Pterophylla tremuloides

Pterophylla tremuloides
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Oxalidales
Family:	Cunoniaceae
Genus:	Pterophylla
Species:	P. tremuloides
Binomial name
Pterophylla tremuloides (H.C.Hopkins & J.Florence) Pillon & H.C.Hopkins[1]
Synonyms[1]
Weinmannia tremuloides H.C.Hopkins & J.Florence

Pterophylla tremuloides, formerly known as Weinmannia tremuloides, is a species of plant in the family Cunoniaceae. It is a shrub endemic to the island of Fatu Hiva in the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia.[1]

Description

Pterophylla tremuloides is a shrub which grows up to 2 meters high. Its leaves are trifoliolate and glabrous, with a total length up to 9 cm including a petiole of 2.5–4.2 cm. The inflorescence is a trio of flower spikes up to 6 cm long, covered in tiny white flowers. The species name tremuloides means trembling, an appearance given by the long, laterally compressed petioles.[2]

Range and habitat

Pterophylla tremuloides is found only on the island of Fatu Hiva. Its typical habitat is low ridge top and cliff shrubland with Metrosideros, Dicranopteris, and Lycopodium between 700 and 850 metres elevation, where it is locally common.[2]

References

1. Pterophylla tremuloides (H.C.Hopkins & J.Florence) Pillon & H.C.Hopkins Plants of the World Online, Kew Science. Accessed 16 April 2023.
2. Hopkins, Helen C.F. and Florence, Jacques 1998. A revision of Weinmannia (Cunoniaceae) in Malesia and the Pacific. 4. The Society, Marquesas and Austral Islands. Adansonia Sér. 3, 20 (1) 1998.