Raoul Martin Anne Peter Haegens
Published: 2000
Total Pages: 228
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Baccaurea is, in numbers, one of the most common undergrowth trees in the Malesian lowland forests. It is an ecologically and economically important genus, because of its edible fruits, timber, and medicinal usage. Distichirhops and Nothobaccaurea are new to science, and both are allied to Baccaurea. A comprehensive revision is presented for all three genera, with full taxonomic descriptions and distribution maps for all species, and analytical drawings or full colour pictures for most of the 48 species treated. General and regional identification keys are given. A phylogenetic hypothesis based on macromorphological and leaf-anatomical characters is presented for Baccaurea and Nothobaccaurea, as well as the character evolution within these genera. To reveal hidden internal branch support, a new method, called Iterative Taxon Reduction, is used. The biogeographic analyses, based on six different methods, led to a general dispersal/vicariance scenario for Baccaurea and allied genera, in which an old Gondwanan distribution pattern is shown, followed by different routes into Southeast Asia.