Genus of flowering plants
Lasiodiscus, commonly known as red-hair bushes, is a small plant genus in the family Rhamnaceae. It is endemic to Africa and its adjacent islands.
Description
The small trees have opposite, often asymmetric leaves. As with Colubrina, the flower ovaries are surrounded by a nectariferous disc that fills the receptacle.
Habitat
They regularly occur in the understorey of tropical forests, or alternatively in swamp forest. One species, L. rozeirae, is limited to mountain forest understorey.
Relationships
Lasiodiscus is morphologically similar to Colubrina, which occurs in the Neotropics, Asia and Afrotropics, but preliminary molecular analysis failed to group them as nearest relatives.[1]
Species
There are 9 accepted species:
- L. p. pervillei – widespread in Madagascar
- L. p. ferrugineus (Verdc.) Figueiredo – local and vulnerable in East Africa
References
- ^ A phylogenetic analysis of Rhamnaceae using RBCL and TRNL-F plastid DNA sequences, J.E. Richardson et al., American Journal of Botany, 87(9), 2000.
External links
Note: The Lasiodiscidae belongs to the Foraminifera and Reichel (1945) described the genus Lasiodiscus.