| Cerbera | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Cerbera manghas | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Gentianales |
| Family: | Apocynaceae |
| Subfamily: | Rauvolfioideae |
| Tribe: | Plumerieae |
| Subtribe: | Thevetiinae |
| Genus: | Cerbera L., 1753[1] |
| Type species | |
| Cerbera manghas L., 1753 | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
Cerbera is agenus ofevergreen trees or shrubs, native to tropical Asia, Australia,Madagascar, and various islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.[2][3]
Three trees of this genus are mangroves,Cerbera floribunda,Cerbera manghas andCerbera odollam.
They areperennial trees or shrubs growing up 30 m (98 ft) high, the branches with conspicuous leaf scars. The leaves are spirally arranged and crowded towards the ends of the branches. Each has up to 30 lateral veins that may be straight or upcurved, at 50 to 90 degrees to the midrib. All parts produce a white sticky latex.[2][3][4]: 570 [5]: 7
Theinflorescences are terminal with longpeduncles, flowers are carried on shortpedicels. Sepals are mostly free and usually pale green, the corolla is white, with a red, pink, yellow or white centre. Flowers are5–merous and actinomorphic, i.e. they are symmetric and can be divided in equal halves along any diameter.[2][3][4]: 570 [5]: 7
The fruit are ellipsoiddrupes containing one or two seeds, and may be green, red, purple or blue.[2][3][4]: 570 [5]: 8
Cerbera was first described byCarl Linnaeus in 1753 in his workSpecies Plantarum, in which he described three species —C. manghas,C. thevetia andC. ahouai. Of these, onlyC. manghas is still included inCerbera (the other two having been moved to other genera) and is considered to be thelectotype.[4]: 569
The genus is most closely related toCerberiopsisVieil.,ThevetiaL. andCascabelaRaf..[4]: 569
The genus is named afterCerberus, a three-headed dog in Greek mythology, because all the species are poisonous — they containcerberin, a cardiacglycoside, a substance that blocks electric impulses in the body (including the beating of the heart). Therefore, it is advised to avoid using wood from Cerbera species due to their toxicity, and as their smoke may cause lethal poisoning.
The following is a list of all six species in this genus that are accepted byPlants of the World Online as of 6 September 2023[update][1]
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| Other | |
