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Plants (plus fungi, algae etc.) of various regions

JOrnitho: I have some different descriptions, this time they are about plants. Also, do you think that could be possible for an antilopine-like descendant of the goat or of the sheep to live in the Andean plateau? [more]Atlantic cherry (Eugenia atlantica) In South America, the genus Eugenia survived the Holocene and a new species appeared, the Atlantic cherry. This species is native to the forests of the Atlantic coast of South America. Being a common component of the Atlantic forests, they provide food to many species. is a large shrub or small tree with a conical form, growing slowly to 8 m high. When bruised, crushed or cut, the leaves and branches have a spicy resinous fragrance, which can cause respiratory discomfort in susceptible individuals. The leaves are without stipules, ovate, glossy and held in opposite pairs. New leaves are bronze in color, maturing to a deep glossy green, up to 4 cm long. During dry season the leaves turn red. Flowers have four pale pink petals and are borne on slender long stalks, with a conspicuous central cluster of white stamens ending in yellow anthers. Flowers develop into rounded fruits 3 cm long, starting out as green, then ranging through orange, scarlet and finally dark red as they ripen. Its seeds are dispersed mostly by fruit eating birds and bats. Montane jamelan (Neosygyzium montano) During the Holocene, the man introduced many species, animal and vegetal. The tree Sygyzium cumini was one of these introduced species. In the Neocene, this species give rise to the genus Neosygyzium with the type species being the montane jamelan. The word jamelan (jamelão) is a common name used to its ancestor in Brazil. The montane jamelan is native to the montane forests of the Atlantic Coast of South America. Their fruits are consumed by many species of these areas. Montane jamelan is a large tree, typically reaching 30 m of high and can live more than 100 years. Its leaves and twigs are glabrous and the bark is dark brown and fairly smooth, with little relief or texture. The leaves are lanceolate, 2 cm to 4 cm broad, 10 cm to 20 cm long, pointed, base cuneate with hardly any petiole, lively red when growing, but glossy green on attaining full size. The flowers are in small terminal clusters, white or greenish white, the long, numerous stamens giving them a diameter of 8 cm. The flowering period of this tree is in the end of the spring. Its fruits develop during the summer and resemble large berries, being 15 cm long; the fruit of the genus Neosyzygium are drupaceous. The fruit is oblong, ovoid. Unripe fruit looks green. As it matures, its color changes to pink, then to shining crimson red and finally to black color. Other species in this genus: Lowland jamelan (Neosygyzium esculentus) This species reach the same high of the montane jamelan, however is native to the lowland forests of the Atlantic coast of South America. Its fruits are also large, being 27 cm long and magenta colored.  Aromatic guava (Psidium aromatica) In South America, the guavas (Psidium) survived the Holocene and a new species appeared, the red guava. This species is native to the tropical regions of South America. Across its occurrence areas, the fruits are used as food by many species. The aromatic guava is a large tree, being capable to reach 28 m of high. The tortuous trunk has a smooth shell that peels off thin plates. The leaves are coriaceous and glabrous, up to 10 cm in length. The flowers are axillary, solitary and white. The flowering period occurs during the start of spring. The fruits mature when the first rains of summer start to fall. The fruit consists of fleshy green colored berries which turn yellow when ripe. The surface is irregular, with 10 cm of diameter. Inside, there is a red pulp, containing dozens of small hard seeds. The four sepals of the flower are usually present at one end of the fruit. When the fruits are ripen, they exhale a strong sweet aroma which attract many animals to consume it, such as the puraheikai.  [/more] As the Author stated, plants should be in a separate topic - Biolog, the moderator

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JOrnitho: Биолог I like the idea of it being a descendant of a Solanaceae. Maybe the leaves have an aromatic substance that repel any insect, even the bees. I can see some primates rubbing it on their bodies. What do you think?

Биолог: JOrnitho Good idea! Leaves of a descendant of common tobacco (a Solanaceae member) can serve as such.

JOrnitho: Биолог пишет: Leaves of a descendant of common tobacco (a Solanaceae member) can serve as such. Yes! Maybe the substances of the leaves are so strong for insects that only birds and mammals are capable of pollinating and consuming its fruits. There could even be a species of hummingbird that have preference for this plant.


Биолог: JOrnitho the substances of the leaves are so strong for insects that only birds and mammals are capable of pollinating and consuming its fruits. Yes, good idea! Although it can resemble the chapter 93 "Green Poisoner and Its Suite" (only Russian so far, sorry). There could even be a species of hummingbird that have preference for this plant. Given it is immune to the poison. Another good idea!

JOrnitho: Биолог пишет: Although it can resemble the chapter 93 "Green Poisoner and Its Suite" Then it's a perfect case of convergent evolution. I think that this plant could inhabit the Amazon and the Atlantic forest. The birds that use these leaves to repel the bees from their nest would also only lives in these areas.

Биолог: JOrnitho OK, the idea is good, but the chapter I mentioned is about a large poisonous tree and the animals that live in its crown or on/inside the branches or trunk.

JOrnitho: Биолог пишет: OK, the idea is good, but the chapter I mentioned is about a large poisonous tree and the animals that live in its crown or on/inside the branches or trunk. Ah, right. In this case this plant would be more repelent than poisonous, and only to insects. Perhaps it evolved this way as a defense against ants of the forests.

Биолог: JOrnitho OK, sure!

Биолог: JOrnitho Also, do you think that could be possible for an antilopine-like descendant of the goat or of the sheep to live in the Andean plateau? Why not? I think it's possible. Your plants are OK, added to the catalogue.

Автор: Биолог пишет: Your plants are OK, added to the catalogue. I think it is better to establish a new thread for plants in "Foreign section" of the forum, at least because the current thread is about animals. IMHO, plants and fungi are not less interesting compared to animals, the also have special roles in ecosystems.

Биолог: Автор OK, done. But now I have to change links of JOrnitho's plants in the catalogue.

JOrnitho: Биолог Can you help me make the description for this plant? I'm struggling writing with the part about the poison and how it can work.

Биолог: JOrnitho Yes, but which part exactly do you need? I mean, life cycle, poison properties or something else? And what is the species? You can post a preliminary description here, so that I understand your idea.

JOrnitho: Биолог пишет: You can post a preliminary description here, so that I understand your idea. Ok! I'll do that. It'll be a descendant of the common tabaco.

JOrnitho: Биолог I made this preliminary description. Can you help with the description of the substance that is found on it? How it is repellent to insects, but not to mammals and birds. Repellent tobacco (Nicotiana abhorrens) The Genus Nicotiana of the family Solanaceae survived the Holocene, and in the Neocene a new species appeared, the violet trumpet tree. This species is native of tropical and subtropical America, only inhabiting humid areas with temperatures of 20–30 °C. This way, this plant isn’t found in the savannas and deserts. The repellent tobacco is an annual plant that grows 1 to 3 metres high and is sticky hairy on all parts. The stems are thick and not very branched. The leaves can be over 55 centimetres long with the blades elliptical, pointed towards the front and, at the base are sessile, encompassing the stem. The scented inflorescences are multi-branched panicles. The flower stalks are 15 millimetres long. The calyx is 17 millimetres and is covered with uneven 8 mm narrow pointed calyx lobes shorter than the calyx tube. The crown is plate-shaped, the coronet is bright red, with the corolla tube being pink. The corolla tube has a total length of 10 cm and is 3 mm wide in the lower part and widens to 7 mm in the upper part. The coronet is pentagonal. The stamens are designed unevenly and start below the center of the corolla tube. The fruit is a 2 cm long capsule that is narrowly elliptical to egg-shaped. It can stand out over the chalice. The seeds are spherical and are up to 0.5 mm long. The leaves contain a repellent substance (hence the species' name) nicotoxin, which is a derivative of nicotine. Nicotoxin is harmless to mammals and birds, but strongly protective against insects. The substance causes the plant to emit a distinctive pungent odor percepted by insects and repulsive for them. So the vertebrate animals started using the leaves to protect their burrows and other dwellings from the local descendants of Africanized bees: the bees cannot withstand the odor which covers as much as several meters around a dwelling entrance. Some species of primates also use rub these leaves on their bodies, using its odor as a natural repelent. While these substances don't repel vertebrates, the leaves of the repellent tobacco are sour and not appreciated by all herbivores. Even the monkeys that have their fur covered by it will leave a bad taste in predators' mouth.

Биолог: JOrnitho Good one! The remaining part can be like this: The leaves contain a repellent substance (hence the species' name) nicotoxin, which is a derivative of nicotine. Nicotoxin is harmless to mammals and birds, but strongly protective against insects. The substance causes the plant to emit a distinctive pungent odor percepted by insects and repulsive for them. So the vertebrate animals started using the leaves to protect their burrows and other dwellings from the local descendants of Africanized bees: the bees cannot withstand the odor which covers as much as several meters around a dwelling entrance. How is it?

JOrnitho: Биолог пишет: How is it? It's really good! Do you mind if I add this: "While not being toxic for vertebrates, these leaves have a sour taste that is tolerated only by some few herbivores"?

Биолог: JOrnitho Yes, why not! You will be the final author of the species, not me.

JOrnitho: Биолог I added the part of the toxin in the description.

Биолог: JOrnitho Good, and I've already added the link to it to the catalogue.

JOrnitho: I was thinking if the soybean and wheat could have descendants in the Neocene. They are cultivated in South America and perhaps some wild descendants could exist in the savannas.

Биолог: JOrnitho Wheat does have a descendant - the hamster's wheat in the chapter 87 "Adopted in Eden" (only Russian so far, sorry). But it is in Asia, though. As for the soybean, it seems to have no descendants.

JOrnitho: Биолог пишет: But it is in Asia, though. Then maybe it could have a relative living in South America that evolved form the wheat that were cultivated here.

Биолог: JOrnitho Yes, quite possible.

JOrnitho: I was thinking about some plants for Easter Island and I think that most of the species here would be introduced or were transported from South America. I thought about a species of giant banana tree. Do you have more ideas for plants in the island?

Биолог: JOrnitho giant banana Good one! Do you have more ideas for plants in the island? I have little knowledge about indigenous flora of Easter Island, but a descendant of pineapple would be great, if pineapple is introduced there by humans.

JOrnitho: Биолог пишет: if pineapple is introduced there by humans. Yes, there is farms that produce pineapple in the island. Other introduced plants are the sweet potato, yam, paper mulberry and sugar cane. The surroundings of the lakes of the island are covered in totora reed.

Биолог: JOrnitho Yes, there is farms that produce pineapple in the island. So we can make a descendant there! Other introduced plants are the sweet potato, yam, paper mulberry and sugar cane. The surroundings of the lakes of the island are covered in totora reed. So, descendants of sweet potato and yam are quite plausible.

JOrnitho: I was thinking that since these plants are in an island, they could be different than their ancestors. The benana tree would be high like a palm tree, but with smaller fruits, while the pineapple could produce two or three fruits. Any ideas for the descendants of the sweet potato and yam?

Биолог: JOrnitho The benana tree would be high like a palm tree, but with smaller fruits Sounds quite interesting! Although banana is not a tree, it is a herbacious plant, and it lacks a trunk at all (even no stem above the ground). the pineapple could produce two or three fruits But pineapple has a multiple fruit, made up of many individual fruits.

JOrnitho: This only show how I'm terrible in botanic hahahaha. It wasn’t my favorite subject in college, where I stayed only with what the professors taught. I greatly prefer zoology of vertebrates. My idea about the banana was that it would be similar to the Musa ingens from Indonesia. It have the longest petioles of any tree, with 15 meters. In Neocene Easter Island, this giant herbaceous plant would be part an important part of the forests. Regarding the pineaple, maybe it could develop two structures wit multiple fruits on it, with each fruit being more protuding and colorful when ripe.

Биолог: JOrnitho giant herbaceous plant would be part an important part of the forests And now you are good enough in botany! Great idea this is! Regarding the pineaple, maybe it could develop two structures wit multiple fruits on it, with each fruit being more protuding and colorful when ripe. My mind was crossed with an idea of a large (about 5 m tall) pineapple bush with numerous, but small fruit, maybe also simplified in structure.

JOrnitho: Биолог пишет: My mind was crossed with an idea of a large (about 5 m tall) pineapple bush with numerous, but small fruit, maybe also simplified in structure I like that idea! Maybe the flowers are disperse in the bush and, rather than fusing in one single structure, becme each one a small fruit. I wonder which type of polinization this species could have. Another idea that I had for the island is the presence of descendants of the cocconut tree. These palms would also have developed smaller fruits.

Биолог: JOrnitho Well, the pineapple blossom and fruit are too far specialized to become absolutely simple. They would rather remain complex, as they are now. Pollination by insects, surely. descendants of the cocconut tree Descendants of coconut palm are already present in neocene. But there can be more in other regions, as the coconut palm is widespread.

JOrnitho: Биолог пишет: the pineapple blossom and fruit are too far specialized to become absolutely simple. They would rather remain complex, as they are now. I see, but could they still have a reduced size and more than one structure in the bush? The small size could allow the pineapple to develop four structures with multiple fruits in its middle. Биолог пишет: Descendants of coconut palm are already present in neocene. But there can be more in other regions, as the coconut palm is widespread. The isolation in Easter Island could allow them to become different from their relatives in other areas.

Биолог: JOrnitho more than one structure four structures with multiple fruits in its middle I do not quite understand. What do you mean by "structures"? Four fruit on one stalk? It's OK, but why four? Pineapple fruit are berries that merge into a large multiple fruit. The isolation in Easter Island could allow them to become different from their relatives in other areas. Yes, sure. The already existing coconut descendants I mentioned are on Hawaii, described in chapter 46 "The Green Pearl of the Pacific" (only Russian so far, sorry).

JOrnitho: Биолог пишет: I do not quite understand. What do you mean by "structures"? Four fruit on one stalk? It's OK, but why four? Pineapple fruit are berries that merge into a large multiple fruit. I wasn’t sure to how to explain it. I mean that this descendant of the pineapple could develop more stalks where the multiple fruits would appear after the merging of the berries. Or instead the plant could develop a branched central stalk where the flowers would appear and eventually merge in the multiple fruit. They could be small like that of the Ananas comosus var. microstachys.

Биолог: JOrnitho Ah, now I see, thanks! Sure, having multiple stalks or a o single branched stalk is OK! The second idea looks more interesting.

JOrnitho: Then, we have these plants in Easter Island: Rapa Nui coconut Giant banana Rapa Nui pineapple Yam (native name uhi) Sweet Potato (native name kumara) Totora reed (native name nga'atu) They will need some better names. Do you have suggestions? Also, I was reading that the island have Melia trees and guavas. They could also have descendants.

Биолог: JOrnitho Great list, enough for a separate flora chapter! Um, I'm not so good in South American languages to propose names...

JOrnitho: Биолог пишет: I'm not so good in South American languages to propose names... I'll make a search for the names, but I think that the yam, sweet potato and totora reed could have the native names.

JOrnitho: I made these descriptions of plants for the chapter about the Easter Island. I don't know if they are good, you can give them a complementation if necessary. Kumara (Ipomoea kumara) A descendant of the sweet potato plant (Ipomoea batatas), which was introduced in Easter Island during the Holocene by the ancestors of the Rapa Nui people. With the disappearance of the humans, these plants were capable of not only surviving in the Neocene, but also of giving rise to descendants. The name kumara was used by the people of the island to name its ancestor. Like its ancestor, this plant is a herbaceous perennial vine, bearing palmately lobed leaves and medium-sized sympetalous flowers. The stems are usually crawling on the ground and form adventitious roots at the nodes. The leaves are screwed along the stems. The leaf stalk is 50 cm long. The leaf blades are very variable, 9 to 13 centimeters long, the shape is triangular, the edge can be entire, toothed or often three to seven times lobed. Most of the leaf surfaces are bare and the tip is rounded. The leaves are mostly green in color, but due to the accumulation of anthocyanins, especially along the leaf veins, they can be purple in color. Depending on the variety, the total length of a stem can be between 1 and 4 meters. Some plants also form shoots up to 16 meters in length. However, these do not form underground storage organs. The hermaphrodite, five-fold and short-stalked flowers are single or few in stalked, zymous inflorescences that arise from the leaf axils and stand upright. The small sepals are elongated and tapering to a point and spiky, being 10 to 15 mm long, usually finely haired or ciliate. The 4 to 7 cm long, overgrown and funnel-shaped, folded crown, with a shorter hem, is purple-lavender in color, the throat is usually darker in color, but white crowns can also appear. The enclosed stamens are of unequal length with glandular filaments. The two-chamber ovary is upper constant with a relatively short stylus. Seeds are only produced from cross-pollination. The flowers open before sunrise and stay open for a few hours. They close again in the morning and begin to wither. The edible tuberous root is long and tapered, with a smooth skin whose color ranges between yellow and purple. Its flesh ranges from yellow through red, pink, violet, orange, and purple. Together with the uhi, it's the favorite food of the Rapa Nui rat. Giant banana (Gigantomusa aromatica) A descendant of the banana (Musa sp.), which was introduced in Easter Island during the Holocene. With the disappearance of the humans, these plants were capable of not only surviving in the Neocene, but also of giving rise to descendants. The giant banana plant is perhaps the largest herbaceous flowering plant in the Neocene, surpassing even the size of their ancestor. It can be 9 to 12 m tall. Like their ancestors, all their above-ground parts grow from a structure usually called a "corm". Plants are normally tall and fairly sturdy with a treelike appearance, but what appears to be a trunk is actually a "false stem" or pseudostem. The leaves of giant banana plants are composed of a "stalk" and a blade. The base of the petiole widens to form a sheath; the tightly packed sheaths make up the pseudostem, which is all that supports the plant. The edges of the sheath meet when it is first produced, making it tubular. As new growth occurs in the centre of the pseudostem the edges are forced apart. Leaves are spirally arranged and may grow 3 metres long and 70 cm wide. They are easily torn by the wind, resulting in the familiar frond look. When a banana plant is mature, the corm stops producing new leaves and begins to form a flower spike or inflorescence. A stem develops which grows up inside the pseudostem, carrying the immature inflorescence until eventually it emerges at the top. Each pseudostem normally produces two inflorescences, also known as the "banana heart". After fruiting, the pseudostem dies, but offshoots will normally have developed from the base, so that the plant as a whole is perennial. In the plantation system of cultivation, only one of the offshoots will be allowed to develop in order to maintain spacing. The inflorescence contains many bracts between rows of flowers. The female flowers appear in rows further up the stem from the rows of male flowers. The ovary is inferior, meaning that the tiny petals and other flower parts appear at the tip of the ovary. The fruits develop from the banana heart, in a large hanging cluster, made up of tiers, with up to 20 fruit to a tier. There is a protective outer layer with numerous long, thin string, which run lengthwise between the skin and the edible inner portion. Uhi (Dioscorea uhi) A descendant of the purple yam (Dioscorea alata), which was introduced in Easter Island during the Holocene by the ancestors of the Rapa Nui people. With the disappearance of the humans, these plants were capable of not only surviving in the Neocene, but also of giving rise to descendants. The name uhi was used by the people of the island to name its ancestor. The uhi is a perennial vine with broad, alternate leaves, and has a storage organ that remains buried in the ground. The plant forms bulbils in the leaf axils of the twining stems, and tubers beneath the ground. These tubers are like small, oblong potatoes. The tubers are usually a vivid pink to bright red. They are edible, being consumed by the Rapa Nui rat. This plant can grow extremely quickly, roughly 21 cm per day, and eventually reach over 18 m. It typically climbs to the tops of trees and has a tendency to take over other plants. New plants develop from bulbils that form on the plant, and these bulbils serve as a means of dispersal. The primary means of spread and reproduction are by the bulbils. The vine produces small pink flowers. The fruits are capsules. Nga'atu (Schoenoplectus paschalis) A descendant of the totora reed (Schoenoplectus californicus subsp. tatora), which had existed in Easter Island even before the arrival of the ancestors of the Rapa Nui people. With the disappearance of the humans, these plants were capable of not only surviving in the Neocene, but also of giving rise to descendants. The name nga'atu was used by the people of the island to name its ancestor. The Nga'atu is a rhizomed water plant found in marshy areas. It has tall, thin, dark green stems which are usually triangular in cross-section. The inflorescence is a small head of several spikelets which may be brown to bright orange, red, purplish, or pale and translucent. They have hairy edges. The fruit is a brown achene. The plant reproduces sexually by seed and colonies spread via vegetative reproduction, sprouting from the rhizomes. This plant can reach a height of 6 m and commonly reaches 4 m.

Биолог: JOrnitho Why, they're good! I add them to the catalogue.

JOrnitho: Another description of a plant for Easter Island, maybe it can also appear in the chapter. Rapa Nui coconut palm (Cocos paschalis) A descendant of thecoconut tree (Cocos nucifera), which was introduced in Easter Island during the Holocene. With the disappearance of the humans, these plants were capable of not only surviving in the Neocene, but also of giving rise to descendants. The Rapa Nui coconut palm is a large palm, growing up to 35 metres tall, with pinnate leaves 4 to 6 m long, and pinnae 60 to 90 centimetres long; old leaves break away cleanly, leaving the trunk smooth. These plants produce their first fruit in six to ten years, taking 15 to 20 years to reach peak production. The palm produces both the female and male flowers on the same inflorescence; thus, the palm is monoecious. The female flower is much larger than the male flower. Flowering occurs continuously. Like their ancestors, the fruit of the Rapa Nui coconut palm is a drupe, not a true nut. Like other fruits, it has three layers: the exocarp, mesocarp, and endocarp. The exocarp is the glossy outer skin, usually yellow-green to yellow-brown in color. Both the exocarp and the mesocarp make up the "husk" of the coconut, while the endocarp makes up the hard coconut "shell". The endocarp is around 4 millimetres thick and has three distinctive germination pores on the distal end. Two of the pores are plugged, while one is functional. The interior of the endocarp is hollow and is lined with a thin brown seed coat around 0.2 mm thick. The endocarp is initially filled with a multinucleate liquid endosperm. As development continues, cellular layers of endosperm deposit along the walls of the endocarp up to 11 mm thick, starting at the distal end. They eventually form the edible solid endosperm which hardens over time. The small cylindrical embryo is embedded in the solid endosperm directly below the functional pore of the endosperm. During germination, the embryo pushes out of the functional pore and forms a haustorium inside the central cavity. The haustorium absorbs the solid endosperm to nourish the seedling. The fruit is elongated and triangular. It's also smaller than that of their ancestors, reaching 35 cm.

JOrnitho: I was thinking that some plants could appear in the chapter about the obreros. Maybe a descendant of the introduced mango and of the native Solanum lycocarpum.

Биолог: JOrnitho Yes, why not! The descendant of mango can have very large (the size of melon) fruit eaten by many small and medium-sized animals. The name should be "the banquet tree". As for the S. lycocarpum descendant, it can have highly poisonous fruit that only one (or a narrow group of) animal species can eat, thus spreading its seeds.

JOrnitho: Биолог пишет: The descendant of mango can have very large (the size of melon) fruit eaten by many small and medium-sized animals. The name should be "the banquet tree". Good idea! The bats and some birds could cut pieces of its to eat the fruit inside. As for the S. lycocarpum descendant, it can have highly poisonous fruit that only one (or a narrow group of) animal species can eat, thus spreading its seeds. Which animal do you think that could eat it? A descendant of the maned wolf?

Биолог: JOrnitho The bats and some birds could cut pieces of its to eat the fruit inside. Yep, and the plant can develop many seeds instead of one per fruit in this case. Which animal do you think that could eat it? A descendant of the maned wolf? Quite so, or of the bush dog.

медведь: Биолог Quite so, or of the bush dog. It is stated in the project that the bush dog went extinct at the end of the Holocene, and the uktenas took its niche. And what comes for the maned wolf, let's wait for Author to express his opinion.

Биолог: медведь OK. So, we eliminate bush dog from the idea.

JOrnitho: Биолог пишет: So, we eliminate bush dog from the idea. It could also be a descendant of the crab-eating fox, if the maned wolf is also extinct.

Биолог: JOrnitho Sure, and it can become larger to take the niche of the maned wolf.

JOrnitho: Биолог пишет: Sure, and it can become larger to take the niche of the maned wolf. Yes! Maybe even developing long legs to reach the fruits in the tree.

Биолог: JOrnitho Yes, but let's discuss animals in another topic, this one's for plants.

JOrnitho: Биолог Ok. I'll start to work in the banquet tree. What do you think that could be their binominal name?

Биолог: JOrnitho What about Mangifera polyseminis (meaning "multiseeded")?

JOrnitho: Биолог пишет: What about Mangifera polyseminis (meaning "multiseeded")? I like it! Would itvmean that the fruits have more than one seed?

Биолог: JOrnitho Yes, I mentioned that before. Otherwise, it is no use to make banquets for animals.

JOrnitho: Биолог Ok. I'll start to work on it. Can you help filling some details of the description?

Биолог: JOrnitho Which details?

JOrnitho: Биолог пишет: Which details? The description of the fruit.

Биолог: JOrnitho Like this: The fruit are large (30-40 cm long) oblong multiple drupes with up to 30 stones in one fruit (up to 30 separate drupes merged together). The color orange to red, the stones are white. The flesh very juicy and sugary, with rich odor, attracting many animals that spread the seeds via eating the fruit.

JOrnitho: Биолог Ok. I'll add it in the description.

JOrnitho: I finished the description of the banquet tree: Banquet tree (Mangifera polyseminis) During the Holocene, not only animals were introduced by humans in other continents. The plants were among the organisms that were introduced in other parts of the world, both for agriculture and for the use in gardens. One of these species was the mango tree (Mangifera indica), originally an Indian species. In the Neocene, the trees that were introduced in South America gave rise to the banquet tree. This plant inhabits all the tropical biomes of the continent, being a common sight in both dense forests and woodlands. The banquet trees grow to 30–40 metres tall, with a crown radius of 10–15 m. The trees are long-lived, as some specimens still fruit after 300 years. In deep soil, the taproot descends to a depth of 6 m, with profuse, wide-spreading feeder roots and anchor roots penetrating deeply into the soil. The leaves are evergreen, alternate, simple, 25 centimetres long, and 12 cm broad; when the leaves are young they are orange-pink, rapidly changing to a dark, glossy red, then dark green as they mature. The flowers are produced in terminal panicles that are 40 cm long; each flower is small and white with five petals 10 millimetres long, with a mild, sweet fragrance. The fruit are large (30-40 cm long) oblong multiple drupes with up to 30 stones in one fruit (up to 30 separate drupes merged together). The color orange to red, the stones are white. The flesh is very juicy and sugary, with a rich odor, attracting many animals that spread the seeds via eating the fruit.

Биолог: JOrnitho Good!

Автор: Note this treelike plant: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliotropium_arboreum It may be rather perspective for colonization of the islands of Indian and Pacific oceans.

Биолог: Автор Oh, I also had an idea of a descendant of Alsomitra macrocarpa, which is definitely capable of colonizing islands with its gliding seeds. Wikipedia states its seeds have been found on the decks of ships at sea.

JOrnitho: Interestinf plants! Perhaps they could reach Nicobar and Easter Island?

Биолог: JOrnitho Yes, I may make the vine's descendant. Although Easter island is too remote.

JOrnitho: Finished the description of the coconut for Andaman and Nicobar. Maybe descendants of Alsomitra macrocarpa and Heliotropium arboreum could also appear on these iislands? Bengal coconut palm (Cocos bengalensis) While its original distribution wss in theCentral Indo-Pacific, the coconut tree (Cocos nucifera) was introduced in several regions during the Holocene. With the disappearance of the humans, these plants were capable of not only surviving in the Neocene, but also of giving rise to descendants. One of its descendants, the Bengala coconut palm, first originated in the islands of the Gulf of Bengal. However, it soon spread to Hindustan and the Western coast of Sunda Land. In these areas, it's a common sight on the beaches. The Bengal coconut palm is a large palm, growing up to 40 meters tall, with pinnate leaves 5 to 7 m long, and pinnae 80 centimeters long. Like their ancestors, old leaves break away cleanly, leaving the trunk smooth. These plants produce their first fruit in eight years, taking 19 years to reach peak production. The palm produces both the female and male flowers on the same inflorescence. The female flower is much larger than the male flower. Flowering occurs continuously. Like their ancestors, the fruit of the Bengal coconut palm is a drupe, not a true nut. Like other fruits, it has three layers: the exocarp, mesocarp, and endocarp. The exocarp is the glossy outer skin, usually bright yellow in color when ripe. Both the exocarp and the mesocarp make up the "husk" of the coconut, while the endocarp makes up the hard coconut "shell". The endocarp is around 4 millimetres thick and has three distinctive germination pores on the distal end. Two of the pores are plugged, while one is functional. The interior of the endocarp is hollow and is lined with a thin brown seed coat around 0.4 mm thick. The endocarp is initially filled with a multinucleate liquid endosperm. As development continues, cellular layers of endosperm deposit along the walls of the endocarp up to 16 mm thick, starting at the distal end. They eventually form the edible solid endosperm which hardens over time. The small cylindrical embryo is embedded in the solid endosperm directly below the functional pore of the endosperm. During germination, the embryo pushes out of the functional pore and forms a haustorium inside the central cavity. The haustorium absorbs the solid endosperm to nourish the seedling. The fruit is elongated and spherical, reaching 50 cm.

медведь: Interesting plant!

лягушка: JOrnitho Good. I like this!

Биолог: JOrnitho Great one!



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