Polyscias Rodriguesiana on:
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''Polyscias rodriguesiana'' (formerly ''Gastonia rodriguesiana'', locally known as "bois blanc") is a rare species of
It is
It has a soft, swollen trunk and thick branches. It can reach a height of 6 meters, but is usually shorter and more compact.
Its leaves are
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 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 ...
.
Habitat
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 the island of Rodrigues
Rodrigues (french: Île Rodrigues, link=yes ; Creole: ) is a autonomous outer island of the Republic of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, about east of Mauritius. It is part of the Mascarene Islands, which include Mauritius and Réunion. Rodr ...
, in Mauritius
Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...
. It used to occur throughout Rodrigues island, but was especially common in coastal regions and on limestone or old coral sediments.
It is now critically endangered.
Description
It has a soft, swollen trunk and thick branches. It can reach a height of 6 meters, but is usually shorter and more compact.
Its leaves are heterophyllous
Heteroblasty is the significant and abrupt change in form and function, that occurs over the lifespan of certain plants. Characteristics affected include internode length and stem structure as well as leaf form, size and arrangement. It should no ...
, like its close relative ''Polyscias maraisiana
''Polyscias maraisiana'' is a species of plant in the family Araliaceae, formerly named ''Gastonia mauritiana''.
It is endemic to Mauritius, where it was formerly common on forest verges and also in coastal areas. It was formerly grown as an orn ...
'' on Mauritius island to the west. Adult plants' leaves are shiny, rounded and bright green.
References
rodriguesiana Endemic flora of Rodrigues Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Araliaceae-stub