Trema (plant)

Trema
	Flowers & leaves of T. orientalis at Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Cannabaceae
Genus:	Trema; Lour. 1790
Species
	About 15 species; see text
Synonyms
	Parasponia Miq. 1851; Sponia Comm. ex Decne. 1834;

Trema is a genus of about 15 species of evergreen trees closely related to the hackberries (Celtis), occurring in subtropical and tropical regions of southern Asia, northern Australasia, Africa, South and Central America, and parts of North America.^[1] They are generally small trees, reaching 10–20 m (33–66 ft) tall.

Taxonomy

Previously included either in the elm family, Ulmaceae, or with Celtis in the Celtidaceae, genetic analysis has shown the Celtidaceae are best placed in the hemp family, Cannabaceae.^[2]

Description

The leaves are alternate, simple, 7–15 cm (2.8–5.9 in) long, ovate-acuminate to lanceolate with a long pointed tip, and evenly serrated margins. The fruit is a small drupe 3–5 mm (0.12–0.20 in) in diameter.

Species associations

Trema species are sometimes used as food plants by the larvae of hepialid moths of the genera Aenetus, including A. splendens, which burrow horizontally into the trunk then vertically down, and Endoclita, including E. malabaricus.

Uses

Trema orientalis is widely planted for land reclamation in southern Asia, valued for its tolerance of poor soils due to its ability to fix nitrogen. It is also an invasive species on some Pacific Ocean islands.

Bark of T. orientalis at Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Flowers of T. orientalis in Goa, India.
Leaves of T. orientalis in Goa, India.
Flowers of T. orientalis in Goa, India.
Branches of T. orientalis at Kolkata, West Bengal, India

Selected species

Trema cannabina Lour. – Lesser trema
Trema cubense Urb.
Trema discolor (Brongniart) Blume
Trema domingensis Urb.
Trema integerrima (Beurl.) Standl.
Trema lamarckiana (Roem. & Schult.) Blume – West Indian trema, Lamarck's trema
Trema micrantha (L.) Blume – Jamaican nettle tree
Trema orientalis (L.) Blume – Pigeon wood
Trema philippinensis Elmer
Trema strigilosa Lundell
Trema tomentosa (Roxb.) H.Hara – Poison peach
- Trema tomentosa var. viridis (Planch.) Hewson

T. tomentosa var. viridis is a common shrub or small tree throughout eastern Australia.

References

^ "Trema micrantha (L.) Blume Jamaican nettletree". The PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
^ Sytsma, Kenneth J.; Morawetz, Jeffery; Pires, J. Chris; Nepokroeff, Molly; Conti, Elena; Zjhra, Michelle; Hall, Jocelyn C.; Chase, Mark W. (2002), "Urticalean rosids: circumscription, rosid ancestry, and phylogenetics based on rbcL, trnL-F, and ndhF sequences", American Journal of Botany, 89 (9): 1531–1546, doi:10.3732/ajb.89.9.1531, PMID 21665755 {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |lastauthoramp= ignored (|name-list-style= suggested) (help)

External links

Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER) page on Trema orientalis (with photos)

[1] "Trema micrantha (L.) Blume Jamaican nettletree". The PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2009-10-06.

[Sytsma2002-2] Sytsma, Kenneth J.; Morawetz, Jeffery; Pires, J. Chris; Nepokroeff, Molly; Conti, Elena; Zjhra, Michelle; Hall, Jocelyn C.; Chase, Mark W. (2002), "Urticalean rosids: circumscription, rosid ancestry, and phylogenetics based on rbcL, trnL-F, and ndhF sequences", American Journal of Botany, 89 (9): 1531–1546, doi:10.3732/ajb.89.9.1531, PMID 21665755 {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |lastauthoramp= ignored (|name-list-style= suggested) (help)

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