The Atherospermataceae, commonly known as the southern sassafrases, are a

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

of broadleaf evergreen trees and shrubs. The family includes 14

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 ...

in seven genera. The atherosperms are today mostly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere, with two species native to southern

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

and 12 species native to

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologi ...

. Wood is commercially harvested from rainforest species of this family, and is used both in construction and in fine

cabinet making A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves and/or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood (so ...

Ecology

These trees and shrubs are characteristic of the lower strata of the tropical rainforest, except '' Dryadodaphne'' species, which belong to the rainforest high canopy. The glands at the base of the stamens secrete nectar in ''

Laurelia novae-zelandiae ''Laurelia novae-zelandiae'', also called pukatea, is a large evergreen tree, endemic to the forests of New Zealand. Pukatea has 'toothed' leaves and produces small flowers. It is a species in the Atherospermataceae (formerly Monimiaceae) family ...

'', which accumulates at the base of the flower and attracts bees, beetles and bee flies. The seed, in the form of a feathery achene, is dispersed by wind (

anemochory In Spermatophyte plants, seed dispersal is the movement, spread or transport of seeds away from the parent plant. Plants have limited mobility and rely upon a variety of dispersal vectors to transport their seeds, including both abiotic vectors ...

). The wood of ''Laurelia'' has local interest for construction, particularly the Chilean ''

Laurelia sempervirens ''Laurelia sempervirens'' is a species of evergreen tree in the family Atherospermataceae (formerly Monimiaceae). Common names include Peruvian nutmeg, tihue or trihue (from the Mapuche language), and Chilean laurel or Chilean sassafras. It is ...

'', despite its lack of resistance to moisture. Essential oils extracted from the leaves and bark of species of ''Doryphora'' have application in perfumery and pharmaceuticals.

Evolution

The Atherospermataceae have in the past been treated as a subfamily (Atherospermatoideae) of the

Monimiaceae The Monimiaceae is a family of flowering plants in the magnoliid order Laurales.Peter F. Stevens (2001 onwards). "Monimiaceae" At: Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. At: Botanical Databases At: Missouri Botanical Garden Website. (see ''External links' ...

. Recent reassessment of both morphological and molecular characters, however, show them to be more clearly related to the

Gomortegaceae ''Gomortega keule'' (syn. ''G. nitida''; Spanish names ''keule'', ''queule'', and ''hualhual'') is a tree native to Chile. It is the sole species of the genus ''Gomortega'' and, according to the APG IV system of 2016 (unchanged from the APG syste ...

and

Siparunaceae Siparunaceae is a family of flowering plants in the magnoliid order Laurales. It consists of two genera of woody plants, with essential oils: '' Glossocalyx'' in West Africa and '' Siparuna'' in the neotropics. ''Glossocalyx'' is monospecific ...

. The

Angiosperm Phylogeny Website The Angiosperm Phylogeny Website (or APweb) is a website dedicated to research on angiosperm phylogeny and taxonomy. The site is hosted by the Missouri Botanical Garden website and maintained by researchers, Peter F. Stevens and Hilary M. Davis ...

considers them to be a family of their own (as the Atherospermataceae), and together with the Gomortegaceae and Siparunaceae form a distinct branch of the

Laurales The Laurales are an order of flowering plants. They are magnoliids, related to the Magnoliales. The order includes about 2500-2800 species from 85-90 genera, which comprise seven families of trees and shrubs. Most of the species are tropical an ...

. A clade made up of '' Doryphora'' and '' Daphnandra'', from the Australian states of

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

and

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, is considered sister to the rest of the family. The remaining genera (''

Atherosperma ''Atherosperma moschatum'', the southern sassafras or blackheart sassafras, is an evergreen tree native to the cool temperate rainforests of Tasmania, Victoria, and New South Wales in Australia. It is common in the rainforests of Tasmania and Vi ...

'', '' Dryadodaphne'', '' Laurelia'', '' Laureliopsis'', and '' Nemuaron'') are considered by some to be more advanced evolutionarily. The atherosperm fossil record, which goes back to the

Upper Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', th ...

, includes pollen, wood, and leaf fossils from Europe, Africa, South America, Antarctica, New Zealand, and Tasmania. The family is recognized in Antarctic fossils from the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

to the lower

Tertiary Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago. The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...

(about 88 Mya). Fossil pollen of ''Laurelia'' has been attributed to the middle Oligocene of New Zealand, as well as the

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...

-Oligocene and Early

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

of Argentina and

Seymour Island Seymour Island or Marambio Island, is an island in the chain of 16 major islands around the tip of the Graham Land on the Antarctic Peninsula. Graham Land is the closest part of Antarctica to South America. It lies within the section of the isla ...

. Calibration of

rbcL Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase, commonly known by the abbreviations RuBisCo, rubisco, RuBPCase, or RuBPco, is an enzyme () involved in the first major step of carbon fixation, a process by which atmospheric carbon dioxide is con ...

substitution rates within the fossils suggests an initial diversification of the family at 100-140 Mya, probably in West Gondwana, early entry into Antarctica, and long-distance dispersal to New Zealand and New Caledonia at 50-30 Mya by the ancestors of ''Laurelia novae-zelandiae'' and ''Nemuaron''.

Species

*''

Atherosperma moschatum ''Atherosperma moschatum'', the southern sassafras or blackheart sassafras, is an evergreen tree native to the cool temperate rainforests of Tasmania, Victoria, and New South Wales in Australia. It is common in the rainforests of Tasmania and Vic ...

'' (

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

and

) *'' Atherosperma moschatum subsp. integrifolium'' (New South Wales) *'' Daphnandra apatela'' (

and New South Wales) *'' Daphnandra johnsonii'' (New South Wales) *'' Daphnandra micrantha'' (New South Wales) *'' Daphnandra melasmena'' (New South Wales) *'' Daphnandra repandula'' (Queensland) *'' Daphnandra tenuipes'' (New South Wales) *'' Doryphora aromatica'' (northeast Queensland) *''

Doryphora sassafras ''Doryphora sassafras'', commonly known as sassafras, yellow-, canary- or golden sassafras, or golden deal, is a species of evergreen tree of the family Atherospermataceae native to the subtropical and temperate rainforests of eastern New South ...

'' (Queensland and New South Wales) *'' Dryadodaphne crassa'' (

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

) *'' Dryadodaphne novoguineensis'' (New Guinea) *'' Dryadodaphne trachyphloia'' (Queensland) *''

'' (

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

) *''

'' (southern

) *'' Laureliopsis philippiana'' (southern Chile and

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

) *'' Nemuaron vieillardii'' ( New Caledonia)

References

External links

Atherospermataceae
i

{{Taxonbar, from=Q131992 Magnoliid families