Northia is a genus of plants in the family Sapotaceae.

Northia seychellana
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Sapotaceae
Subfamily: Sapotoideae
Genus: Northia
Hook.f.
Species:
N. seychellana
Binomial name
Northia seychellana
Synonyms[2][3]
  • Northea Hook.f., spelling variation
  • Northia hornei Pierre
  • Mimusops hornei M.M.Hartog
  • Northia confusa Hemsl.
  • Northia brevitubulata Lecomte

The name was first published by Joseph Dalton Hooker, in Hooker's Icones Plantarum (Sep 1884), in his description of Northia seychellana.[2][4] The spelling was given as Northia on the plate, but the variant Northea in the text.[5] Hooker gave the genus name in honour of the botanical illustrator and painter, Marianne North. Perhaps its most notable characteristic is the huge size of its seeds, each up to 3.1 inches (eight centimeters) in length, and nearly as wide.[6]

Northia seychellana (*Common name Capucin) is the only species accepted in the genus. It is endemic to the Seychelles Islands.[3] A few other species were formerly included in Northia but have been moved to Manilkara:

Formerly included[3]

References

edit
  1. ^ World Conservation Monitoring Centre. (1998). "Northia hornei". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1998: e.T30519A9558866. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1998.RLTS.T30519A9558866.en. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  2. ^ a b Hooker, Joseph Dalton. 1884. Hooker's Icones Plantarum 15: page 57 description in Latin, commentary in English
  3. ^ a b c Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  4. ^ Hooker, Joseph Dalton. 1884. Hooker's Icones Plantarum 15: plate 1473. line drawing as illustration
  5. ^ "Northia". Plant Name details. International Plant Names Index. 2005. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
  6. ^ Wise, Rosemary (1998). A Fragile Eden. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton Univ. Press. p. Plate 51 with caption.