Pilgerina is a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Santalaceae.[2] It only contains one known species, Pilgerina madagascariensis.[3]

Pilgerina
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Santalales
Family: Santalaceae
Genus: Pilgerina
Z.S.Rogers, Nickrent & Malécot
Species:
P. madagascariensis
Binomial name
Pilgerina madagascariensis
Z.S.Rogers, Nickrent & Malécot

It is native to Madagascar,[3] where it is known as sakaimboalavo.[1]

Description

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Pilgerina madagascariensis is a shrub or small tree. It flowers from October to January, and fruits from November to April.[1]

Range and habitat

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Pilgerina madagascariensis is distributed widely in Madagascar. There are ten known subpopulations, in the former provinces of Antsiranana, Fianarantsoa, Toamasina and Toliara. The estimated extent of occurrence (EOO) is 224,809 km2, and the estimated area of occupancy (AOO) is 108 km2.[1]

The species is found in dry, subarid, humid, subhumid, and littoral forests between sea level and 1,499 meters elevation. It grows on sandy, sandstone, and calcareous substrates.

There are 10 known subpopulations of this species. The last recent collection was done in 2012 at Ste Luce (Anosy region).

Conservation and threats

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The species is threatened with habitat loss, and has a declining population. Seven of the ten populations are now in protected areas. The three unprotected populations are threatened by continuing deforestation from mining, wildfire, and logging. The species' conservation status is assessed as endangered.[1]

Name

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The genus name of Pilgerina is in honour of Robert Knud Friedrich Pilger (1876–1953), a German botanist, who specialised in the study of conifers.[4] The Latin specific epithet of madagascariensis means "coming from Madagascar. Both the genus and the species were first described and published in Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. Vol.95 on page 398–399 in 2008.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Missouri Botanical Garden & Members of the IUCN SSC Madagascar Plant Specialist Group. 2018. Pilgerina madagascariensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T70102818A70139642. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T70102818A70139642.en. Accessed on 25 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Pilgerina Z.S.Rogers, Nickrent & Malécot | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  3. ^ a b c "Pilgerina madagascariensis Z.S.Rogers, Nickrent & Malécot". Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  4. ^ Burkhardt, Lotte (2018). Verzeichnis eponymischer Pflanzennamen – Erweiterte Edition [Index of Eponymic Plant Names – Extended Edition] (pdf) (in German). Berlin: Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum, Freie Universität Berlin. doi:10.3372/epolist2018. ISBN 978-3-946292-26-5. Retrieved 1 January 2021.