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69-508: See text The Burseraceae are a moderate-sized family of 17-19 genera and about 540 species of woody flowering plants . The actual numbers given in taxonomic sources differ according to taxonomic revision at the time of writing. The Burseraceae are also known as the torchwood family, the frankincense and myrrh family, or simply the incense tree family . The family includes both trees and shrubs ; its species are native to tropical regions of Africa , Asia , Australasia , and

138-468: A style and an apical structure called a stigma that receives pollen. The word "pistil" comes from Latin pistillum meaning pestle . A sterile pistil in a male flower is referred to as a pistillode . The pistils of a flower are considered to be composed of one or more carpels . A carpel is the female reproductive part of the flower—usually composed of the style , and stigma (sometimes having its individual ovary , and sometimes connecting to

207-409: A broad stigmatic crest along the margin allows pollen tubes access along the surface and between hairs at the margins. Two kinds of fusion have been distinguished: postgenital fusion that can be observed during the development of flowers, and congenital fusion that cannot be observed i.e., fusions that occurred during phylogeny. But it is very difficult to distinguish fusion and non-fusion processes in

276-528: A characteristic nectar disk and imbricate petals and sepals. Some of these characteristics also occur in the Rosales . However, the Sapindales and Rutales may actually form a complex, since many families "jump" between them. Indeed, rbc L sequence studies seem to indicate that a sapindalean/rutalean complex exists and may better represent the relationships of the families than the separate orders would. A study based on

345-407: A cluster of archegonia and any associated modified leaves or stems present on a gametophyte shoot in mosses , liverworts , and hornworts . The corresponding terms for the male parts of those plants are clusters of antheridia within the androecium. Flowers that bear a gynoecium but no stamens are called pistillate or carpellate . Flowers lacking a gynoecium are called staminate. The gynoecium

414-658: A common representative of the family in the United States, especially in Florida ( B. simaruba ) and the Southwest ( B. odorata, B. microphylla ). Naked Indian (also known as gumbo limbo), or Bursera simaruba , in particular, is found in Florida , Mexico, the Caribbean, Venezuela , and Brazil . The tree is also named the ‘tourist tree’ for its very distinctive flaking red bark; apparently,

483-400: A conical or dome-shaped receptacle . In later lineages, carpels tend to be in whorls . The relationship of the other flower parts to the gynoecium can be an important systematic and taxonomic character. In some flowers, the stamens, petals, and sepals are often said to be "fused" into a "floral tube" or hypanthium . However, as Leins & Erbar (2010) pointed out, "the classical view that

552-421: A hypanthium is present, but is either free from the gynoecium (in which case it may appear to be a cup or tube surrounding the gynoecium) or connected partly to the gynoecium (with the stamens, petals, and sepals attached to the hypanthium part of the way up the ovary). Perigynous flowers are often referred to as having a half-inferior ovary (or, sometimes, partially inferior or half-superior ). This arrangement

621-554: A lack of widespread consensus within the scientific community for extended periods. The continual publication of new data and diverse opinions plays a crucial role in facilitating adjustments and ultimately reaching a consensus over time. The naming of families is codified by various international bodies using the following suffixes: The taxonomic term familia was first used by French botanist Pierre Magnol in his Prodromus historiae generalis plantarum, in quo familiae plantarum per tabulas disponuntur (1689) where he called

690-443: A shared basal ovary) —and usually interpreted as modified leaves that bear structures called ovules , inside which egg cells ultimately form. A pistil may consist of one carpel (with its ovary, style and stigma); or it may comprise several carpels joined together to form a single ovary, the whole unit called a pistil. The gynoecium may present as one or more uni-carpellate pistils or as one multi-carpellate pistil. (The number of carpels

759-460: A similar function to a megasporophyll , but typically includes a stigma, and is fused, with ovules enclosed in the enlarged lower portion, the ovary. In some basal angiosperm lineages, Degeneriaceae and Winteraceae , a carpel begins as a shallow cup where the ovules develop with laminar placentation, on the upper surface of the carpel. The carpel eventually forms a folded, leaf-like structure, not fully sealed at its margins. No style exists, but

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828-684: A source of food for birds. Frankincense, or olibanum, ( Boswellia carterii ) and myrrh ( Commiphora abyssinica ) have long been valued for the aromatic resins they produce. These resins are extracted via tapping, or cutting of the bark to make it release sap. The liquid sap hardens and is gathered, sold as is or further processed and mixed with spices, seeds, and roots to make various forms of incense. Both species are native to parts of Northeast Africa ( Somalia , frankincense; Somalia and Ethiopia , myrrh) and Arabia ( Oman and Yemen , frankincense), but their distribution and use have been extended beyond these regions to India and China. The best frankincense

897-709: A specific region of the world, although this is not obligatory. For example, members of the tribe Protieae are generally found in South America, those of the Bursereae are found in Africa and Mesoamerica , while members of the Canarieae are found in Malesia. However, each tribe has a representative genus present in all the tropical regions: Dacryodes (Canarieae), Protium (Protieae), and Commiphora (Bursereae). The Burseraceae are found in

966-400: A stalked, integumented megasporangium (also called the nucellus ). Typically, one cell in the megasporangium undergoes meiosis resulting in one to four megaspores. These develop into a megagametophyte (often called the embryo sac) within the ovule. The megagametophyte typically develops a small number of cells, including two special cells, an egg cell and a binucleate central cell, which are

1035-528: A syncarpous gynoecium has a single style and stigma and a single locule in the ovary, it may be necessary to examine how the ovules are attached. Each carpel will usually have a distinct line of placentation where the ovules are attached. Pistils begin as small primordia on a floral apical meristem, forming later than, and closer to the (floral) apex than sepal, petal and stamen primordia. Morphological and molecular studies of pistil ontogeny reveal that carpels are most likely homologous to leaves. A carpel has

1104-425: A syncarpous gynoecium, the "fused" ovaries of the constituent carpels may be referred to collectively as a single compound ovary. It can be a challenge to determine how many carpels fused to form a syncarpous gynoecium. If the styles and stigmas are distinct, they can usually be counted to determine the number of carpels. Within the compound ovary, the carpels may have distinct locules divided by walls called septa . If

1173-423: A unitary intercalary meristem. Evolutionary developmental biology investigates such developmental processes that arise or change during evolution. If the hypanthium is absent, the flower is hypogynous , and the stamens, petals, and sepals are all attached to the receptacle below the gynoecium. Hypogynous flowers are often referred to as having a superior ovary . This is the typical arrangement in most flowers. If

1242-567: A variety of habitats, including hot, dry desert and savannah , as well as in coastal mangrove forest and rain forest habitats. One study found that the family originated in North America during the Paleocene (about 65 Mya), when the earliest fossils of the Sapindales are found. During the Early to Middle Eocene (about 53 Mya), family members dispersed to eastern Laurasia (i.e. Europe and Asia) via

1311-413: A variety of other wood-based products; the utility of the wood is comparable to that of mahogany and birch . In addition, species like Canarium littorale , Dacryodes costata , Santiria laevigata , and Santiria tomentosa from Malaysia, as well as Aucoumea klaineana and Canarium schweinfurthii from Africa, also produce valuable wood for construction projects and carpentry. Several species in

1380-536: Is apocarpous . If a gynoecium has multiple carpels "fused" into a single structure, it is syncarpous . A syncarpous gynoecium can sometimes appear very much like a monocarpous gynoecium. The degree of connation ("fusion") in a syncarpous gynoecium can vary. The carpels may be "fused" only at their bases, but retain separate styles and stigmas. The carpels may be "fused" entirely, except for retaining separate stigmas. Sometimes (e.g., Apocynaceae ) carpels are fused by their styles or stigmas but possess distinct ovaries. In

1449-683: Is basal to the remaining Burseraceae. These results may indicate that the family originated in Mexico. The next divergence was in the Early Eocene when the Burserinae (i.e. Commiphora ) diverged and emigrated from North America into Africa, Madagascar , and India. Commiphora dispersed throughout Africa during the Middle Eocene (about 44 Mya) and from Africa to Madagascar during the Oligocene (about 30 Mya) via

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1518-546: Is called the funiculus. Stigmas can vary from long and slender to globe-shaped to feathery. The stigma is the receptive tip of the carpel(s), which receives pollen at pollination and on which the pollen grain germinates . The stigma is adapted to catch and trap pollen, either by combining pollen of visiting insects or by various hairs, flaps, or sculpturings. The style and stigma of the flower are involved in most types of self incompatibility reactions. Self-incompatibility, if present, prevents fertilization by pollen from

1587-499: Is commonly referred to as the "walnut family". The delineation of what constitutes a family— or whether a described family should be acknowledged— is established and decided upon by active taxonomists . There are not strict regulations for outlining or acknowledging a family, yet in the realm of plants, these classifications often rely on both the vegetative and reproductive characteristics of plant species. Taxonomists frequently hold varying perspectives on these descriptions, leading to

1656-448: Is denoted by terms such as tricarpellate (three carpels).) Carpels are thought to be phylogenetically derived from ovule-bearing leaves or leaf homologues ( megasporophylls ), which evolved to form a closed structure containing the ovules. This structure is typically rolled and fused along the margin. Although many flowers satisfy the above definition of a carpel, there are also flowers that do not have carpels because in these flowers

1725-689: Is grown in Oman and the incense is widely used in worship in India. The ancient Egyptians prized frankincense for the resin they used to make the characteristic dark eyeliner and myrrh as an embalming agent for deceased pharaohs . At that time, myrrh was worth more than gold. In modern times resins from these trees are used in Chinese herbal medicine and Indian Ayurvedic medicine to treat several ailments. Pills containing small doses of frankincense and other ingredients are valued in oriental medicine for promoting blood flow and

1794-474: Is often referred to as female because it gives rise to female (egg-producing) gametophytes; however, strictly speaking sporophytes do not have a sex, only gametophytes do. Gynoecium development and arrangement is important in systematic research and identification of angiosperms , but can be the most challenging of the floral parts to interpret. Unlike (most) animals , plants grow new organs after embryogenesis , including new roots, leaves, and flowers. In

1863-480: Is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy . It is classified between order and genus . A family may be divided into subfamilies , which are intermediate ranks between the ranks of family and genus. The official family names are Latin in origin; however, popular names are often used: for example, walnut trees and hickory trees belong to the family Juglandaceae , but that family

1932-517: Is particularly frequent in the rose family and saxifrages . Occasionally, the gynoecium is born on a stalk, called the gynophore , as in Isomeris arborea . Within the ovary, each ovule is born by a placenta or arises as a continuation of the floral apex. The placentas often occur in distinct lines called lines of placentation . In monocarpous or apocarpous gynoecia, there is typically a single line of placentation in each ovary. In syncarpous gynoecia,

2001-850: Is usually lacking in the embryo. Some discrepancy exists in the literature about the size of the Burseraceae. Records say that the family has 17 to 18 genera and 500 to 540 to 726 species. Other authors cite different numbers: 16–20 genera and 600 species; 20 genera and 500–600 species; According to a pollen studies and molecular data, the family is split into three tribes : the Protieae, Bursereae, and Canarieae. The Protieae are composed of Protium (147 species and largest in this tribe), Crepidospermum, Garuga , and Tetragastris . The Bursereae, which are further split into subtribes Boswelliinae and Burserinae, contain Commiphora (nearly 200 species and largest in

2070-475: The Genera Plantarum of George Bentham and Joseph Dalton Hooker this word ordo was used for what now is given the rank of family. Families serve as valuable units for evolutionary, paleontological, and genetic studies due to their relatively greater stability compared to lower taxonomic levels like genera and species. Gynoecium The term gynoecium is also used by botanists to refer to

2139-606: The Americas . Because of taxonomic revision, as the family size (in terms of genera and species) differs according to the time period of study; so, too, does the family's higher- level relationships, including order . Burseraceae is a genetically-supported monophyletic group since APG III and is frequently cited within the Sapindales . It is recognized as a sister group to the Anacardiaceae . The Burseraceae are characterized by

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2208-645: The Boreotropical Land Bridge and the continents in the Southern Hemisphere, which is now the area of the greatest generic diversity of this family. More specifically, the earliest diverging genus was Beiselia (of the Bursereae subtribe Boswelliinae) in either North America, Mexico, or the Caribbean in the Paleocene. Similar results from other studies find that Beiselia mexicana , a native of Mexico,

2277-598: The Tethys seaway in the Late Eocene (about 37 Mya), but then made its way back to South America via long-distance dispersal. By the late Oligocene (about 23Mya), all three Burseraceae tribes were extant and dispersed throughout the Northern Hemisphere. The mechanism of seed dispersal via animal link vectors ( endozoochoric dispersal) may explain how most Burseraceae were able to expand their range so efficiently across

2346-407: The chloroplast -encoded gene rbc L reconstructed cladograms that include families within both the Sapindales and Rutales. One such cladogram indicated that the Sapindales are robust and that the Burseraceae (and Anacardiaceae) are within a single clade of their own. This grouping seems to make sense, as both the Burseraceae and Anacardiaceae have secretory canals in the phloem and resin canals in

2415-409: The gametes involved in double fertilization . The central cell, once fertilized by a sperm cell from the pollen becomes the first cell of the endosperm , and the egg cell once fertilized become the zygote that develops into the embryo . The gap in the integuments through which the pollen tube enters to deliver sperm to the egg is called the micropyle . The stalk attaching the ovule to the placenta

2484-432: The malvids of the rosid clade within the eudicotyledons . The order contains nine to 15 families, 460 genera, and from 5,400 to 5,670 to 5,800 species. The currently recognized families include Aceraceae, Anacardiaceae, Burseraceae, Hippocastanaceae, Julianaceae, Meliaceae, Rutaceae, Sapindaceae, and Simaroubaceae. The Sapindales are a clade supported by DNA-based analyses on rbc L, atp B, and 18S sequences. Within

2553-474: The Anacardiaceae. The gumbo limbo grows quickly and can be used to make a living fence especially out of cut limbs that are placed straight into the ground or for restoration projects as a pioneer species . The tree is highly tolerant of high-intensity wind such as hurricane-force winds, so is planted in areas where hurricanes occur frequently, such as Florida and the Caribbean. The seeds of this species are also

2622-521: The Burseraceae typify the economic and ethnobotanic significance of the family. First, Dacryodes excelsa of the Canarieae is an important old-growth species found in the Caribbean. Second, Bursera simaruba of the Burserinae is a fast-growing ornamental that is one of a few representatives of the primarily tropical family in the United States. Finally, the namesakes of the family Boswellia carterii (frankincense) and Commiphora abyssinica (myrrh) are important economically and medicinally in several parts of

2691-506: The Caribbean. The seeds of the tree are a source of food for birds. Like all members, the tree releases sap from the bark when wounded. The clear sap oozes from the tree and hardens to a white, aromatic waxy resin that can be used to make candles and incense. Before the arrival of the Spaniards to Puerto Rico, the native Taínos used the resin to make torches. The wood itself is useful for constructing housing, furniture, boxes, small boats, and

2760-672: The Mozambique Channel Land Bridge; the spread to India was more recent (about 5 Mya). The Canarieae and Boswelliinae (subtribes of Bursereae) dispersed from western Laurasia and spread eastward during the Eocene ; fossils of Canarium, for example, from the Czech Republic date to the Late Oligocene (23 Mya). Finally, the Protieae originated in North America like the rest of the family, then migrated to Africa and Asia through

2829-493: The Protieae are described as having a two- to five-parted drupe with either ‘free or adhering parts’ which are ‘not fused in the endocarp’; The Bursereae are described as having a drupe with parts that are fused in the endocarp , but an exocarp with dehiscing valves; and the Canarieae as simply having a drupe with parts that are fused in the endocarp. This is a list of the 19 genera of the Burseraceae with placement in three tribes (and subtribes where applicable): According to

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2898-643: The Sapindaceae-Aceraceae-Hippocastanaceae clade. The Rutaceae-Meliaceae-Simaroubaceae clade is sister to the Burseraceae-Anacardiaceae and Sapindaceae-Aceraceae-Hippocastanaceae clade. The rbc L technique is supported and considered acceptable until such time as other analytical methods become better developed. The Burseraceae are distributed throughout the world and primarily in the tropics, especially Malesia , Africa, and Central and South America. The three tribes can be linked to

2967-513: The Sapindales are two clades that contain gum and resin: the Rutaceae-Meliaceae-Simaroubaceae clade and the Burseraceae-Anacardiaceae clade. The Burseraceae are thus not the only family in the Sapindales with this characteristic. The synapomorphies of the clade include pinnately compound alternately- or spirally-arranged leaves that may be palmately compound, trifoliate, or unifoliate, and small four- or five-merous flowers having

3036-469: The different tissues that produce the parts of the gynoecium including the pistil, carpels, ovary, and ovules; the carpel margin meristem (arising from the carpel primordium ) produces the ovules , ovary septum, and the transmitting track, and plays a role in fusing the apical margins of carpels. The gynoecium may consist of one or more separate pistils. A pistil typically consists of an expanded basal portion called an ovary , an elongated section called

3105-476: The evolution of flowering plants. Some processes that have been considered congenital (phylogenetic) fusions appear to be non-fusion processes such as, for example, the de novo formation of intercalary growth in a ring zone at or below the base of primordia. Therefore, "it is now increasingly acknowledged that the term 'fusion,' as applied to phylogeny (as in 'congenital fusion') is ill-advised." Basal angiosperm groups tend to have carpels arranged spirally around

3174-530: The family as a rank intermediate between order and genus was introduced by Pierre André Latreille in his Précis des caractères génériques des insectes, disposés dans un ordre naturel (1796). He used families (some of them were not named) in some but not in all his orders of "insects" (which then included all arthropods ). In nineteenth-century works such as the Prodromus of Augustin Pyramus de Candolle and

3243-588: The family was moved to the Rutales . Finally, in the late 20th century, the family was (and today still is) located within the Sapindales. Families that are consistently found in the same order as the Burseraceae (except when in the Burserales) include the Rutaceae , Meliaceae , and Simaroubaceae . Only in recent studies were the Burseraceae and the Anacardiaceae seen as sister groups. The Sapindales are contained within

3312-409: The family), Aucoumea, Beiselia, Boswellia, Bursera, and Triomma . Finally, the Canarieae are composed of Canarium (75 species and largest in this tribe), Dacryodes, Haplolobus, Pseudodacryodes, Rosselia, Santiria, Scutinanthe , and Trattinnickia . The morphology of the fruit, which is a drupe, helps to distinguish between the three tribes. Though the groupings have slightly changed since the 1990s,

3381-512: The flowering plants, the gynoecium develops in the central region of the flower as a carpel or in groups of fused carpels. After fertilization, the gynoecium develops into a fruit that provides protection and nutrition for the developing seeds, and often aids in their dispersal. The gynoecium has several specialized tissues. The tissues of the gynoecium develop from genetic and hormonal interactions along three-major axes. These tissue arise from meristems that produce cells that differentiate into

3450-472: The generally non- allergenic resin they produce in virtually all plant tissue and their distinctive smooth, yet flaking, aromatic bark. The origins of the family can be traced to the Paleocene (about 65 Mya) when Beiselia mexicana first diverged in Mexico . The subsequent divergences in the family lineage and migration of species in the Eocene (53 Mya) out of North America have led to the current distribution of

3519-484: The genus Canarium are used as edible fruits (for example, Canarium album , the Chinese olive) and nuts (pili nuts, Canarium ovatum ). Species in the genus Bursera , especially the so-called elephant tree , grow primarily in Mexico, where their secretions are a raw material in making varnish . The Maya also used a Bursera sp. to make incense . However, the Bursera may also be considered an ornamental genus and

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3588-895: The globe. Beiselia, Boswellia , and Triomma have dry fruits better suited for wind dispersal, but most Burseraceae have fleshy, edible fruit that is eaten by many animal dispersers. The seeds may provide a high reward in fat (24–73%) and protein (2.7–25.9%) if digested, but many animals eat just the fleshy part of the fruit and either discard the endocarp right away or excrete it some time later. Some known Burseraceae fruit consumers include hornbills ( Buceros bicornis, Ceratogyma atrata, C. cylindricus, Penelopides panini ), oilbirds ( Steatnoris caripensis ), fruit pigeons, warblers, vireos, orioles, flycatchers, tanagers, woodpeckers, loeries , primates ( Cercopithecus spp., Lophocebus albigena ), lemurs ( Varecia variegate subsp. variegate ), and sun bears ( Helarctos malayanus ). The fruits may also have been water dispersed. Several representative species within

3657-495: The hypanthium is present up to the base of the style(s), the flower is epigynous . In an epigynous flower, the stamens, petals, and sepals are attached to the hypanthium at the top of the ovary or, occasionally, the hypanthium may extend beyond the top of the ovary. Epigynous flowers are often referred to as having an inferior ovary . Plant families with epigynous flowers include orchids , asters , and evening primroses . Between these two extremes are perigynous flowers, in which

3726-506: The leaf base is swollen and may be concave adaxially. The family members tend to be without stipules . The determinate, axillary inflorescences carry small, radial, unisexual flowers. The plants tend to be dioecious . The flowers may have four or five faintly connate but imbricate sepals with an equal number of distinct, imbricate petals . Also, the stamens, that may contain nectar discs , have distinct glabrous filaments that occur in one or two whorls and in numbers equaling or twice

3795-435: The leaves, and are unique in the Sapindales for having biflavones in the leaf tissue. However, the two families have several distinguishing characteristics. The resin of the Burseraceae is nonallergenic and two ovules per carpel occur, whereas the resin of the Anacardiaceae can be allergenic or poisonous and one ovule per carpel is found. The Burseraceae-Anacardiaceae clade is sister to a robust cluster of three other families,

3864-436: The lines of placentation can be regularly spaced along the wall of the ovary ( parietal placentation ), or near the center of the ovary. In the latter case, separate terms are used depending on whether or not the ovary is divided into separate locules. If the ovary is divided, with the ovules born on a line of placentation at the inner angle of each locule, this is axile placentation . An ovary with free central placentation , on

3933-533: The literature, the Burseraceae have not been lumped with other families nor split up into several others. However, they have "jumped" orders several times. For example, in the early 19th century, the family seems to have been placed in the Burserales , with the Anacardiaceae and Podoaceae . In the mid-19th century and early 20th century, the family was placed in the Geraniales . Then, by the mid- and late-20th century,

4002-467: The most well known resins, frankincense and myrrh, have an odor that is distinct from almonds, smelling like incense. The leaves are generally alternate, spiral, and odd-pinnately compound with opposite, frequently long-petiolulate, entire to serrate, pinnately veined leaflets whose symmetry is distinctive in some genera. However, some members are known to have trifoliate or unifoliate leaves. The leaf and leaflet stalks and axis may be brown and scurfy, while

4071-472: The movement of the qi (‘life force’ or ‘spiritual energy’). and myrrh is similarly claimed to promote blood flow, stimulate the stomach and digestion, and to be useful in treating diabetes, menopause, uterine tumors, amenorrhoea , and dysmenorrhea . Both frankincense (containing triterpene acids) and myrrh are used to relieve pain and inflammation as in arthritis and asthma. Family (biology) Family ( Latin : familia , pl. : familiae )

4140-437: The number of petals; the tricolporate pollen is contained within two locules of the anthers that open longitudinally along slits. The gynoecium contains 3–5 connate carpels , one style , and one stigma that is head-like to lobed. Each locule of the superior ovary has two ovules with axile placentation that are anatropous to campylotropous. The one- to five-pitted fruit is a drupe that opens at maturity. The endosperm

4209-438: The other hand, consists of a single compartment without septae and the ovules are attached to a central column that arises directly from the floral apex (axis). In some cases a single ovule is attached to the bottom or top of the locule ( basal or apical placentation , respectively). In flowering plants, the ovule (from Latin ovulum meaning small egg) is a complex structure born inside ovaries. The ovule initially consists of

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4278-444: The ovule(s), although enclosed, are borne directly on the floral apex. Therefore, the carpel has been redefined as an appendage that encloses ovule(s) and may or may not bear them. However, the most unobjectionable definition of the carpel is simply that of an appendage that encloses an ovule or ovules. If a gynoecium has a single carpel, it is called monocarpous . If a gynoecium has multiple, distinct (free, unfused) carpels, it

4347-491: The same in the Eastern Hemisphere. The Burseraceae trees or shrubs are characterized by resins (having triterpenoids and ethereal oils) that are present within the plant tissue from the vertical resin canals and ducts in the bark to the leaf veins. In fact, the synapomorphy of the Burseraceae is the smooth yet peeling or flaking aromatic bark. The clear, nonallergenic resins may smell like almonds, but at least

4416-567: The seventy-six groups of plants he recognised in his tables families ( familiae ). The concept of rank at that time was not yet settled, and in the preface to the Prodromus Magnol spoke of uniting his families into larger genera , which is far from how the term is used today. In his work Philosophia Botanica published in 1751, Carl Linnaeus employed the term familia to categorize significant plant groups such as trees , herbs , ferns , palms , and so on. Notably, he restricted

4485-524: The species being primarily associated with the tropics. Though the family likely originated in North America, the greatest genetic diversity presently is found in the Southern Hemisphere. Tabonuco ( Dacryodes excelsa ) and gumbo limbo ( Bursera simaruba ) represent the economic, ethnobotanical, and ecological significance of the Burseraceae in the Western Hemisphere, while frankincense ( Boswellia sacra ) and myrrh ( Commiphora myrrha ) represent

4554-556: The tree occurs in tropical areas where many white tourists go on vacation. The resin from this tree can be used to make varnish and turpentine. In addition, the resin may also be used similarly to tiger balm (containing Cinnamomum camphora of the Lauraceae ) to relieve sprains and muscle aches. The leaves are used to brew a tea to relieve inflammation. The bark serves as an antidote to skin irritation caused by Metopium toxiferum (also known as poisonwood, Florida poison tree, and hog gum) of

4623-541: The use of this term solely within the book's morphological section, where he delved into discussions regarding the vegetative and generative aspects of plants. Subsequently, in French botanical publications, from Michel Adanson 's Familles naturelles des plantes (1763) and until the end of the 19th century, the word famille was used as a French equivalent of the Latin ordo (or ordo naturalis ). In zoology ,

4692-407: The wall of the inferior ovary results from the "congenital" fusion of dorsal carpel flanks and the floral axis does not correspond to the ontogenetic processes that can actually be observed. All that can be seen is an intercalary growth in a broad circular zone that changes the shape of the floral axis (receptacle)." And what happened during evolution is not a phylogenetic fusion but the formation of

4761-461: The world. Though this is a small subset of the large number of potentially important species, these four members exemplify the wide use and importance of the Burseraceae. The latter three are frequently cited in the literature for their renowned importance. Commonly known as tabonuco (or gommier, also candlewood), Dacryodes excelsa is a large, dominant tree found in Puerto Rico and other parts of

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