''Fontainea pancheri'' is a small tree or shrub endemic to

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 ...

in the family,

Euphorbiaceae Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of a genus in the family. Most spurges, such as ''Euphorbia paralias'', are herbs, but some, e ...

, which grows to a height of 15 m.

Description

''Fontainea pancheri'' is a small

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 ...

tree growing to 15 m. The colour of the stem exudate is clear or reddish-brown. Both male and female flowers are white flowers. Male flowers have 18 - 32 stamens and occur in well furnished bunches. The females inflorescences are considerably meaner.

Distribution and habitat

''Fontainea pancheri'' is common on the Grande Terre.

Taxonomy and naming

The plant was first described in 1862 by

Henri Ernest Baillon Henri Ernest Baillon was a French botanist and physician. He was born in Calais on 30 November 1827 and died in Paris on 19 July 1895. Baillon spent his professional life as a professor of natural history, and he published numerous works on bo ...

in the journal ''Adansonia''. The name was changed by Édouard Marie Heckel in 1870 when he described the genus, ''

Fontainea ''Fontainea'' is a genus constituting part of the plant family Euphorbiaceae. The nine currently known species grow naturally in Queensland (Qld) and New South Wales (NSW) Australia (6 spp.), New Caledonia and Vanuatu (1 sp.), and Papua New Guine ...

'' in "Étude au point de vue Botanique et Thérapeutique sur la Fontainea pancheri (Nobis)". The specific epithet, ''pancheri'', derives from the name "Pancher" and honours the botanist Jean Armand Isidore Pancher who worked in New Caledonia.

References

pancheri Flora of New Caledonia Taxa named by Édouard Marie Heckel Taxa named by Henri Ernest Baillon Plants described in 1870 {{Euphorbiaceae-stub