Commidendrum Robustum
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''Commidendrum robustum'', the Saint Helena gumwood, is a species of tree
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 else ...
to
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha is a British Overseas Territory located in the South Atlantic and consisting of the island of Saint Helena, Ascension Island and the archipelago of Tristan da Cunha including Gough Island. Its name wa ...
.Cairns-Wicks, R. 2003
''Commidendrum robustum''.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2003. Downloaded on 16 September 2015.
Though it is now comparatively rare, it was once one of the most abundant trees of mid-elevations of the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. A small tree to 7–8 m, it was cut extensively for fuel in the early years of settlement of the island by the English East India Company. It has given its name to certain placenames on the island such as "Gumwoods". It is one of several species in the endemic genus ''
Commidendrum ''Commidendrum'' is a genus of trees and shrubs in the family Asteraceae endemic to the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It co ...
''. The Commidendrum robustum is closely related to the Melanodendron integrifolium, Black cabbage tree, which also inhabits Saint Helena. The two species most likely evolved from a common ancestor. Today, the closest relatives are South African, in the small shrub genus ''Felicia'' Cass. and ''Amellus'' L.


See also

* Flora of St Helena


References


Further reading

* Cronk, Q.C.B. (1995) ''The Endemic Flora of St Helena''. Anthony Nelson Ltd., Oswestry. * Eastwood, A., Gibby, M., & Cronk, B. (2004, January). Evolution of St Helena arborescent astereae (Asteraceae): relationships of the genera Commidendrum and Melanodendron. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. robustum Flora of Saint Helena Plants described in 1836 {{Astereae-stub