Dalbergia monticola

Dalbergia monticola [1] is a species of flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is endemic to Madagascar.[2] It occurs at higher elevation, which gave the species its name.[2][3]

Dalbergia monticola
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Genus: Dalbergia
Species:
D. monticola
Binomial name
Dalbergia monticola
Bosser & Rabevohitra

Description

Vegetative characters

Dalbergia monticola is a deciduous tree up to 30 m tall. The leaves are imparipinnate, 3.5–12 cm long, and have a hairy rachis. The 20–35 alternate leaflets are 0.3–1.7 cm long, mostly glabrous and glossy above, and densely pubescent beneath. The leaflets often become very coriaceous, with strongly revolute margins, when dried on herbarium sheets.[2]

Generative characters

It forms terminal inflorescences (sometimes also in the upper leaf axils) that are paniculate and around the same length as the subtending leaves. The flowers are white, 5–6 mm long, and have a violin-shaped standard petal and pubescent gynoecium. The fruits contain one to three seeds. The pericarp is net-veined over the entire surface, the network raised but not thickened or fissured over the seeds.[2]

Similar species

Habitat and distribution

Dalbergia monticola inhabits evergreen humid mid-altitude forests along the eastern escarpment of Madagascar, extending onto the Central High Plateau as well as onto the Northern Highlands.[2] It occurs at an altitude of around 250–1600 m.[2]

Uses

It produces a durable[4] heartwood that is locally used for cabinet making.[2] It was internationally traded, notably to produce guitar bodies and fingerboards,[4] amongst others.

Conservation status

The IUCN Red List lists Dalbergia monticola as vulnerable.[5] It was considered to be "one of the major components of the oriental forest of Madagascar",[6] but mature individuals are believed to have become rare due to extensive selective logging.[2]

Due to overexploitation and the risk of confusion with similar species, Dalbergia monticola and other Dalbergia species from Madagascar were listed in CITES Appendix II[7] in 2013, currently with a zero export quota.[8]

See also

References
  1. "Dalbergia monticola". Catalogue of the Plants of Madagascar - Tropicos. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  2. Bosser, J. & Rabevohitra, R. (2002). "Tribe Dalbergieae". In Du Puy, D.J. (ed.). The Leguminosae of Madagascar. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. pp. 348–350. ISBN 1-900347-91-1.
  3. monticola on Wiktionary
  4. "Madagascar Rosewood". The Wood Database. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  5. Du Puy, D. (1998). "Dalbergia monticola". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1998: e.T38259A10108340. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1998.RLTS.T38259A10108340.en.
  6. Favreau B, Andrianoelina O, Nunez P, Vaillant A, Ramamonjisoa L, Danthu P, Bouvet J (2007). "Characterization of microsatellite markers in the rosewood (Dalbergia monticola Bosser & R. Rabev.)". Molecular Ecology Notes. 7 (5): 774–776. doi:10.1111/j.1471-8286.2007.01692.x.
  7. "CITES appendices I, II and III". Convention on International Trade in Endagered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  8. How CITES works
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