Another foreigner.

Discussion in 'Plants and Biodiversity Stumpers' started by Silver surfer, Jul 7, 2009.

  1. Silver surfer

    Silver surfer Generous Contributor 10 Years

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    Hmmm! Not grown for its flowers!
     

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  2. Silver surfer

    Silver surfer Generous Contributor 10 Years

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    No guesses even... Hmmm!!! Time for a clue.
    It is a shrub. It comes from Japan, China and Korea.
     
  3. Silver surfer

    Silver surfer Generous Contributor 10 Years

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    Does this help?
     

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  4. lorax

    lorax Rising Contributor 10 Years

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    Hmmm.... Piper nigrum? The leaves don't seem quite right... If it's not grown for its flowers, is it grown for it's fruits? Or for it's leaves?
     
  5. Silver surfer

    Silver surfer Generous Contributor 10 Years

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    Phew!!! Thanks Lorax for having a go.
    But no, it is not Piper nigrum.
    Nor is it grown for the fruits.
    It is just an unusual/ uncommon shrub, that in the U.K colours well in the autumn/fall.
    It is a botanical oddity!
     
  6. lorax

    lorax Rising Contributor 10 Years

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    Thing is, it looks quite familiar, but I'm not placing it.
     
  7. Lila Pereszke

    Lila Pereszke Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    Maybe some Itea sp. ???
     
  8. Silver surfer

    Silver surfer Generous Contributor 10 Years

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    Sorry not Itea.

    FINAL clue!

    It is in Euphorbiaceae.
     
  9. nic

    nic Active Member 10 Years

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    That's why it reminds me of a poinsettia... the leaf veins, anyway.
     
  10. mywan

    mywan Active Member

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    I'm not seeing enough of the leaf or other indicators but that flower looks like Triadica sebifera (Tallowtree).
     
  11. Silver surfer

    Silver surfer Generous Contributor 10 Years

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    Gosh, so VERY close. I didn't recognise the name Triadica sebifera... thank goodness for www.!

    http://images.google.com/images?q=t...1I7SUNA_en-GB&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi

    So here is a pic of the leaves on the mystery plant.

    My dilemma is .....that Triadica in some books and on www sites is also known as Sapium sebiferum.The leaves and flowers are clearly different from my plant.

    http://images.google.com/images?q=s...1I7SUNA_en-GB&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi

    You were so close. Our plant is Sapium. But which one?
     

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  12. saltcedar

    saltcedar Rising Contributor 10 Years

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    Sapium japonicum?
     
  13. Silver surfer

    Silver surfer Generous Contributor 10 Years

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    Sapium japonicum it is. Common name Japanese tallow tree.
    Congratulations mywan and saltcedar. Team effort!
     

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  14. Lila Pereszke

    Lila Pereszke Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    Wow Silver! This was an interesting stumper... thanks! :)
     
    Last edited: Jul 14, 2009
  15. johnnyjumpup

    johnnyjumpup Active Member

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    Yes, really interesting and I like the fall colours.
     
  16. Silver surfer

    Silver surfer Generous Contributor 10 Years

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    Update!
    With many thanks to Daniel and his explanation
    Apparently the correct name is now Neoshirakia japonica.
    See Botany Photo of the Day for 22nd February 2011.


    http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/potd/
     
  17. saltcedar

    saltcedar Rising Contributor 10 Years

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    Does Neoshirakia apply to other members of the genus Sapium or
    has this plant been given it's own genus?
     
  18. Daniel Mosquin

    Daniel Mosquin Paragon of Plants UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    From what I was able to determine from Mabberley, it seems like Sapium has been broken up, reducing its numbers from ~125 to ~25. 5 or 6 genera have been resurrected / created to take in those ~100 or so.

    Generic limits are being redefined in Euphorbiaceae quite a bit right now, and, to make matters more interesting, there are also seems to be some investigations as to whether the family should be split up.
     
  19. saltcedar

    saltcedar Rising Contributor 10 Years

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    Euphorbiaceae is unwieldy, but I'm not sure I
    see a clear point of division like I do in Acacia.
     
    Last edited: Feb 23, 2011

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