''Takhtajania'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

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 ...

s of the family

Winteraceae Winteraceae is a primitive family of tropical trees and shrubs including 93 species in five genera. It is of particular interest because it is such a primitive angiosperm family, distantly related to Magnoliaceae, though it has a much more south ...

, which contains a single

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

, ''Takhtajania perrieri''. 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 ...

. ''Takhtajania'' is found in a small area of the

Madagascar subhumid forests The Madagascar subhumid forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion that covers most of the Central Highlands of the island of Madagascar. They are included in the WWF's Global 200 list of outstanding ecoregions. Most of the origin ...

. It is a small evergreen tree or shrub, with shiny green lance-shaped

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 ...

and reddish-pink

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s. The first known specimen of the plant was collected in 1909 on the

Manongarivo Manongarivo Reserve is a wildlife reserve in the North-West of Madagascar in the region of Diana. Manongarivo is home to both the Sambirano mouse lemur and the Sambirano woolly lemur. Geography The reserve has a surface of 64,356 ha and is sit ...

Massif of central Madagascar at an elevation of 1700 meters. In 1963, the French botanist

René Paul Raymond Capuron René Paul Raymond Capuron (20 October 1921 – 24 August 1971) was a French botanist. Capuron was responsible for an extensive amount of work on the tree flora of Madagascar. Several tree taxa with the specific epithet of ''capuronii'' honor his n ...

examined the unidentified plant sample, which he identified as a new species, which he named ''Bubbia perrieri'', after the French botanist

Henri Perrier de la Bâthie Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry. People with this given name ; French noblemen :'' See the 'List of rulers named Henry' for Kings of France named Henri.'' * Henri I de Montm ...

, classifying it in the

Australasian Australasian is the adjectival form of Australasia, a geographical region including Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continen ...

genus '' Bubbia''. In 1978, the botanists Baranova and J. F. Leroy reclassified the plant into its own genus, ''Takhtajania'', after the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n botanist

Armen Takhtajan Armen Leonovich Takhtajan or Takhtajian ( hy, Արմեն Լևոնի Թախտաջյան; russian: Армен Леонович Тахтаджян; surname also transliterated Takhtadjan, Takhtadzhi︠a︡n or Takhtadzhian, pronounced takh-tuh-JA ...

. It was published in Adansonia, n.s., Vol.17 on page 388. In 1994 Malagasy plant collector Fanja Rasoavimbahoaka collected a specimen in Anjahanaribe-Sud Special Reserve 150 km from the location at which the 1909 specimen was collected, which George E. Schatz identified in May 1997 as ''Takhtajania''. A subsequent expedition discovered a large grove of the species at the spot where the second sample was collected. ''Takhtajania'' lacks water-conducting cells, called vessels, which allow plants to withstand drought, and must have remained in moist conditions for millions of years.

References

External links

Images of Winteraceae in Madagascar (Missouri Botanic Garden)
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q13080900, from2=Q1063378 Winteraceae Monotypic magnoliid genera Canellales genera Endemic flora of Madagascar Endangered plants Plants described in 1978 Flora of the Madagascar subhumid forests