''Hernandia voyronii'', commonly known as Hazomalany, is a species of
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
Hernandiaceae
The Hernandiaceae are a family of flowering plants (angiosperms) in the order Laurales. Consisting of five genera with about 58 known species, they are distributed over the world's tropical areas, some of them widely distributed in coastal areas ...
family. It is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
.
Description
''Hernandia voyronii'' is a large tree which grows from 15 to 25 meters tall.
[
]
Range and habitat
''Hernandia voyronii'' is endemic to western and southwestern Madagascar. It is found in southern Melaky
Melaky is a region in northwestern Madagascar. It borders Boeny Region in northeast, Betsiboka in east, Bongolava in southeast and Menabe in south. The capital of the region is Maintirano. The population was estimated to be 309,805 in 2018 within ...
region, western Menabe
Menabe is a Regions of Madagascar, region in western Madagascar, with its capital at Morondava. It covers an area of , and its population was 700,577 in 2018. The population mostly belongs to the Sakalava ethnic group. The region is named after th ...
region, and west-central Atsimo-Andrefana
Atsimo-Andrefana is a region of Madagascar. It borders Menabe in north, Amoron'i Mania and Haute Matsiatra in northeast, Ihorombe and Anosy in east and Androy in southeast. The capital is Toliara and the population was 1,799,088 in 2018. Atsimo ...
region, from sea level to 658 meters elevation. It is found in the Tsimembo Forest and Antseva Forest and along the Iakora-Ihosy Road. The species' estimated extent of occurrence
Extent may refer to:
Computing
* Extent (file systems), a contiguous region of computer storage medium reserved for a file
* Extent File System, a discontinued file system implementation named after the contiguous region
* Extent, a chunk of st ...
(EOO) is 70,569 km2, and its estimated area of occupancy
Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an open s ...
(AOO) is 94 km2.
It grows in spiny thicket, dry forest
Dry or dryness most often refers to:
* Lack of rainfall, which may refer to
**Arid regions
**Drought
* Dry or dry area, relating to legal prohibition of selling, serving, or imbibing alcoholic beverages
* Dry humor, deadpan
* Dryness (medical)
...
, and succulent woodland habitats, typically on sandstone and unconsolidated sand substrates. Young trees grow in shade, so reproduction requires limited habitat disturbance.[
]
Population and threats
The species is known from 77 occurrences in 18 subpopulations. Subpopulations are generally 10 to 13 mature individuals, and the species' total population is estimated to be 180 to 234 mature individuals.[
The species is threatened with habitat loss from human-caused fires, clearance of land for agriculture, timber harvesting, and a ]climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
induced increase in rainfall within its range. Its conservation status is assessed as critically endangered. Portions of its habitat are in protected areas.[
]
Uses
The timber of ''Hernandia voyronii'' has many uses in western Madagascar, including for canoes, coffins, houses, furniture. Parts of the plant have numerous medicinal uses, including treatment of malaria. The use and trade of the species is prohibited, but it is still sought after and harvested for use by local people.[
]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q115315833, from2=Q18081379
Endemic flora of Madagascar
Hernandiaceae
Flora of the Madagascar dry deciduous forests
Flora of the Madagascar spiny thickets
Flora of the Madagascar succulent woodlands