''Lasjia erecta'' is a species of forest tree in the protea family that 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 ...

to the island of

Sulawesi Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. Its closest relative is ''

Lasjia hildebrandii ''Lasjia hildebrandii'', also known as Celebes nut, Sulawesi nut, Sulawesi macadamia or Hildebrand's macadamia, is a species of forest tree in the protea family that is endemic to the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia. Its closest relative is ''Las ...

'', also a Sulawesi endemic.

History

The tree was first described in 1995 as a species of ''

Macadamia ''Macadamia'' is a genus of four species of trees in the flowering plant family Proteaceae. They are indigenous to Australia, native to northeastern New South Wales and central and southeastern Queensland specifically. Two species of the genus ...

'', but was transferred in 2008, in a paper in the ''

American Journal of Botany The ''American Journal of Botany'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal which covers all aspects of plant biology. It has been published by the Botanical Society of America since 1914. The journal has an impact factor of 3.038, as of 201 ...

'' by Peter Weston and Austin Mast, to the new genus ''Lasjia''.

Description

The species grows to about 14 m height, with a straight trunk up to 70 cm in diameter. The leaves are consistently 4-whorled, 4–9 cm long by 1.5–4.2 cm wide. The creamy-green flowers appear in erect terminal inflorescences. The round fruits are 2.5–3 cm in diameter.

Distribution and habitat

The species has been recorded from the province of

Southeast Sulawesi Southeast Sulawesi ( id, Sulawesi Tenggara) is a province on the island of Sulawesi, forming the southeastern peninsula of that island, together with a number of substantial offshore islands such as Buton, Muna, Kabaena and Wawonii (formerly ca ...

, including the adjacent island of

Kabaena Kabaena or Tokotua is an island in the Flores Sea, Indonesia, off the coast of Sulawesi. Most of it is a part of Bombana Regency within Southeast Sulawesi province, although the southernmost district (Talaga Raya) is administratively part of Cen ...

, as well as from

Lore Lindu National Park Lore Lindu National Park is a protected area of forest on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, in the province of Central Sulawesi. The Indonesian national park is 2,180 km2 covering both lowland and montane forests (200 to 2,610 meters ab ...

Central Sulawesi Central Sulawesi (Indonesian: ''Sulawesi Tengah'') is a province of Indonesia located at the centre of the island of Sulawesi. The administrative capital and largest city is located in Palu. The 2010 census recorded a population of 2,635,009 for ...

. It grows on

ultramafic Ultramafic rocks (also referred to as ultrabasic rocks, although the terms are not wholly equivalent) are igneous and meta-igneous rocks with a very low silica content (less than 45%), generally >18% MgO, high FeO, low potassium, and are composed ...

soils at altitudes of 900–1,700 m.

References

erecta This list of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names is intended to help those unfamiliar with classical languages to understand and remember the scientific names of organisms. The binomial nomenclature used for animals and plants i ...

Endemic flora of Sulawesi Trees of Sulawesi Plants described in 1995 {{Proteaceae-stub