Didierea madagascariensis

Didierea madagascariensis, commonly known as the octopus tree,[2] is a species of Didiereaceae endemic to the spiny thickets of southwestern Madagascar.[3] It was first described scientifically by the French botanist Henri Ernest Baillon in 1880[4] and is the type species of the genus Didierea.

Didierea madagascariensis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Didiereaceae
Genus: Didierea
Species:
D. madagascariensis
Binomial name
Didierea madagascariensis
Baill. (1880)
Synonyms[1]

Didierea mirabilis Baill.; Alluaudiopsis marnieriana Rauh

It is known in Malagasy as sohongy, sony and soribarika.[5] Sohongy and sony come from the Tanosy dialect word songo meaning "lock of hair" or a rooster's crest or comb[6] possibly referring to its branches that sprawl upwards.

Description

As with all members of the sub-family Didiereoideae, this is a semi-succulent woody, shrub to small tree.[7] It is densely spiny and can grow up to 10 metres (33 ft) tall.[8] Spines are arranged in whorls, mostly of four.[7] Leaves are small and narrow-lanceolate and arranged in rosettes.[7]

References
  1. Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 06 Jul 2019 <http://www.tropicos.org/Name/10700010>
  2. Couzens, Dominic (2008). Top 100 Birding Sites of the World. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. p. 166. ISBN 978-0-520-25932-4.
  3. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  4. Baillon, Henri Ernest (1880). "Sur le Didierra". Bulletin Mensuel de la Société Linnéenne de Paris (in French). 1: 258–259.
  5. de La Beaujardière, Jean-Marie, ed. (2001). "Botanical scientific names". Malagasy Dictionary and Malagasy Encyclopedia.
  6. Boiteau, Pierre (1999). "sony". Dictionnaire des noms malgaches de végétaux (in French). Vol. III. Editions Alzieu – via Malagasy Dictionary and Malagasy Encyclopedia.
  7. Rauh, W. 1983. The morphology and systematic position of the Didiereaceae of Madagascar. Blumea 14(3/4): 839–843.
  8. Dixon, R. (1995). "The Didiereaceae of southern Madagascar". Aloe. 32 (3/4): 72–73. ISSN 0002-6301.


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