''Rhodolaena humblotii'' is a plant in the family

Sarcolaenaceae The Sarcolaenaceae are a family of flowering plants endemic to Madagascar. The family includes 79 species of mostly evergreen trees and shrubs in ten genera. Recent DNA studies indicate that the Sarcolaenaceae are a sibling taxon to the 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 ...

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

''Rhodolaena humblotii'' grows as a shrub or small to medium-sized tree. The twigs have dense hairs. Its leaves are small and elliptic in shape. The

inflorescences An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

bear two flowers on a short peduncle. Individual flowers are large with five

sepals A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

and five pink-red petals, measuring up long. The fruits are medium-sized and woody.

Distribution and habitat

''Rhodolaena humblotii'' is only found in the eastern

regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

Vatovavy-Fitovinany Fitovinany is a region located in southeast Madagascar. Its capital is Manakara. It is inhabited by the Antemoro people. It formerly belonged to the region Vatovavy-Fitovinany that was split on 16 June 2021 to become the regions Vatovavy and Fito ...

Alaotra-Mangoro Alaotra-Mangoro is a region in eastern Madagascar. It borders Sofia Region in north, Analanjirofo in northeast, Atsinanana in east, Vakinankaratra in southwest, Analamanga in west and Betsiboka in northwest. The capital of the region is Ambatondra ...

Analanjirofo Analanjirofo is a region in northeastern Madagascar. Until 2009 it was a part of Toamasina Province. It borders Sava Region to the north, Sofia Region to the west, Alaotra-Mangoro Region to the southwest and Atsinanana Region to the south. The c ...

and

Atsinanana Atsinanana is a coastal region in eastern Madagascar. It borders Analanjirofo region in the north, Alaotra-Mangoro in the west, Vakinankaratra and Amoron'i Mania in the southwest, and Vatovavy and Fitovinany in south. The region contains over 285 ...

. Its habitat is evergreen and humid forests from to altitude.

Threats

''Rhodolaena humblotii'' is threatened by timber exploitation. The timber is used in construction. Future population decline of the tree due to habitat loss is predicted at 50% to 80%, though subpopulations in protected areas are considered stable.

References

humblotii Endemic flora of Madagascar Plants described in 1886 {{Sarcolaenaceae-stub