|
''Melicope'' is a genus of about 230 species of shrubs and trees in the family Rutaceae, occurring from the Hawaiian Islands across the Pacific to tropical Asia, Australia and New Zealand. The temperate Asian genus ''Tetradium'' (which sometimes include the tropical ''Euodia'') is closely related to ''Melicope'' and is sometimes merged into it.〔Hartley (2001)〕〔Harbaugh, D. T., W. L. Wagner, G. J. Allan, E. A. Zimmer. 2009. The Hawaiian Archipeligo is a stepping stone for dispersal in the Pacific: an example from the plant genus ''Melicope'' (Rutaceae). ''Journal of Biogeography'', 36: 230-241.〕 In Australia they are known as doughwoods, or more ambiguously as "corkwoods" or "euodias", and in Hawaii they are collectively called ''alani''; the Māori term ''wharangi'' for ''Melicope ternata'' is a cognate of that. Generally, these plants are simply called melicopes or (after a formerly independent genus now included in ''Melicope''〔Hartley & Stone (1989)〕) peleas. Several of the Hawaiian species are listed as federally endangered due to habitat loss and competition from invasive non-native plants. A few species are completely extinct already. They are foodplants for various animals, mainly invertebrates. Caterpillars of the Ulysses Butterfly (''Papilio ulysses'') are fond of ''M. elleryana''; on ''M. clusiifolia'' caterpillars of ''Thyrocopa'' moths have been found. The larvae of some belid weevils from the genus ''Proterhinus'' also feed on ''Melicope''; they prefer unhealthy, dying or dead specimens. But the plants may not be safe for humans – the nectar at least of Wharangi is known to yield toxic honey that may kill whoever eats it.〔Espina-Prez & Ordetx-Ros (1983): p.35〕 ==Taxonomy== The generic name is derived from Greek words μελι (''meli''), meaning "honey," and κοπη (''kope''), meaning "a division," referring to the glands at the base of the ovary. The Takhtajan system places the genus in the subfamily Rutoideae, tribe Zanthoxyleae, while Germplasm Resources Information Network places it in the subfamily Toddalioideae and does not assign it to a tribe.〔 Evidence from 2009 indicates that the related genus ''Platydesma'' of four species is nested within the genus ''Melicope'' and is sister to all Hawaiian ''Melicope'' species. And while ''Melicope'' species are dioecious (individual plants only bear either male or female flowers), the flowers of ''Platydesma'' are hermaphroditic, suggesting a rare evolutionary reversion away from dioecy in ''Platydesma''.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Melicope」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|