Anisoptera (plant) explained

Anisoptera^[1] is a genus of plants in the family Dipterocarpaceae. It contains ten species distributed from Chittagong in southeast of Bangladesh to New Guinea.

Eight out of the ten species are currently listed on the IUCN Red List. Of these, four species are listed as critically endangered and the other four as endangered. The main threat is habitat loss.

Taxonomy

The name Anisoptera is derived from Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ἄνισος “unequal” and Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: πτερόν “wing” describing the trees' unequal fruit calyx lobes.

Characteristics

Its bark is flaky and has vertical cracks. Its wood is pale and yellowish, it makes light hardwood timber.

Species

Ten species are accepted:

• Anisoptera aurea – Philippines
• Anisoptera costata – Indochina, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and Philippines
• Anisoptera curtisii – Myanmar, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, and Sumatra
• Anisoptera grossivenia – Borneo
• Anisoptera laevis – Peninsular Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, and Borneo
• Anisoptera marginata – Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, and Borneo
• Anisoptera megistocarpa – Peninsular Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, and Sumatra
• Anisoptera reticulata – western and northwestern Borneo
• Anisoptera scaphula – Assam, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, and Vietnam
• Anisoptera thurifera – Philippines, Sulawesi, Maluku, and New Guinea

NB: Anisoptera parvifolia Warb. is a synonym of Hopea parvifolia (Warb.) Slooten

Notes and References

1. Korthals PW (1841) In: Verhandelingen over de Natuurlijke Geschiedenis der Ned. Bezitt., Bot. 65