| Pittosporum | |
|---|---|
| |
| Pittosporum heterophyllum | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Apiales |
| Family: | Pittosporaceae |
| Genus: | Pittosporum Banks ex Gaertn. |
| Diversity | |
| c. 250 species | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Pittosporum (/pɪˈtɒspərəm/ or /ˌpɪtəˈspɔːrəm, -toʊ-/) is a genus of about 250 species of flowering plants in the family Pittosporaceae. Plants in the genus Pittosporum are shrubs or trees with leaves arranged alternately along the stems. The flowers are arranged singly or in cymes, with white to yellow petals fused at the base forming a short tube, with stamens that are free from each other. The fruit is a capsule with a single locule that opens to reveal angular seeds.
Description
Plants in the genus Pittosporum are shrubs or trees, occasionally spiny, with smooth-edged linear to lance-shaped or egg-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base, on a petiole. The flowers are borne on the ends of branches or in leaf axils, in cymes or clusters with sepals that are free from each other. The petals are linear or lance-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, and partly fused to form a tube. The anthers are shorter than the filaments and open by two longitudinal slits. The fruit is a woody or leathery capsule containing seeds immersed in a sticky fluid.
Taxonomy
The genus Pittosporum was first formally described in 1788 by Joseph Gaertner in De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum from an unpublished description by Joseph Banks. The genus name (Pittosporum) means 'pitch seed', referring to the viscid fluid surrounding the seeds.
Distribution
Plants in the genus Pittosporum are native to some parts of southern Africa, Madagascar, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Pakistan, India, some parts of China, Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, and some Pacific Islands.
Selected species
Main article: List of Pittosporum species
- Pittosporum aliferum Tirel & Veillon
- Pittosporum angustifolium
- Pittosporum artense Guillaumin
- Pittosporum bicolor
- Pittosporum brevispinum
- Pittosporum ceylanicum
- Pittosporum coccineum
- Pittosporum collinum
- Pittosporum coriaceum
- Pittosporum cornifolium – tāwhiri karo
- Pittosporum crassifolium – karo
- Pittosporum dallii
- Pittosporum dasycaulon
- Pittosporum divaricatum
- Pittosporum eriocarpum
- Pittosporum erioloma
- Pittosporum eugenioides A. Cunn. – tarata, lemonwood (New Zealand)
- Pittosporum fairchildii
- Pittosporum ferrugineum
- Pittosporum gatopense
- Pittosporum goetzei
- Pittosporum gomonenense
- Pittosporum heterophyllum
- Pittosporum hosmeri – Kona cheesewood
- Pittosporum kirkii – Kirk's pittosporum, Kirk's kōhūhū, thick-leaved kohukohu
- Pittosporum koghiense
- Pittosporum lancifolium
- Pittosporum linearifolium
- Pittosporum mackeei Tirel & Veillon (Ponérihouen area of New Caledonia)
- Pittosporum moluccanum
- Pittosporum multiflorum
- Pittosporum muricatum
- Pittosporum napaliense
- Pittosporum obcordatum – heart-leaved kohuhu
- Pittosporum oreillyanum – O'Reilly's pittosporum
- Pittosporum ornatum
- Pittosporum orohenense
- Pittosporum paniense
- Pittosporum patulum
- Pittosporum pauciflorum
- Pittosporum pentandrum
- Pittosporum phillyreoides – weeping pittosporum, willow pittosporum, butterbush, native apricot
- Pittosporum pickeringii
- Pittosporum raivavaeense
- Pittosporum ramiflorum
- Pittosporum rapense
- Pittosporum rarotongense
- Pittosporum resiniferum – petroleum nut
- Pittosporum revolutum – rough-fruited pittosporum, wild yellow jasmine, yellow pittosporum, Brisbane laurel
- Pittosporum rhytidocarpum
- Pittosporum rubiginosum
- Pittosporum senacia
- Pittosporum silamense
- Pittosporum spinescens
- Pittosporum taitense
- Pittosporum tanianum
- Pittosporum tenuifolium – kōhūhū, kohukohu, black matipo (New Zealand)
- Pittosporum terminalioides
- Pittosporum tobira (Murray) Aiton fil. – Japanese cheesewood, Japanese mock orange (Japan, China, and Korea)
- Pittosporum turneri
- Pittosporum umbellatum – haekaro (New Zealand)
- Pittosporum undulatum – sweet pittosporum, Australian cheesewood, native daphne, mock orange (east coast of Australia)
- Pittosporum virgatum
- Pittosporum viridulum
- Pittosporum viridiflorum
- Pittosporum wingii
References
- ^ "Pittosporum Banks ex Gaertn". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
- "Pittosporum". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
- The first pronunciation is that expected for Anglo-Latin; the second is common in nurseries. Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607
- "Pittosporum". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
- Walsh, Neville G.; Albrecht, David E.; Messina, Andre. "Pittosporum". Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
- Makinson, Robert O. "Pittosporum". Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
- "Pittosporum". Northern Territory Government. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
- "Pittosporum". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
- "Pittosporum". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
- Gaertner, Joseph (1788). De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum. Vol. 1. Stuttgart: Typis Academiae Carolinae. p. 286. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
- George, Alex; Sharr, Francis (2021). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (4th ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 105. ISBN 9780958034180.
- "Pittosporum". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 19 December 2024.