Aporosa planchoniana explained

Aporosa planchoniana is a species of shrub in the family Phyllanthaceae.^[1]

Taxonomy

A. planchoniana is in a clade with sisters Aporosa ficifolia, A. octandra, A. tetrapleura, and A. villosa, separated from other species within the Appendiculatae section of the Aporosa genus.^[2]

Description

The species grows 2-4m tall, occurring in open forests.^[3] It is found in Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. It has been erroneously recorded as occurring in South-Central and Southeast Zhōngguó/China, including Hainan. At Khao Yai National Park, central Thailand, the orange dehiscent fruit grow some 9mm long, 7 mm in diameter and weighing just 0.3g.^[4] There is one seed per fruit, weighing 0.05g, 6mm long and 4mm in diameter. The fruit has been observed to be consumed by Bulbuls and squirrels (Callosciurus finlaysonii and Ratufa bicolor).

Like other species in the Appendiculatae section of the Aporosa genus, this species has: glands that are basal and adaxial; disc-like glands scattered unevenly within arches of marginal veins throughout the abaxial surface of the leaf/lamina; stigma that are papillate; and the ovary has pubescent septae and column.^[2]

Distribution and habitat

The shrub grows on the leeward side of the Bang Boet coastal sand dune, Pak Klong sub-district, Pathio District, Chumphon Province, southern Thailand (facing east into the Gulf of Thailand.^[5]

Vernacular names

Common names include miën préi (="wild longan", Khmer)^[3] and propech chongva (Kuy/Khmer).

Utilization

The fruit is edible and the stems are used as firewood.^[3] Amongst Kuy- and Khmer-speaking people living in the same villages in Stung Treng and Preah Vihear provinces of north-central Cambodia, the small tree is used as source of medicine.^[6]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Aporosa planchoniana Baill., Étude Euphorb. 645. (1858). . International Plant Name Index (IPNI) . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . 1 May 2020.
2. Shuichiro Tagane . Van Son Dang . Hironori Toyama . Akiyo Naiki . Hidetoshi Nagamasu . Tetsukazu Yahara . Hop Tran . Aporosa tetragona Tagane & V. S. Dang (Phyllanthaceae), a new species from Mt. Hon Ba, Vietnam . PhytoKeys . 2015 . 57 . 51–60 . 10.3897/phytokeys.57.6347 . 26752961. 4698514 . free .
3. Book: Pauline Dy Phon . Plants Utilised In Cambodia/Plantes utilisées au Cambodge . 2000 . Imprimerie Olympic . Phnom Penh . 14, 15 . Pauline Dy Phon .
4. Shumpei Kitamura . Takakazu Yumoto . Pilai PoonswadPhitaya Chuailua · Kamol Plongmai · Tamaki Maruhashi · Naohiko Noma Interactions between fleshy fruits and frugivores in a tropical seasonal forest in Thailand . Phitaya Chuailua . Kamol Plongmai . Tamaki Maruhashi . Naohiko Noma . Interactions between fleshy fruits and frugivores in a tropical seasonal forest in Thailand . Oecologia . 2002 . 133 . 4 . 559–572 . 10.1007/s00442-002-1073-7 . 28466168 . 2002Oecol.133..559K . 23083164 . 1 May 2020.
5. Dokrak Marod . Sarawood Sungkaew . Hiromi Mizunaga . Jakkaphong Thongsawi . Association of Community-level Traits with Soil Properties in a Tropical Coastal Sand Dune . Environment and Natural Resources Journal . 2020 . 18 . 1 . 101–109 . 10.32526/ennrj.18.1.2020.10 . 1 May 2020. free .
6. Turreira Garcia . Nerea . Argyriou . Dimitrios . Chhang . Phourin . Srisanga . Prachaya . Theilade . Ida . Ethnobotanical knowledge of the Kuy and Khmer people in Prey Lang, Cambodia . Cambodian Journal of Natural History . 2017 . 1 . 76–101 . 22 April 2020 . Centre for Biodiversity Conservation, Phnom Penh.