Aporosa ficifolia

Aporosa ficifolia is a species of shrub in the family Phyllanthaceae. It grows 2-8m tall, it has a restricted habitat, growing in lowland open or pine forests up to 700m elevation.[3]

Aporosa ficifolia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Phyllanthaceae
Genus: Aporosa
Species:
A. ficifolia
Binomial name
Aporosa ficifolia
Baill., Adansonia 11: 177 (1874)[1][2]

Taxonomy

A. ficifolia appears to be in a clade with sisters A. octandra var. octandra, A. planchoniana, A. tetragona and A. villosa, separated from other species within the section Appendiculatae.[4]

Distribution

It is found in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.[2] It has been erroneously recorded as occurring in Malaysia and Myanmar.

Habitat

Occurring in the Dry Dipterocarp Forest of Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, west-central Thailand, it is found in sites which have experienced a full range of burning frequencies, that is, it is found in places that have been frequently, infrequently and rarely burnt as well as unburnt.[5] However, they are most common in sites where fire is infrequent or rare. It is noted that A. ficifolia has adaption traits to the presence of fire: thick bark, and re-sprouting capacity following damage to the stem.

In Kirirom National Park, southeastern Cambodia, there is the largest stand of Pinus merkusii forest in Cambodia. The pine provides some 50% of the 8-20m canopy, growing at elevation from 400m to 1000m. Amongst the woody taxa in the understorey is A. ficifolia.[6]

In Choam Takong (choam="permanently inundated evergreen swamp forest", Khmer), Stung Treng Province, northeastern Cambodia, the shrub is infrequently found in both permanently and seasonally inundated areas of a unique evergreen freshwater swamp forest formation, with a canopy dominated by Eugenia, Ficus, and Litsea species, Macaranga triloba, Myristica iners, Pternandra caerulescens and Livistona saribus.[7]

Vernacular names

Common names include kru:ng,[3] kru:ng krâhâ:m, kru:ng viël, kruong[7] (Khmer), krong (Kuy/Khmer),[8] and ngăm lông dày (Vietnamese)

Uses

The branches make excellent firewood, and the roots are used in Cambodian local medicine to treat sexual diseases.[3] Amongst villagers living around the Bung Khong Long Non-Hunting Area, of Bueng Khong Long District, northeastern Thailand, the young leaves are eaten as fresh vegetables in March and April, and the ripe fruits are eaten from April to November.[9]

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.[8]

References
  1. "Aporosa ficifolia Baill., Adansonia 11: 177 (1874)". International Plant Name Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  2. "Aporosa ficifolia Baill". Plants of the World Online (POWO). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Science. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  3. Pauline Dy Phon (2000). Plants Utilised In Cambodia/Plantes utilisées au Cambodge. Phnom Penh: Imprimerie Olympic. pp. 14, 15.
  4. Shuichiro Tagane; Van Son Dang; Hironori Toyama; Akiyo Naiki; Hidetoshi Nagamasu; Tetsukazu Yahara; Hop Tran (2015). "Aporosa tetragona Tagane & V. S. Dang (Phyllanthaceae), a new species from Mt. Hon Ba, Vietnam". PhytoKeys. 57 (57): 51–60. doi:10.3897/phytokeys.57.6347. PMC 4698514. PMID 26752961.
  5. Kobsak Wanthongchai; Jürgen Bauhus; Johann G. Goldammer (2014). "Effects of Past Burning Frequency on Woody Plant Structure and Composition in Dry Dipterocarp Forest". Thai J. For. 33 (3): 109–130.
  6. Rundel, Philip W. (1999). Forest habitats and flora in Laos PDR, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Hanoi: Conservation Priorities In Indochina - WWF Desk Study, World Wide Fund for Nature, Indochina Programme Office. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  7. Ida Theilade; Lars Schmidt; Phourin Chhang; J. Andrew McDonald (2011). "Evergreen swamp forest in Cambodia: floristic composition, ecological characteristics, and conservation status" (PDF). Nordic Journal of Botany. 29: 71–80. doi:10.1111/j.1756-1051.2010.01003.x. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  8. Turreira Garcia, Nerea; Argyriou, Dimitrios; Chhang, Phourin; Srisanga, Prachaya; Theilade, Ida (2017). "Ethnobotanical knowledge of the Kuy and Khmer people in Prey Lang, Cambodia" (PDF). Cambodian Journal of Natural History. Centre for Biodiversity Conservation, Phnom Penh (1): 76–101. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  9. Siriwan Suksri; Siraprapha Premcharoen; Chitraporn Thawatphan; Suvit Sangthongprow (2005). "Ethnobotany in Bung Khong Long Non-Hunting Area, Northeast Thailand" (PDF). Kasetsart J. (Nat. Sci.). 39: 519–33. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
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