Family of shrubs and trees
Simarouba is a genus of trees and shrubs in the family Simaroubaceae, native to the neotropics. It has been grouped in the subtribe Simaroubina along with the "Simaba" and "Quassia" genera. They have compound leaves, with between 1 and 12 pairs of alternate pinnate leaflets. Their flowers are unisexual, relatively small (around 1 cm long) and arranged in large panicles. Plants are dioecious, bearing only male or female flowers. The individual flowers have between 4 and 6 sepals and petals and between 8 and 12 stamens. The fruit is a carpophore and has up to 5 drupaceous mericarps.
In 1944, Adolf Engler and Arthur Cronquist separated the species in the genus, based mainly on the morphology of their flowers, but also using differences in their leaf structure. "S. amara", "S. glauca" and "S. versicolor" are continental tree species and are often confused with each other, particularly in areas where more than one species is present in the flora. "S. amara" can be distinguished by having smaller flowers and anthers than "S. glauca" and "S. versicolor" and by it having straight, rather than curved petals; its fruit are also smaller. "S. glauca" can be distinguished by the lack of trichomes on its leaves compared with those of "S. versicolor", which has dense tomentose leaves. "S. versicolor" has a greater variation in flower size than "S. glauca" and the leaf veins of "S. glauca" are generally more evident than those of "S. versicolor". Geographically, "S. glauca" and "S. versicolor" are easy to distinguish since the southerly range of "S. glauca" is limited to Panama, whereas "S. versicolor" is only found in South America. A phylogenetic analysis in 1995 based on the large sub-unit of rubisco suggested that "Simarouba" was most closely related to the "Leitneria" and "Ailanthus" genera, but a later study in 2007, based on three chloroplastic genes and one nuclear gene, found it was most closely related to "Pierreodendron" and "Simaba".
"S. berteroana", "S. laevis" and "S. tulae" are endemic to the Caribbean islands.
Discovery and uses.
In 1713, the genus was discovered by French explorers. Between 1718 and 1725, the bark was exported to France where it was used to treat an epidemic of dysentery. The bark of "Simarouba" species has been used by indigenous tribes as a tea to treat many diseases. The seeds of "Simarouba glauca" have been proposed as suitable for producing edible oils in India. "Simarouba amara" is harvested for timber, with its bright and lightweight timber being highly sought after in European markets to use in making fine furniture and veneers. "Simarouba glauca", also known as Lakshmi Taru in India, is also valued for its wood.
Ecology.
The alianthus webworm ("Atteva aurea") is a pest of the genus "Simarouba".
References.
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