while a minority of people cannot taste bitterness in either.[Henkin, R.I. and W.T. Gillis. (1977)]
Divergent taste responsiveness to fruit of the tree ''Antidesma bunius''
''Nature'':265:536 - 537.
Species
There are 101 accepted species in the genus, as of May 2021. They are:
- Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares int ...
to Myanmar
*''Antidesma rufescens
''Antidesma'' is a genus of tropical plant in the family Phyllanthaceae formally described by Linnaeus in 1753.
It is native to tropical Africa, S + E + SE Asia, Australia, and various oceanic islands. The greatest diversity occurs in South ...
'' - tropical Africa
*'' Antidesma sinuatum'' - Queensland
*'' Antidesma sootepense'' - Thailand, Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...
, Laos, Cambodia
*''Antidesma spatulifolium
''Antidesma'' is a genus of tropical plant in the family Phyllanthaceae formally described by Linnaeus in 1753.
It is native to tropical Africa, S + E + SE Asia, Australia, and various oceanic islands. The greatest diversity occurs in Southe ...
'' - New Guinea, Tanimbar
The Tanimbar Islands, also called ''Timur Laut'', are a group of about 65 islands in the Maluku province of Indonesia. The largest and most central of the islands is Yamdena; others include Selaru to the southwest of Yamdena, Larat and Forda ...
*''Antidesma stipulare
''Antidesma'' is a genus of tropical
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in
the Southern Hemisph ...
'' - Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines
*''Antidesma subbicolor
''Antidesma'' is a genus of tropical plant in the family Phyllanthaceae formally described by Linnaeus in 1753.
It is native to tropical Africa, S + E + SE Asia, Australia, and various oceanic islands. The greatest diversity occurs in Southe ...
'' - Vietnam
*'' Antidesma subcordatum'' - Philippines, Lesser Sunda Is
*'' Antidesma tetrandrum'' - Andaman & Nicobar
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India consisting of 572 islands, of which 37 are inhabited, at the junction of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. The territory is about north of Aceh in Indonesia and separated fro ...
, Bali, Java, Sumatra
*'' Antidesma tomentosum'' - Nicobar Is, S Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia
*'' Antidesma tonkinense'' - N Vietnam
*''Antidesma trichophyllum
''Antidesma'' is a genus of tropical plant in the family Phyllanthaceae formally described by Linnaeus in 1753.
It is native to tropical Africa, S + E + SE Asia, Australia, and various oceanic islands. The greatest diversity occurs in Southe ...
'' - Viti Levu
Viti Levu (pronounced ) is the largest island in the Republic of Fiji. It is the site of the nation's capital, Suva, and home to a large majority of Fiji's population.
Geology
Fiji lies in a tectonically complex area between the Australian P ...
*''Antidesma vaccinioides
''Antidesma'' is a genus of tropical plant in the family Phyllanthaceae formally described by Linnaeus in 1753.
It is native to tropical Africa, S + E + SE Asia, Australia, and various oceanic islands. The greatest diversity occurs in Southe ...
'' - Papua New Guinea
*''Antidesma velutinosum
''Antidesma'' is a genus of tropical plant in the family Phyllanthaceae formally described by Linnaeus in 1753.
It is native to tropical Africa, S + E + SE Asia, Australia, and various oceanic islands. The greatest diversity occurs in Southe ...
'' - E Himalayas, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, W Indonesia
*''Antidesma velutinum
''Antidesma'' is a genus of tropical plant in the family Phyllanthaceae formally described by Linnaeus in 1753.
It is native to tropical Africa, S + E + SE Asia, Australia, and various oceanic islands. The greatest diversity occurs in Southe ...
'' - Bangladesh, Andaman Is, SE Asia
*'' Antidesma venenosum'' - Borneo
*'' Antidesma venosum'' - Africa, China, SE Asia
*'' Antidesma vogelianum'' - tropical Africa
The following taxa have been revised:
*''Antidesma obliquinervium
''Antidesma montanum'' is a species of tree in the family Phyllanthaceae, native to Southeast Asia, from India to the Philippines. It can grow up to . The fruits are edible. Four varieties have been accepted, each of which has multiple Synonym (t ...
'' , now synonym for ''Antidesma montanum
''Antidesma montanum'' is a species of tree in the family Phyllanthaceae, native to Southeast Asia, from India to the Philippines. It can grow up to . The fruits are edible. Four varieties have been accepted, each of which has multiple synonyms, ...
'' var. ''montanum''
*''Antidesma pentandrum'' , now synonym for ''Antidesma montanum
''Antidesma montanum'' is a species of tree in the family Phyllanthaceae, native to Southeast Asia, from India to the Philippines. It can grow up to . The fruits are edible. Four varieties have been accepted, each of which has multiple synonyms, ...
'' var. ''montanum''
*''Antidesma subolivaceum
''Antidesma tomentosum'' is a species of plant in the family Phyllanthaceae
Phyllanthaceae is a family of flowering plants in the eudicot order Malpighiales. It is most closely related to the family Picrodendraceae.Kenneth J. Wurdack and Char ...
'' , now synonym for '' Antidesma tomentosum'' var. ''tomentosum''
References
External links
Antidesma (Flora of Thailand)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q134957
Phyllanthaceae genera
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
Dioecious plants