Alyxia fosbergii (Alyxia fosbergii)
Description
Alyxia fosbergii is a plant species known only from Henderson Island, one of the Pitcairn Group of Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Henderson Island is an uninhabited raised coral atoll, with an area of 37.3 km2. It has been declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations. Alyxia fosbergii is a shrub or subshrub, erect or trailing, up to 8 m high with a trunk diameter of 2 cm. Leaves are generally in whorls of 4, lanceolate, up to 8 cm long. Inflorescences are in the axils of the leaves, each with 3-4 orange or salmon flowers about 8 mm long. It is found at elevations of 20–30 m. It contains at present 106 species, but Alyxia stellata and A. tisserantii are very variable, might be cryptic species complexes, and are need of further study. It consists of shrubby, climbing or scrambling plants. This genus occurs in China, the Himalayas, Southeast Asia, Malaysia, Australia, New Caledonia and the Pacific Islands. There are 14 species in Australia, 21 in New Caledonia and 7 in the other Pacific Islands, including Hawai-i. The leaves are opposite or in whorls of three to seven. There are colleters (groups or tufts of mucilaginous secretory hairs) present in the leaf axils. The inflorescence is axillary or terminal with solitary flowers or simple cymes. Flowers consist of five petals and five sepals. The flowers have a slender tube which expands abruptly. The stamens have short filamens and are inserted in the upper half of the corolla. The fruit is a pair of drupes, originating from each flower. Dysentery Bush (A. buxifolia) is used in herbalism and was made into a patented remedy by Albert Aspinall. Maile (A. oliviformis), endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, has sweet-smelling leaves and is much used for lei; formerly it was reserved for ali-i (nobility), but today it can be used by anyone and is a popular wedding decoration on the islands. Maile also provides food for Thyrocopa caterpillars and belid weevils of the genus Proterhinus. Alyxia spp. are also used in Jamu.
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum:
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Class: Magnoliopsida
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Order: Gentianales
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Family: Apocynaceae
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Genus: Alyxia
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