Schima Explained

Schima is a genus of evergreen trees belonging to the tea family, Theaceae.^[1]

The genus inhabits warm temperate to subtropical climates across southern and southeastern Asia, from the eastern Himalaya of Nepal and eastern India across Indochina, southern China, Taiwan, and the Ryukyu Islands. There are about 30 species, 21 species distributed in China (six endemic^[1]), among which Schima superba is the most common.^[2]

Fossil record

Fossil fruits of Schima have been described as †Schima nanlinensis, from the Miocene of Nanlin Formation in Longchuan Basin, Dehong Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China. The fossil fruits are 5-loculed capsules with flat reniform seeds. The genus Schima is known as fossils from the Palaeogene and Neogene of Germany and Austria. †Schima nanlinensis represents the first fossil record of the genus in Asia.^[3]

Species (accepted)

• Schima brevipedicellata Hung T. Chang
• Schima crenata Korth.
• Schima khasiana Dyer
• Schima multibracteata Hung T. Chang
• Schima noronhae Reinw.
• Schima parviflora W.C. Cheng & Hung T. Chang
• Schima remotiserrata Hung T. Chang
• Schima sericans (Hand.-Mazz.) T.L. Ming
• Schima sericans var. paracrenata (Hung T. Chang) T.L. Ming
• Schima sinensis (Hemsl. & E.H. Wilson) Airy Shaw
• Schima superba Gardner & Champ.
• Schima villosa Hu
• Schima wallichii Choisy

Species (unresolved)

• Schima argentea E.Pritz. ex Diels
• Schima bambusifolia Hu
• Schima bancana Miq.
• Schima beccarii Warb.
• Schima boninensis Melch.
• Schima boninensis Nakai
• Schima brevifolia Baill. ex Stapf
• Schima dulungensis H.T.Chang & C.S.Ye
• Schima excelsa Blume
• Schima hypochra Pierre
• Schima hypoglauca Miq.
• Schima lobbii (Hook.f.) Pierre
• Schima lowii Pierre
• Schima mairei Hochr.
• Schima mertensiana Koidz.
• Schima mollis Dyer
• Schima monticola Kurz
• Schima oblata Kurz
• Schima polyneura H.T.Chang
• Schima pulgarensis Elmer
• Schima rigida Miq.
• Schima sericea Airy Shaw
• Schima sulcinervia Miq.
• Schima wallichii (DC.) Korth.

References

• The Plant List entry

Notes and References

1. Web site: Schima . Tianlu Min & Bruce Bartholomew . Flora of China . Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA . 16 June 2012.
2. Web site: 木上荷花：生物防火卫士 . 张 蕊, 王舒琪 . 2020-01-13. www.forestry.gov.cn . zh . 2022-02-01 .
3. Fruits of Schima (Theaceae) and seeds of Toddalia (Rutaceae) from the Miocene of Yunnan Province, China by Ya Li, Jian Yang, Nilamber Awasthi and Cheng-Sen Li in Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 193:119–127 · June 2013