Camphora (plant) explained

Camphora is a genus of evergreen plants belonging to the laurel family, Lauraceae. The genus contains approximately 20 species, distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of Asia. This genus was previously considered a synonym of Cinnamomum.^[1]

Description

Species of Camphora are evergreen trees or shrubs. Their leaves are alternate and pinnately veined or weakly tripliveined, which differed from the opposite or subopposite and tripliveined leaves of Cinnamomum species.^[1] The tepals do not persistent when fruiting, while Cinnamomum species' persistent or at least partially persistent. Species have paniculate inflorescences with cymes bearing strictly opposite lateral flowers. Flowers are bisexual with nine fertile stamens, plus three staminodes with conspicuous cordate or sagittate heads in the fourth androecial whorl. The fruits are cupulate.^[1]

Taxonomy and phylogeny

The genus Camphora was introduced in 1759 by the German botanist Philipp Conrad Fabricius.^[2] It was listed under synonymy for Cinnamomum s.l. for a long time. And species were classified in the Sect. Camphora of Cinnamomum. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2022 found that the large genus Cinnamomum was polyphyletic. In the revised classification to create monophyletic genera, the following 18 species are placed in the resurrected genus Camphora:^[1]

• Camphora bodinieri ≡ Cinnamomum bodinieri
• Camphora brachythyrsa ≡ Cinnamomum brachythyrsum
• Camphora chartophylla ≡ Cinnamomum chartophyllum
• Camphora foveolata ≡ Cinnamomum foveolatum
• Camphora glandulifera ≡ Cinnamomum glanduliferum
• Camphora illicioides ≡ Cinnamomum ilicioides
• Camphora longepaniculata ≡ Cinnamomum longepaniculatum
• Camphora micrantha ≡ Cinnamomum micranthum
• Camphora migao ≡ Cinnamomum migao
• Camphora mollifolia ≡ Cinnamomum mollifolium
• Camphora officinarum ≡ Cinnamomum camphora – camphor laurel
• Camphora parthenoxylon ≡ Cinnamomum parthenoxylon – Selasian wood, Martaban camphor wood, saffrol laurel
• Camphora philippinensis ≡ Cinnamomum philippinense
• Camphora platyphylla ≡ Cinnamomum platyphyllum
• Camphora purpurea ≡ Cinnamomum purpureum
• Camphora rufotomentosa ≡ Cinnamomum rufomentosum
• Camphora septentrionalis ≡ Cinnamomum septentrionale
• Camphora tenuipilis ≡ Cinnamomum tenuipile

Camphora kanahirae (≡Cinnamomum kanehirae) was subsequently transferred to this genus by other botanists.

The following species are classified in the Sect. Camphora of Cinnamomum s.l.,^[3] while they're now proven to be more closely related to true Cinnamomum:

• Cinnamomum longipetiolatum
• Cinnamomum saxatile

Its relationship with closely related taxa is shown below:^[1]

Notes and References

1. Yang . Zhi . Liu . Bing . Yang . Yong . Ferguson . David K. . 2022 . Phylogeny and taxonomy of Cinnamomum (Lauraceae) . Ecology and Evolution . en . 12 . 10 . e9378 . 10.1002/ece3.9378 . 2045-7758 . 9526118 . 36203627. 2022EcoEv..12E9378Y . Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
2. Book: Fabricius, P. C. . 1759. Enumeratio methodica plantarum horti medici Helmstadiensis: Subiuncta stirpium rariorum vel nondum satis extricatarum descriptione. Litteris Ioannis Drimbornii..
3. Book: Lauraceae & Hernandiaceae . Flora Reipublicae Popularis Sinicae (中国植物志). Li (李) . Xiwen (锡文). 13. 1982.