| Atherospermataceae | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Atherosperma moschatum subsp. integrifolium | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Magnoliids |
| Order: | Laurales |
| Family: | Atherospermataceae R.Br. |
| Genera | |
TheAtherospermataceae, commonly known as thesouthern sassafrases, are afamily of broadleaf evergreen trees and shrubs. The family includes 14species in sevengenera. The atherosperms are today mostly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere, with two species native to southernChile and 12 species native toAustralasia. Wood is commercially harvested fromrainforest species of this family, and is used both in construction and in finecabinet making.
These trees and shrubs are characteristic of the lower strata of the tropical rainforest, exceptDryadodaphne species, which belong to the rainforest high canopy. The glands at the base of the stamens secrete nectar inLaurelia novae-zelandiae, which accumulates at the base of the flower and attracts bees, beetles andbee flies. The seed, in the form of a featheryachene, is dispersed by wind (anemochory).
The wood ofLaurelia has local interest for construction, particularly the ChileanLaurelia sempervirens, despite its lack of resistance to moisture. Essential oils extracted from the leaves and bark of species ofDoryphora have application in perfumery and pharmaceuticals.[2]
The Atherospermataceae have in the past been treated as a subfamily (Atherospermatoideae) of theMonimiaceae. Recent reassessment of both morphological and molecular characters, however, show them to be more clearly related to theGomortegaceae andSiparunaceae. TheAngiosperm Phylogeny Website considers them to be a family of their own (as the Atherospermataceae), and together with the Gomortegaceae and Siparunaceae form a distinct branch of theLaurales.
Aclade made up ofDoryphora andDaphnandra, from the Australian states ofQueensland andNew South Wales, is considered sister to the rest of the family. The remaining genera (Atherosperma,Dryadodaphne,Laurelia,Laureliopsis, andNemuaron) are considered by some to be more advanced evolutionarily.[3]
| Atherospermataceae | |
The atherosperm fossil record, which goes back to theUpper Cretaceous, includes pollen, wood, and leaf fossils from Europe, Africa, South America, Antarctica, New Zealand, and Tasmania. The family is recognized in Antarctic fossils from theCretaceous to the lowerTertiary (about 88 Mya). Fossil pollen ofLaurelia has been attributed to the middleOligocene of New Zealand, as well as theEocene-Oligocene and EarlyMiocene of Argentina andSeymour Island. Calibration ofrbcL substitution rates within the fossils suggests an initial diversification of the family at 100–140 Mya, probably in WestGondwana, early entry into Antarctica, and long-distance dispersal to New Zealand and New Caledonia at 50–30 Mya by the ancestors ofLaurelia novae-zelandiae andNemuaron.
