Ceodes umbellifera

Ceodes umbellifera
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Nyctaginaceae
Genus:	Ceodes
Species:	C. umbellifera
Binomial name
Ceodes umbellifera (J. R. Forster & G. Forster) Seemann
Synonyms
Cedrota guianensis Blanco Labordia fauriei H.Lév. Bougainvillea racemosa Blanco Calpidia excelsa (Blume) Heimerl Calpidia nishimurae (Koidz.) Rehder & E.H.Wilson Calpidia pancheriana Heimerl Ceodes excelsa (Blume) Skottsb. Pisonia aruensis Barg.-Petr. Pisonia excelsa Blume Pisonia gammillii Merr. Pisonia macrocarpa C.Presl Pisonia mooriana F.Muell. Pisonia nishimurae Koidz. Pisonia umbellata Seem. Pisonia umbellifera (J.R.Forst. & G.Forst.) Seem. Pisonia viscosa Seem.

Ceodes umbellifera, synonym Pisonia umbellifera, commonly known as the birdlime tree or bird catcher tree, is a species of plant in the Nyctaginaceae family. It grows throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific. It is native to the Andaman Islands, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Taiwan, Hawaii, Africa and Madagascar and the states of New South Wales and Queensland in Australia. A variegated form is widely cultivated in frost-free climates.

P. umbellifera 'Variegata'

Its former genus, Pisonia, is named after a Dutch scientist, Willem Piso, and umbellifera is derived from Latin umbelliferum, denoting the species' big, 'shade-carrying' foliage.

Description

Ceodes umbellifera is a shrub with large, medium green leaves. Other variegated varieties exist (Ceodes umbellifera 'Variegata') with marbling of white, light and dark green on the shrub's leaves. The tree's elliptic leaves may be between 6 to 20cm long, and 4 to 10cm wide.

There are discrepancies between sources regarding the height of the shrub. Most state that Ceodes umbellifera will grow to between 4 and 12 metres. Some sources suggest the tallest known specimen is 20 metres tall, whilst another reports a height of 28 metres. Once mature, the tree has a spreading, rounded crown which may cover over 20 feet.

In summer, the tree will start to bud and produce flowers. Before blooming, the buds of the flower stem from a complex inflorescence. Buds are around 6cm in height, and have a pale brown, chickpea-like appearance. The flowers consist of small pink or yellow petals in a rounded funnel formation, with short white stems protruding from the centre.

After flowering, the shrub produces small fruit. These are the colloquial namesake of the tree, which is also known as 'birdlime'; due to the fruit's secretion of a sticky substance, small birds may often become ensnared in this substance and are unable to fly away. The viscid fruit are dark brown and purple, cylindrical in shape and about 2-4 cm long. They are vertically ribbed. Both the leaves and fruit are hairless.

Taxonomy

The species was first described by Johann Reinhold Forster and Georg Forster in 1776 as Ceodes umbellifera. The genus Pisonia of the Pisonieae tribe has a "convoluted taxonomic history" that has involved Ceodes umbellifera being moved at various times to the genus Pisonia. Ceodes umbellifera was the first species placed in the genus Ceodes. It was first discovered in 1776 by J.R. Forster and G. Forster in Vanuatu. It was distinguished from other like ,species by the "absence of stalked glands along the ribs of anthocarps".. Forster and Forster placed the species in Ceodes rather than Pisonia.

In 1804, Du Petit-Thouars found similar species in Mauritius which also lacked glands on their anthocarps. He classified them under a new genera Calpidia, which modern botanists suggest essentially had the same characteristics as Ceodes. It is likely that, as Elson Felipe Rossetto and Marcos Caraballo suggest, Du Petit-Thouars was not aware of the description and categorisation of Ceodes "28 years earlier". An 1880 classification by Bentham and Hooker retained both Ceodes and Calipidia as genera interchangable with Pisonia. They introduced Timeroyea as a new genus apart from these, characterised by "inconspicuous anthrocarpal glands" but with more than 25 stamens.

In 1866, Berthold Carl Seemann transferred it to the genus Pisonia as Pisonia umbellifera, along with the other species placed in Ceodes. Subsequent work by Heirmel in 1889 specified Timeroyae as a subcategory of Pisonia, with another new subcategory Prismatocarpae introduced, for specimens with fewer than 15 stamens. Rossetto and Caraballo note that, "in this treatment, Calpidia was listed as a synonym of Pisonia, while Ceodes was not mentioned at all".

Heirmel revised this in 1913, splitting Calpidia and Pisonia, with the former to include Prismatocarpae and Timeroyae, both of which did not have anthrocarpal glands. Calpidia and Pisonia were distinguished by "the absence of bracteoles, having a reduced perisperm that forms gelatinous traces and starch accumulation in the embryo".

In a 1926 paper, Skottsberg suggested Ceodes as a genus instead of Calpidia, using an argument, described by Rossetto and Caraballo, "that there were extant original specimens and that the scant description of the genus was similar to other names published during the late 18th century". However this work ignored the specimen umbellifera. Skottsberg's later research, published in 1936, acknowledged only one specific Ceodes type, Ceodes umbellifera, but also including "Ce. excelsa and Ce. forsteriana as synonyms". Heimerl’s 1937 work also included this change but featured Ceodes umbellifera as the only Ceodes taxon.

In 1964, Stemmerik proposed a change which reincorporated Ceodes into Pisonia. Several morphological traits were omitted from this classification, such as "the absence of bracts and bracteoles at the upper portion of the pedicels, presence of starch in the embryo and number of apertures in pollen grains". Stemmerik suggested that since not all of these were constant traits then they should not be regarded in the classification.

In 2019, a study by Rossetto and colleagues used the molecular data of the species' DNA to reveal that the Pisonia genus was non-monophyletic. It was suggested to resurrect the genera Rockia and Ceodes in replacement of Pisonia. This rendered the genera monophyletic. In 2020, it was generally accepted that Ceodes should be restored, including Ceodes umbellifera. This placement is accepted by Plants of the World Online, as of May 2021.

Distribution and habitat

Distribution

Ceodes umbellifera may be found in a diverse range of climates worldwide. The plant is native to Australia, Southern China, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Hawaii and many Polynesian islands. It is also naturally occurring in some parts of Africa and Madagascar.

In Australia, the species is found along the east coast in the states of New South Wales and Queensland, where it is 'widespread, but not common'. In NSW, it is found along the North Coast and Central Coast regions. It mostly grows in rainforests north of the Shoalhaven region.

In Hawaii, Ceodes umbellifera is known as 'pāpala' or 'pāpala kēpau'. It is particularly endemic in the areas of Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Lānaʻi and Maui, but has also be found on mainland Hawaii and Molokaʻi. In Hawaii, the species will be found in areas receiving "50-100 inches" of rainfall annually and in regions between "150-1999" feet above sea level.

Habitat

Generally, its ideal growing conditions are between about 16 and 20 degrees Celsius. It may only be grown in frost-free environments and gardens, and similarly will not tolerate sustained heat. However, some rare accounts describe the tree surviving to as cold as 26 degrees Fahrenheit.

The plant requires high humidity and moderate moisture, although "established plants are drought tolerant". Most often, reliably moist soil with high potassium is needed, but the species will survive dry soil with occasional watering.

Moderate amounts of sunlight are needed, with most growing instructions designating part shade or full sun. When grown as an indoor plant, gardeners suggest "four hours of direct sunlight ... bright light the rest of the time".

In the wild, Ceodes umbellifera is often found in rainforests, on islands and along coastlines and in shady, moist gullies. Therefore, it is largely found in countries with tropical regions.

Ecology

The fruit of Ceodes umbellifera exude a sticky sap, which often sticks to wildlife passing by the tree. Small animals, such as birds, reptiles and insects are often trapped in the substance and starve to death.

Largely it is seabirds, dwelling on off-shore islands, that die in the fruits of the shrub. However, there are some accounts of mainland birds becoming stuck. Scientists in the Goldsborough Valley, south of Cairns in Queensland, Australia, discovered a female Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfisher who was "completely immobilised, unable even to flap her wings".

It is generally agreed that the tree's birdlime is an adaptation, enabling the tree to pollinate; pollen will adhere to a bird, and be deposited somewhere else, where a new plant may grow. However, some botanists suggest that the extreme stickiness may have evolutionary advantages outside of pollination. Since Ceodes umbellifera is widespread on tropical island rainforests, it is plausible that when the plant "traps and kills animals" it is "creating pockets of nutrients in the immediate soil environment for seedlings". This is especially important on islands because often their soil is not as fertile and nutrient rich.

Gould's Petrels

The tree presents a threat to the Gould's Petrel population on Cabbage Tree Island, since the birds are classified as a threatened species. Petrels' entanglement in the viscous fruit sap has been identified as a major cause of mortality by Australian ornithologists. In some cases, a single fruit was enough to trap a bird and cause its death. During 1992 and 1993, some of the Ceodes umbellifera plants on Cabbage Tree Island were subject to herbicide poisoning, in an attempt to reduce the threat to Gould's Petrels and improve their endangerment status. This was largely successful, although other natural threats to the petrel remain.

Uses 

Traditional medicine

In Hawaii, the tree was used for a variety of purposes by early indigenous people. Leaves of Ceodes umbellifera is used as a general purpose medicine for digestive issues and childhood disease.

In their paper on saponins found in the shrub's leaves, Lavaud and Beauvir state that "In Vanuatu, the leaves of P. umbellifera are also used as a treatment for ciguatera poisoning and as a 'green manure'.

Culture

In Hawaii, the tree's leaves and bark are also used as a stable source of food for pigs.

The adhesive sap from the fruit is also commonly used by indigenous Hawaiians. The sap may be made into a paste with okra and used to mend broken bowls. Additionally, it is used by indigenous men to catch birds, from which the feathers are plucked and used for traditional garments.

See also

• Birdlime