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Diospyros Revaughanii
''Diospyros revaughanii'' is a rare species of tree in the family Ebenaceae (ebony). The tree is one of several species of ebony tree which are endemic to the island of Mauritius, in the western Indian Ocean. Description A short, evergreen, shrubby tree, which reaches 4 meters in height. The large, thick leaves have a circular to slightly rectangular shape. They are densely packed along the stems, and attach directly to the tree without any leaf stalks. This is the distinctive feature which can be used to distinguish this tree from the other ebony species of Mauritius. Like many Mauritian plants, it is heterophyllous and the foliage of juvenile plants is entirely different to that of adult plants. This adaptation is due to the grazing of the (now extinct) giant tortoises of the island. The leaves of young ''D. revaughanii'' are therefore longer, thinner, oblong and have petioles (stalks). Its trunk is thin and it branches from quite low down. Branches and twigs form at an ...
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Monvert Nature Park
Monvert Nature Park is a nature walk, arboretum, botanical gardens and rehabilitated indigenous forest, situated in Forest Side, Curepipe, Mauritius. History The area of Monvert was named after Chevallier Antoine de Monvert, and was previously a dense indigenous forest (with "Labourdonnaisia, Bois de Natte", "Erythrospermum monticolum, Bois Manioc" and "Sideroxylon cinereum, Manglier vert" being the most commons tree species). The entire region was taken for logging in the early 1900s, but while much of the surrounding land was re-planted with fast-growing invasive trees such as eucalyptus from Australia, a portion was left, that naturally re-grew some indigenous Mauritian plants. This area was set aside for conservation because of the unusually high biodiversity involving critically endangered species, and the nature park was set up between 2001 and 2006. As state land it is managed by the Mauritian National Forestry Service. Location The nature park entrance is located just ...
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Dodo
The dodo (''Raphus cucullatus'') is an extinct flightless bird that was endemic to the island of Mauritius, which is east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. The dodo's closest genetic relative was the also-extinct Rodrigues solitaire. The two formed the subfamily Raphinae, a clade of extinct flightless birds that were a part of the family which includes pigeons and doves. The closest living relative of the dodo is the Nicobar pigeon. A white dodo was once thought to have existed on the nearby island of Réunion, but it is now believed that this assumption was merely confusion based on the also-extinct Réunion ibis and paintings of white dodos. Subfossil remains show the dodo was about tall and may have weighed in the wild. The dodo's appearance in life is evidenced only by drawings, paintings, and written accounts from the 17th century. Since these portraits vary considerably, and since only some of the illustrations are known to have been drawn from live specimens, ...
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Endemic Flora Of Mauritius
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 elsewhere. For example, the Cape sugarbird is found exclusively in southwestern South Africa and is therefore said to be ''endemic'' to that particular part of the world. An endemic species can be also be referred to as an ''endemism'' or in scientific literature as an ''endemite''. For example '' Cytisus aeolicus'' is an endemite of the Italian flora. '' Adzharia renschi'' was once believed to be an endemite of the Caucasus, but it was later discovered to be a non-indigenous species from South America belonging to a different genus. The extreme opposite of an endemic species is one with a cosmopolitan distribution, having a global or widespread range. A rare alternative term for a species that is endemic is "precinctive", which applies to s ...
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Diospyros Tessellaria
''Diospyros tessellaria'' (black ebony, bois d'ebene noir or Mauritian ebony) is a species of tree in the family Ebenaceae. The tree is one of several ebony species endemic to the island of Mauritius in the western Indian Ocean, and was once the most common, widespread ebony species of that island. Description The massive, slow-growing, tree can reach up to in height. Mature trees can have trunks of over a meter in diameter (However, this species is slow growing and was heavily harvested for timber in the past, so the largest specimens still remaining have trunks of only around 50 cm diameter). The thick leaves have a dark green surface and a slightly paler underside. A distinctive feature is that the leaf margins and veins are mildly translucent, when held up to the light. They produce small, white, fragrant flowers and fleshy fruits. History Like other species of ebony trees, Mauritian ebony trees yield a dark black ebony wood. In its natural habitat, it was a massive ...
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Diospyros Pterocalyx
''Diospyros'' is a genus of over 700 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs. The majority are native to the tropics, with only a few species extending into temperate regions. Individual species valued for their hard, heavy, dark timber, are commonly known as ebony trees, while others are valued for their fruit and known as persimmon trees. Some are useful as ornamentals and many are of local ecological importance. Species of this genus are generally dioecious, with separate male and female plants. Taxonomy and etymology The generic name ''Diospyros'' comes from a Latin name for the Caucasian persimmon ('' D. lotus''), derived from the Greek διόσπυρος : dióspyros, from ''diós'' () and ''pyrós'' (). The Greek name literally means "Zeus's wheat" but more generally intends "divine food" or "divine fruit". Muddled translations sometimes give rise to curious and inappropriate interpretations such as "God's pear" and "Jove's fire". The genus is a large one and ...
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Diospyros Nodosa
''Diospyros'' is a genus of over 700 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs. The majority are native to the tropics, with only a few species extending into temperate regions. Individual species valued for their hard, heavy, dark timber, are commonly known as ebony trees, while others are valued for their fruit and known as persimmon trees. Some are useful as ornamentals and many are of local ecological importance. Species of this genus are generally dioecious, with separate male and female plants. Taxonomy and etymology The generic name ''Diospyros'' comes from a Latin name for the Caucasian persimmon ('' D. lotus''), derived from the Greek διόσπυρος : dióspyros, from ''diós'' () and ''pyrós'' (). The Greek name literally means "Zeus's wheat" but more generally intends "divine food" or "divine fruit". Muddled translations sometimes give rise to curious and inappropriate interpretations such as "God's pear" and "Jove's fire". The genus is a large one and ...
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Diospyros Neraudii
''Diospyros'' is a genus of over 700 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs. The majority are native to the tropics, with only a few species extending into temperate regions. Individual species valued for their hard, heavy, dark timber, are commonly known as ebony trees, while others are valued for their fruit and known as persimmon trees. Some are useful as ornamentals and many are of local ecological importance. Species of this genus are generally dioecious, with separate male and female plants. Taxonomy and etymology The generic name ''Diospyros'' comes from a Latin name for the Caucasian persimmon ('' D. lotus''), derived from the Greek διόσπυρος : dióspyros, from ''diós'' () and ''pyrós'' (). The Greek name literally means "Zeus's wheat" but more generally intends "divine food" or "divine fruit". Muddled translations sometimes give rise to curious and inappropriate interpretations such as "God's pear" and "Jove's fire". The genus is a large one and ...
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Diospyros Melanida
''Diospyros'' is a genus of over 700 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs. The majority are native to the tropics, with only a few species extending into temperate regions. Individual species valued for their hard, heavy, dark timber, are commonly known as ebony trees, while others are valued for their fruit and known as persimmon trees. Some are useful as ornamentals and many are of local ecological importance. Species of this genus are generally dioecious, with separate male and female plants. Taxonomy and etymology The generic name ''Diospyros'' comes from a Latin name for the Caucasian persimmon (''Diospyros lotus, D. lotus''), derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek διόσπυρος : dióspyros, from ''diós'' () and ''pyrós'' (). The Greek name literally means "Zeus's wheat" but more generally intends "divine food" or "divine fruit". Muddled translations sometimes give rise to curious and inappropriate interpretations such as "God's pear" and "Jove's fire" ...
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Diospyros Leucomelas
''Diospyros leucomelas'' (marble ebony, bois d'ebene marbre or bois d'ebene a veines) is a species of tree endemic to Mauritius. Description This low, multi-stemmed tree species resembles the related species ''Diospyros egrettarum'' (and less so ''Diospyros revaughanii'') in its dark, rectangular, leathery leaves, rounded leaf-base, very short petiole, and short fruits. ''Diospyros leucomelas'' can be distinguished by the red midribs of its leaves though, which remain into adulthood and become especially prominent on the leaf undersides. Distribution and habitat Like ''Diospyros egrettarum'', it occurred in coastal and dry forest, all around Mauritius, and was especially common along the eastern coast. In fact, these two species were the only two primarily coastal or lowland species of ''Ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus ''Diospyros'', which also contains the persimmons. Unlike most woods, ebony is dense enough to sink i ...
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Diospyros Hemiteles
''Diospyros'' is a genus of over 700 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs. The majority are native to the tropics, with only a few species extending into temperate regions. Individual species valued for their hard, heavy, dark timber, are commonly known as ebony trees, while others are valued for their fruit and known as persimmon trees. Some are useful as ornamentals and many are of local ecological importance. Species of this genus are generally dioecious, with separate male and female plants. Taxonomy and etymology The generic name ''Diospyros'' comes from a Latin name for the Caucasian persimmon ('' D. lotus''), derived from the Greek διόσπυρος : dióspyros, from ''diós'' () and ''pyrós'' (). The Greek name literally means "Zeus's wheat" but more generally intends "divine food" or "divine fruit". Muddled translations sometimes give rise to curious and inappropriate interpretations such as "God's pear" and "Jove's fire". The genus is a large one and ...
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Diospyros Egrettarum
''Diospyros egrettarum'' is a species of tree endemic to 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 ... and was once a dominant species throughout dry and coastal forests. Due to harvests for timber and firewood in the past the species was reduced to fewer than 10 individuals on the main land. The only viable population remained on Île aux Aigrettes, a coral island off the east coast, where it was able to survive thanks to protective measures, such as the eradication of exotic plants and rats. The tree is named after this Island. Morphology Most characteristic feature of the tree is the white bark of the often multistemmed trees. They form rectangular leathery leaves of dark colour with thick waxy cuticles. This species closest relative is ''Diospyros leucomelas'' ( ...
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Diospyros Chrysophyllos
''Diospyros'' is a genus of over 700 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs. The majority are native to the tropics, with only a few species extending into temperate regions. Individual species valued for their hard, heavy, dark timber, are commonly known as ebony trees, while others are valued for their fruit and known as persimmon trees. Some are useful as ornamentals and many are of local ecological importance. Species of this genus are generally dioecious, with separate male and female plants. Taxonomy and etymology The generic name ''Diospyros'' comes from a Latin name for the Caucasian persimmon ('' D. lotus''), derived from the Greek διόσπυρος : dióspyros, from ''diós'' () and ''pyrós'' (). The Greek name literally means "Zeus's wheat" but more generally intends "divine food" or "divine fruit". Muddled translations sometimes give rise to curious and inappropriate interpretations such as "God's pear" and "Jove's fire". The genus is a large one a ...
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