Durio

Durio
Durio zibethinus (fruit)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malvales
Family: Malvaceae
Subfamily: Helicteroideae
Tribe: Durioneae
Genus: Durio
L.
Type species
Durio zibethinus[1]
L.
Species

There are currently 30 recognised species (see the List of Durio species)

Durio is a genus of plants in the family Malvaceae. Several species produce an edible fruit known as durian, the most common species being Durio zibethinus. There are 30 recognized species in the genus Durio, but only nine produce edible fruit.[2]

Taxonomy

Durio sensu lato has 30 recognised species.[2] Durio sensu stricto comprises 24 of these species. The 6 additional species included in Durio s.l. are now considered by some to comprise their own genus, Boschia.[3][4] Durio s.s. and Boschia have indistinguishable vegetative characteristics and many shared floral characteristics. The crucial difference between the two is that anther locules open by apical pores in Boschia and by longitudinal slits in Durio s.s.[5] These two genera form a clade that is sister to another genus in the tribe Durioneae, Cullenia. These three genera together form a clade that is characterised by highly modified (mono- and polythecate, as opposed to bithecate) anthers.[3]

The genus Durio is placed by some taxonomists in the family Bombacaceae, or by others in a broadly defined Malvaceae that includes Bombacaceae, and by others in a smaller family of just seven genera, Durionaceae.[1][6][7]

Durio is often included in Bombacaceae because of the presence of monothecate anthers, as opposed to the bithecate anthers common to the rest of the mallows (and angiosperms, in general). However, the first studies to examine mallow phylogeny using molecular data found that the tribe Durioneae should be placed in the subfamily Helicteroideae of an expanded Malvaceae. The authors of these studies hypothesise that monothecate anthers have most likely evolved convergently in Durioneae and in the Malvatheca clade (comprising Malvaceae s.l. subfamilies Malvoideae and Bombacoideae).[8][9]

Description

There are 30 recognized species in the genus Durio, but only nine produce edible fruit. Durian is the only species available on the international market: the other species are sold only in their local regions. The name "durian" is derived from the Indo-Malay word "duri" which refers to the fruit's many protuberances.

Often considered the king of fruits,[10] durian is distinguished by its large size, arresting odor, and fearsome thorny husk. The fruit can grow up to 30 centimeters long and 15 centimeters in diameter, and typically weighs one to three kilograms. Its shape ranges from oblong to round, the color of its husk from green to brown, and its flesh from pale yellow to red, depending on the species.

The edible flesh emits a distinctive odor that is strong and penetrating, even when the husk is intact. The smell, depending on the person, evokes rotting onions, turpentine, or even sewage, yet to others its odor is welcoming and appetizing. The persistence of its odor has led to its ban in some hotels and public transport in Southeast Asia.

On March 4, 2023, a plane flying from Istanbul to Barcelona was forced to turn back because of the nauseating odor of the tropical fruit, transported in the hold.

Species

Main article: List of Durio species

References

  1. ^ a b "Durio". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
  2. ^ a b Brown, Michael J. (1997). Durio, a Bibliographic Review. Bioversity International. ISBN 978-92-9043-318-7.
  3. ^ a b Nyffeler, Reto; Baum, David A. (1 January 2001). "Systematics and character evolution in Durio s. lat. (Malvaceae/Helicteroideae/Durioneae or Bombacaceae-Durioneae)". Organisms Diversity & Evolution. 1 (3): 165–178. Bibcode:2001ODivE...1..165N. doi:10.1078/1439-6092-00015.
  4. ^ Nyffeler, R.; Baum, D. A. (2000-03-01). "Phylogenetic relationships of the durians (Bombacaceae-Durioneae or /Malvaceae/Helicteroideae/Durioneae) based on chloroplast and nuclear ribosomal DNA sequences". Plant Systematics and Evolution. 224 (1): 55–82. Bibcode:2000PSyEv.224...55N. doi:10.1007/BF00985266. ISSN 1615-6110.
  5. ^ Kostermans, A. J. G. H. (1958). "The genus Durio Adans. (Bombacalceac)". Reinwardtia. 4 (3): 357–460. Archived from the original on 2 December 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  6. ^ "USDA GRIN Taxonomy, Durionaceae". Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  7. ^ "Angiosperm Phylogeny Website – Malvales". Missouri Botanical Garden. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
  8. ^ Alverson, William S.; Whitlock, Barbara A.; Nyffeler, Reto; Bayer, Clemens; Baum, David A. (1 October 1999). "Phylogeny of the core Malvales: evidence from ndhF sequence data". American Journal of Botany. 86 (10): 1474–1486. doi:10.2307/2656928. ISSN 0002-9122. JSTOR 2656928. PMID 10523287.
  9. ^ Bayer, Clemens; Fay, Michael F.; De Bruijn, Anette Y.; Savolainen, Vincent; Morton, Cynthia M.; Kubitzki, Klaus; Alverson, William S.; Chase, Mark W. (1 April 1999). "Support for an expanded family concept of Malvaceae within a recircumscribed order Malvales: a combined analysis of plastid atpB and rbcL DNA sequences". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 129 (4): 267–303. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.1999.tb00505.x. ISSN 1095-8339. S2CID 196597042.
  10. ^ Heaton, Donald D. (2006). A Consumers Guide on World Fruit. BookSurge. pp. 54–56. ISBN 978-1-4196-3955-5.
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