Connaraceae is a pan-tropical plant family of 19
The family was first described by Robert Brown in 1816 and the name has been conserved.
Distribution
Connaraceae is a tropical family, the most important genera of which,
Connarus (approximately 80 species) and
Rourea (40-70 species) have a pan-tropical distribution.
Their habitat is generally lowland tropical rain forest and savanna.
Description
Connaraceae are typically evergreen trees, shrubs or climbers.
Connarus is represented by species in all three lifeforms,
while
Rourea species are climbers. Their leaves are pinnate, trifoliate or rarely entire, alternate, without
stipules and with a
pulvinus at the base of the petiole.
Connarus guianensis is economically important for its decorative wood, zebra wood.
Genera
Fossil record
Fossil leaflet impression described as
Rourea miocaudata from
India shows close resemblance to leaflets of the extant
Rourea caudata, it has been recorded from the lower part of the
Siwalik sediments (Dafla Formation, middle–upper
Miocene) of Pinjoli area in
West Kameng district, Arunachal Pradesh.
[First fossil evidence of Connaraceae R. Br. from Indian Cenozoic and its phytogeographical significance by MAHASIN ALI KHAN and SUBIR BERA - Journal of Earth System Science - July 2016, Volume 125, Issue 5, pp 1079–1087] Permineralized wood of a stem with the distinctive anatomy of a liana has been described with fossil fruits from a locality in the lower Miocene (19 mya) Cucaracha Formation, where the formation is exposed by the
Culebra Cut of the
Panama Canal. The anatomy of this
fossil wood matches the genus Rourea. Fossil record of Connaraceae is sparse, reliable occurrences indicate that the family originated as early as the late
Cretaceous-Paleocene and was widespread by the early Miocene.
[A liana from the lower Miocene of Panama and the fossil record of Connaraceae by Nathan A Jud and Chris W Nelson - American Journal of Botany 2017 May 12;104(5):685-693.]
External links
