Humbertia
HUMBERTIA Lam., Encyclopédie Méthodique, Botanique 2: 356 (1786)
Endemic to Madagascar. map
Growing on ancient basaltic flows or sometimes on white littoral sands. The plants constitute an important emergent characteristic of a formation that extends along the entire east coast of Madagascar, the humid evergreen forest (Dumetz 1994. Schatz 2001).
Stefanovic et al. (2002) made the assumption, perhaps correctly, that Humbertia was basal to the rest of the family Convolvulaceae in spite of several markedly distinct traits in these trees from the rest of the group. In making that assumption, they have done the same as several others. Their results are that Humbertia is most closely related to a clade containing several species typically placed in the Poraneae, and then to Erycibe of Asia. Later Stefanovic and Olmstead (2005) provided further molecular genetic evidence justifying the isolation of Humbertia within the Convolvulaceae. Clearly, the genus is distinct in many ways from the remainder of the family.
Deroin, T. 2001. Convolvulaceae. Fl. Madagasc. 171: 3–287.
Bucur, V. 2006. Acoustics of Wood, Edition 2. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Deroin, T. 1992. Anatomie florale de Humbertia madagascariensis Lam. Contribution à la morphologie comparée de la fleur et du fruit des Convolvulaceae. Bulletin du Muséum national d'histoire naturelle. Section B, Adansonia 14(2) : 235-255.
Deroin, T. 2001. Convolvulaceae. Fl. Madagasc. 171 3–287.http://www.biodiversitylibrary.or/page/9503688#page/14/mode/1up
Dumetz, N. 1994. Sur les traces d'une forêt tropicale en voie d'extinction à Madagascar (l'ancienne forêt à Humbertia madagascariensis). Compt. Rend. Hebd. Séances Acad. Sci. 318: 1009–1014.
Humbert, H. 1948. Au suject de Humbertia madagascariensis Lamk., Notul. Syst. (Paris) 13: 303. http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/7774310#page/593/mode/1up
Lamarck, J. B. P. A. de M. de 1783-1808. Encyclopédie méthodique: botanique. Paris,Panckoucke.
Mariaux A. 1959 Contribution a l'etude de Humbertia madagascariensis Lamk. II. Note sur le bois. J. Agr. trop. Bot. appl. 6. 616-19.
Pichon, M. 1947. Le genre Humbertia. Notul. Syst. (Paris) 13: 13–25. http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/7774604#page/295/mode/1up
Pichon, M. 1951. Le fruit et la graine des Humbertiacées. Bulletin de la Société Botanique de France 98(7-8): 235-237.
Roberty, G. 1952. Genera Convolvulacearum. Candollea 14: 11–60.
Schatz, G. S. 2001. Generic Tree Flora of Madagascar. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK.
Schatz, G. E., S. Andriambololonera, Andrianarivelo, M. W. Callmander, Faranirina, P. P. Lowry, P. B. Phillipson, Rabarimanarivo, J. I. Raharilala, Rajaonary, Rakotonirina, R. H. Ramananjanahary, B. Ramandimbisoa, A. Randrianasolo, N Ravololomanana, Z. S. Rogers, C. M. Taylor & Wahlert. 2011. Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Madagascar. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. (in press).
Stefanovic, S. and R. G. Olmstead. 2005. Down the slippery slope: Plastid genome evolution in Convolvulaceae. Journal of Molecular Evolution 61: 292-305.
Endrachium Juss., Genera Plantarum 133 (1789)
Smithia J.F. Gmel., Systema Naturae . . . editio decima tertia 2: 295, 388. (1791), non Smithia Aiton (1781)
Thouinia Sm., Plantarum Icones Hactenus Ineditae 7 (1789), nom. illeg. hom., non Thouinia Thunb. ex L. f., Supplementum Plantarum 9, 89. (1782) nec Thouinia Poit. Annales du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle 3: 70–71 (1804)
There has never been a revision of the genus; the number of species is an estimate.
A checklist of ca 340 accepted taxa for American Ipomoea, with their tentative placement in infrageneric taxa and the known range of the species, can be accessed here. This checklist is based on Austin & Huaman (1996) and Austin & Simão-Bianchini (1998) with some updates. Current efforts are underway by Austin, Simão-Bianchini, and Staples to further resolve several hundred names published in American Ipomoea that are still of uncertain status.