''Plathymenia reticulata'' ( pt, vinhático) is a species of

legume A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock f ...

native to much of eastern South America. It is placed in its own genus, ''Platyhymenia'', although other species have previously been recognised in that genus. It grows up to tall, and has distinctive flattened seed pods. Its wood is rot-resistant, and is widely used as a structural timber.

Description

''Plathymenia reticulata'' grows up to tall, with a diameter at breast height (d.b.h.) of up to ; in cerrado or savannah habitats, it is smaller, reaching a height of only and a d.b.h. of . The

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 ...

are alternately arranged, long, and bipinnate. The hermaphroditic flowers are held in

cymes An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed on ...

on short peduncles among the foliage; each flower is long, with five tiny white

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s and numerous

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. The seed pod is flat, long and wide, and contains 7–12 seeds, each of which is surrounded by a winged papery envelope.

Distribution and ecology

''Plathymenia reticulata'' is a widespread tree in the cerrado and

Atlantic Forest The Atlantic Forest ( pt, Mata Atlântica) is a South American forest that extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south and inland as far as Paraguay and th ...

biomes of South America, but is not found in the more xeric caatinga biome. It occurs in

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

, Paraguay, the Misiones Province of Argentina and 14

states of Brazil The federative units of Brazil ( pt, unidades federativas do Brasil) are subnational entities with a certain degree of autonomy (self-government, self-regulation and self-collection) and endowed with their own government and constitution, which ...

, at altitudes of . The

phenology Phenology is the study of periodic events in biological life cycles and how these are influenced by seasonality, seasonal and interannual variations in climate, as well as environmental factor, habitat factors (such as elevation). Examples includ ...

of ''P. reticulata'' varies across its range; in São Paulo state, flowering occurs from July to October, but elsewhere it is can start as late as November, and end as late as December. Similarly, the time of fruiting varies from August–September to October–January. The

pollinator A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains. Insects are the maj ...

s are

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyly, monophyletic lineage within the ...

s and other small insects, and the seeds are dispersed by the wind ( anemochory).

Taxonomy

When he erected the genus in 1841, George Bentham originally described two species in ''Plathymenia'' – ''Plathymenia foliolosa'' and ''Plathymenia reticulata''. Following work by Warwick and Lewis published in 2003, these are now considered synonymous, and ''Plathymenia'' is considered to contain a single species. The name ''Plathymenia'' derives from the Ancient Greek roots (', meaning "flat") and (', meaning " membrane"), in reference to the winged seeds. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

' refers to the reticulate (net-like) leaf venation. The name ''Echyrospermum'', published by Heinrich Wilhelm Schott in 1822, is an earlier name for the same genus, but has been

rejected ''Rejected'' is an animated film directed by Don Hertzfeldt that was released in 2000. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film the following year at the 73rd Academy Awards, and received 27 awards from film festivals ...

under the '' International Code of Botanical Nomenclature''.

Uses

''Plathymenia reticulata'' is known by many different

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

s throughout its wide range, but it is generally referred to as '. The timber of ''P. reticulata'' contains terpenes that preserve the wood from termite attack and from rotting, even when exposed to the weather. It is the preferred timber for constructing dugout canoes in Brazil, and is widely used for anchors, fence-posts and for many other structural uses. The production of

nectar Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...

and

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...

for the pollinators make ''Plathymenia'' useful for

apiculture Beekeeping (or apiculture) is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in man-made beehives. Honey bees in the genus '' Apis'' are the most-commonly-kept species but other honey-producing bees such as ''Melipona'' stingless bees are also kept. ...

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from1=Q5462303, from2=Q15541573 Mimosoids Monotypic Fabaceae genera Trees of South America Taxonomy articles created by Polbot