''Richeria grandis'' is a tree species in the family

Phyllanthaceae Phyllanthaceae is a family of flowering plants in the eudicot order Malpighiales. It is most closely related to the family Picrodendraceae.Kenneth J. Wurdack and Charles C. Davis. 2009. "Malpighiales phylogenetics: Gaining ground on one of the ...

which ranges from the

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc betwe ...

to South America. The species is reputed to have aphrodisiac properties.

Description

''Richeria grandis'' is a large, evergreen tree with brown bark and a brownish-orange inner bark. It has simple, alternate leaves with an entire margin. The leaves are large, generally long up to long and wide. The species is

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...

—male and female flowers are borne on separate plants. The male inflorescences are long with 3-7 flowers; the female inflorescences are long. The fruit is a capsule, about long.

Taxonomy

The species was first described by

Martin Vahl Martin Henrichsen Vahl (10 October 1749 – 24 December 1804) was a Danish-Norwegian botanist, herbalist and zoologist. Biography Martin Vahl was born in Bergen, Norway and attended Bergen Cathedral School. He studied botany at the University ...

in 1797. The species was placed in the

Euphorbiaceae Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of a genus in the family. Most spurges, such as ''Euphorbia paralias'', are herbs, but some, e ...

, but that family was split up after molecular work showed that the family was

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage of organisms or other evolving elements that is of mixed evolutionary origin. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as homoplasies, which are explained as a result of converg ...

. ''Richeria'' was moved into a new family, the

, when the subfamily Phyllanthoideae was elevated as a result of this split in the Euphorbiaceae.

Ecology

''Richeria grandis'' is a common species in

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

s in parts of the Caribbean and South America.

Ariel Lugo Ariel E. Lugo is a scientist, ecologist and Director of the International Institute of Tropical Forestry (IITF) within the USDA United States Forest Service, based in Puerto Rico. He is a founding member of the Society for Ecological Restoration ...

and colleagues reported that the species suffered higher levels of damage than most trees after

Hurricane David Hurricane David was an extremely deadly hurricane which caused massive loss of life in the Dominican Republic in August 1979, and was the most intense hurricane to make landfall in the country in recorded history. A Cape Verde hurricane that rea ...

hit the island of

Dominica Dominica ( or ; Kalinago: ; french: Dominique; Dominican Creole French: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is geographically ...

in 1979. The species is an aluminium accumulator, and is capable of accumulating as much as 15,000 ppm of aluminium in its leaves. The plant was able to tolerate the potentially toxic levels of aluminium primarily by depositing the metal in the

cell wall A cell wall is a structural layer surrounding some types of cells, just outside the cell membrane. It can be tough, flexible, and sometimes rigid. It provides the cell with both structural support and protection, and also acts as a filtering mech ...

s of its leaves. The

polypore Polypores are a group of fungi that form large fruiting bodies with pores or tubes on the underside (see Delimitation for exceptions). They are a morphological group of basidiomycetes-like gilled mushrooms and hydnoid fungi, and not all polypor ...

Porogramme richeriae ''Porogramme'' is a genus of fungi in the family Polyporaceae. Originally described as a subgenus of '' Poria'' by French mycologist Narcisse Théophile Patouillard in 1899, he promoted it to generic status in 1900. The genus name combines the An ...

'' was described based on collections from the trunk of ''R. grandis'' in Guadeloupe.

Uses

''Richeria grandis'' is one of several species including ''

Parinari campestris ''Parinari campestris'' is a species of tree in the plant family Chrysobalanaceae which is native to Trinidad, the Guianas, Venezuela and Brazil. It is reputed to have aphrodisiac properties. Description The species is a tree which grows up to ...

'' and ''

Roupala montana ''Roupala montana'' is a species of shrub or tree in the family Proteaceae which is native to much of the Neotropics. It is a morphologically variable species with four recognised varieties. The species is used medicinally in Venezuela, and as ...

'' which known by the common name ''bois bandé''. These species are reputed to have

aphrodisiac An aphrodisiac is a substance that increases sexual desire, sexual attraction, sexual pleasure, or sexual behavior. Substances range from a variety of plants, spices, foods, and synthetic chemicals. Natural aphrodisiacs like cannabis or cocain ...

properties.

References

External links

Tropicos, Name – ''Richeria grandis'' var. ''longifolia'' (Baill.) Müll. Arg.Euphorbiaceae ''Richeria grandis'' M.Vahl.Discover Life – Euphorbiaceae: ''Richeria grandis'' Vahl etc.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2908949 Medicinal plants Phyllanthaceae Plants described in 1797 Taxa named by Martin Vahl