''Meryta'' is a genus in the

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 ...

family

Araliaceae The Araliaceae are a family of flowering plants composed of about 43 genera and around 1500 species consisting of primarily woody plants and some herbaceous plants. The morphology of Araliaceae varies widely, but it is predominantly distinguisha ...

. There are 28 described species in the genus and a number of undescribed species, all small, resinous trees of the subtropical and tropical

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, characterized by huge, simple leaves and a dioecious sexual system, a unique combination in Araliaceae. ''Meryta'' has its center of diversity in

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 ...

(11 endemic spp.). Phylogenetic analyses have placed ''Meryta'' as a

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

genus in one of the three major clades of the Araliaciae, the Polyscias- Pseudopanax group, and more specifically in the Pacific Schefflera subclade.

Cultivation

Cultivation of ''Meryta'' species is possible in tropical or subtropical climates. They are valued for their dramatic foliage and tolerance of coastal conditions. Species encountered in cultivation include '' M. denhamii'' and ''M. sonchifolia'', native to

, '' M. latifolia'', native to

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together with ...

, and the

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

species ''

Meryta sinclairii ''Meryta sinclairii'', the puka or pukanui, is a large-leaved evergreen tree endemic to New Zealand that grows to about 8 m tall, with the distinctly tropical appearance typical of the genus. There are about 27 species of ''Meryta'', all small ...

''.

References

External links

Apiales genera Dioecious plants {{Araliaceae-stub