Chisocheton
Chisocheton is a genus of trees in the family Meliaceae. The genus name comes from the Greek schizos and chiton meaning "split tunic", referring to the lobed staminal tube of C. patens. Their range is from India and tropical China, throughout Malesia and south to New South Wales and Vanuatu.
Description
Chisocheton is typically dioecious. Flowers are usually unisexual, rarely bisexual, with a cup-shaped calyx. Fruits are one or two-seeded. Chisocheton habitats are rain forests, typically understorey trees, from sea-level to about elevation.The wood of several Chisocheton species is used locally in light construction. In the Philippines, the seeds of Chisocheton cumingianus are used to make a non-drying oil either for traditional medicine or as fuel for oil lamps.
Leaf indeterminacy
Unlike nearly all other seed plants, the leaves of Chisocheton have indeterminate growth - they never stop growing. Instead of forming a terminal leaflet, they form a small circinate leaf-tip bud, which produces new leaflets continuously, every few days or weeks until some physiological limit is exceeded.This trait is shared with a few closely related genera, such as Guarea.
Species
Plants of the World Online accepts 50 species.Chisocheton aenigmaticus – western SumatraChisocheton amabilis – Borneo, Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia, and southern ThailandChisocheton cauliflorus – southeastern PhilippinesChisocheton celebicus – northeastern SulawesiChisocheton ceramicus – Malesia, Papuasia, Thailand, and VietnamChisocheton crustularii – Borneo Chisocheton cumingianus – eastern Indian Subcontinent, Indochina, southern China, Borneo, Philippines, Sulawesi, Maluku Islands, and Papuasia- * subsp. balansae – eastern Himalayas, Bangladesh, Indochina, and southern China
- * subsp. cumingianus – Laos, Vietnam, Philippines, Sulawesi, Maluku Islands, and Papuasia
- * subsp. kinabaluensis – Borneo Chisocheton curranii – Philippines Chisocheton diversifolius – SumatraChisocheton dysoxylifolius – Bangladesh, Myanmar, and ThailandChisocheton erythrocarpus – Borneo, Peninsular Malaysia, and VietnamChisocheton gliroides – southeastern New GuineaChisocheton granatum – Borneo Chisocheton grandiflorus – Myanmar and ThailandChisocheton koordersii – eastern Borneo and SulawesiChisocheton lansiifolius – BorneoChisocheton laosensis – Maluku IslandsChisocheton lasiocarpus – Papuasia and Maluku IslandsChisocheton lasiogynus – Sumatra and western JavaChisocheton longistipitatus – New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and QueenslandChisocheton macranthus – northern Borneo and southern PhilippinesChisocheton macrophyllus – Borneo, Peninsular Malaysia, Thailand, Sumatra, and Nicobar IslandsChisocheton maxilla-pisticis – Borneo and PhilippinesChisocheton medusae – BorneoChisocheton mendozai – Philippines Chisocheton montanus – eastern New GuineaChisocheton novobritannicus – Bismarck ArchipelagoChisocheton patens – Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Sulawesi, and PhilippinesChisocheton pauciflorus - Peninsular MalaysiaChisocheton pellegrinianus – VietnamChisocheton penduliflorus – Peninsular Malaysia and Peninsular ThailandChisocheton pentandrus – Malesia and Thailand
- * subsp. medius – Borneo and Philippines
- * subsp. paucijugus – Peninsular Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, and Philippines
- * subsp. pentandrus – Peninsular Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo, Java, Philippines, Sulawesi, Lesser Sunda Islands, and Maluku IslandsChisocheton perakensis – Peninsular MalaysiaChisocheton pilosus – western New GuineaChisocheton pohlianus – eastern New GuineaChisocheton polyandrus – northern BorneoChisocheton rex – VanuatuChisocheton ruber – Borneo Chisocheton sapindinus – eastern New GuineaChisocheton sarasinorum – northern and northeastern Borneo and SulawesiChisocheton sarawakanus – Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, and BorneoChisocheton sayeri – New GuineaChisocheton schoddei – southeastern New GuineaChisocheton setosus – northern BorneoChisocheton stellatus – New GuineaChisocheton tenuis – eastern New GuineaChisocheton tomentosus – Peninsular Malaysia and Peninsular ThailandChisocheton velutinus – BorneoChisocheton vindictae – northern SumatraChisocheton warburgii – northern Sulawesi and southeastern New Guinea