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Introduction
For the MSIE and MSEdge version of this page please click here.
Welcome to all things relating to Lacistemataceae.The aim of this electronic monograph is to aggregate all knowledge regarding Lacistemataceae and to make this knowledge free and open access to educational and scientific advancement. If you want to make money from this site please contact me.
The material is gathered from a wide variety of sources including herbaria holotypes, literature, genetic databases, Codes of Nomenclature, the Convention of Biological Diversity, Flora Brasiliensis, IUCN Red List and many many more. External links to other websites are found under the
This website was originally written for the Convention on Biological Diversity : 2010 Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) Target 1 : to provide "a widely accessible working list of known plant species, as a step towards a complete world flora". As GSPC 2010 has been succeeded by GSPC 2011-2020 this website now relates to all objectives:
- ⇒ Objective I : Plant diversity is well understood, documented and recognized;
- ⇒ Objective II : Plant diversity is urgently and effectively conserved;
- ⇒ Objective III : Plant diversity is used in a sustainable and equitable manner;
- ⇒ Objective IV : Education and awareness about plant diversity, its role in sustainable livelihoods and important to all life on Earth is promoted;
- ⇒ Objective V : The capacities and public engagement necessary to implement the Strategy have been developed.
You may have a few questions regarding Lacistemataceae, hopefully I have covered most of the questions you may have thought of. Click on the question to see the answer.
Why did you write this website?
I love taxonomy, cybertaxonomy, the etymology of plant names, plant monographs and the definition of a species but also because it was part of my 2009 MSc. Plant Diversity dissertation, Centre for Plant Taxonomy and Systematics, University of Reading, Reading, U.K.
To attempt to 'keep up' with the exponential growth of online information (especially herbaria specimen material where I have discovered many common names for species!) and ultimately is responsible for making hard format books and journals out of date as soon as they are written or even thought about!
Our world is changing rapidly and consequently new jobs are being created that have never existed before. This video demonstrates what is happening because of the cyber world - Did You Know? by Katy Scott uploaded to Youtube 2018 July 17. Also available is the Did You Know? 2019 version by mesjms uploaded to Youtube 2019Jan13.
What is taxonomy?
Take a look at the excellent Youtube video for an explanation - Planet Bob
What is a plant monograph?
A monograph is a detailed study of a single specialized subject, in this case Lacistemataceae.
Why did you choose this plant family to write about?
According to The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2016)
At the time I was interested in Neotropical plants and due to time constraints for project completion the family chosen needed to be small. The previous expert Dr Herman Otto Sleumer
What is this website based upon?
Sleumer H O (1980) Flora Neotropica: Monograph Number 22 - Flacourtiaceae
What is Lacistemataceae?
A family of plants.
How many genera are there?
Two : Lacistema and Lozania
How many species are there? (as of 2018 Nov 01)
16. 11 Lacistema and 5 Lozania
What was the first species discovered, when, where and by whom?
Lacistema aggregatum. However at that time the plant was called Piper aggregatum as it was believed to be a member of the Piperaceae family (Peppers). It was collected in Suriname but it is unknown when this plant was collected or by whom but it was first described by Peter Jonas Bergius (translated from Swedish to English - Google Translator required)
Where can I read about this first species description and where can I view the specimen?
The description was written in the language of science - Latin and can be viewed online at the Biodiversity Heritage Library.
Bergio P J (1772) Ternio graminum ex America Novorum descripta et iconibus illustrata in Acta Helvetica, Physico-Mathematico-Anatomico-Botanico-Medica figuris aeneis illustrata, et in Usus Publicos exarata, Typis & Sumptibus Joh. Rodolphi Im-Hof et Filii, Volumen 7: pages 131-132.
The book illustration Table X was drawn from the actual collected specimen which can be viewed online at The Bergius Herbarium (SBT)
Where is Lacistemataceae classified within the Plant Kingdom? What families is it closely related to?
Lacistemataceae classification
How can I identify this family from other Neotropical families?
I recommend using the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew : Neotropical Flowering Plant Families Key online at Lucid Central.org.
What kind of plants are they?
Woody species. Trees and shrubs.
What plant characteristics are always found in this family?
The growth point: Encompassed by a pair of stipules which may or may not remain in situ when the leaf has reached maturity;
The leaf: brochidodromus venation and always on alternate sides of the stem. The Original image used for the 2D video below:
The inflorescence: a catkin composed of numerous flowers. Located between leaf stalk and plant stems (the leaf axil);
The flower: 1 millimetre in length. Each flower has a single stamen composed of a single filament bifurcating into two anthers. The single pistil is a single superior ovum with a single style topped with three stigma;
The fruit: an aril surrounding a single seed.
What is the geographical location of this family?
In the Neotropics also known as the New World or the Americas.
The family is distributed
I am using the 2001 TDWG Standard - Edition 2 written by Richard Brummitt : World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) to provide detailed information for: Region name/code, Level 3 Name/Code, Level 4 Name/Code. To these codes I have added the International Standard for Country Codes - ISO3166 - Level 2 Codes. The Level 3 TDWG Codes do not always correspond to the Level 3 ISO-3166 Standard, please do not make that assumption.
Lacistemataceae herbaria specimens: What TDWG regions have they been collected from?
| Region Name | Region Code | Level 3 Name | Level 3 Code | Level 4 Name | Level 4 Code | Level 5 Code | ISO 3166 | Herbaria: Country previously filed under |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern America | 79 | Mexico Gulf | MXG | Veracruz | VC | MXG-VC | MX | - |
| Northern America | 79 | Mexico Southeast | MXT | Tabasco | TB | MXT-TB | MX | - |
| Northern America | 79 | Mexico Southwest | MXS | Chiapas | CI | MXS-CI | MX | - |
| Northern America | 79 | Mexico Southwest | MXS | Guerrero | GR | MXS-GR | MX | - |
| Northern America | 79 | Mexico Southwest | MXS | Oaxaca | OA | MXS-OA | MX | - |
| Central America | 80 | Belize | BLZ | Belize | OO | BLZ-OO | BZ | - |
| Central America | 80 | Costa Rica | COS | Costa Rica | OO | COS-OO | CR | - |
| Central America | 80 | Guatemala | GUA | Guatemala | OO | GUA-OO | GT | - |
| Central America | 80 | Honduras | HON | Honduras | OO | HON-OO | HN | - |
| Central America | 80 | Nicaragua | NIC | Nicaragua | OO | NIC-OO | NI | - |
| Central America | 80 | Panama | PAN | Panama | OO | PAN-OO | PA | - |
| Caribbean | 81 | Jamaica | JAM | Jamaica | OO | JAM-OO | JM | - |
| Caribbean | 81 | Trinidad-Tobago | TRT | Trinidad-Tobago | OO | TRT-OO | TT | - |
| Northern South America | 82 | French Guiana | FRG | French Guiana | OO | FRG-OO | GF | - |
| Northern South America | 82 | Guyana | GUY | Guyana | OO | GUY-OO | GY | British Guiana |
| Northern South America | 82 | Suriname | SUR | Suriname | OO | SUR-OO | SR | Dutch Guiana |
| Northern South America | 82 | Venezuela | VEN | Venezuela | OO | VEN-OO | VE | - |
| Western South America | 83 | Bolivia | BOL | Bolivia | OO | BOL-OO | BO | - |
| Western South America | 83 | Colombia | CLM | Colombia | OO | CLM-OO | CO | - |
| Western South America | 83 | Ecuador | ECU | Ecuador | OO | ECU-OO | EC | - |
| Western South America | 83 | Peru | PER | Peru | OO | PER-OO | PE | - |
| Southern America | 84 | Brazil North | BZN | Acre | AC | BZN-AC | BR | - |
| Southern America | 84 | Brazil North | BZN | Amapá | AP | BZN-AP | BR | - |
| Southern America | 84 | Brazil North | BZN | Amazonas | AM | BZN-AM | BR | - |
| Southern America | 84 | Brazil North | BZN-PA | Pará | PA | BZN-PA | BR | - |
| Southern America | 84 | Brazil North | BZN | Rondônia | RO | BZN-RO | BR | - |
| Southern America | 84 | Brazil North | BZN | Roraima | RM | BZN-RM | BR | - |
| Southern America | 84 | Brazil North | BZN | Tocantins | TO | BZN-TO | BR | - |
| Southern America | 84 | Brazil Northeast | BZE | Alagoas | AL | BZE-AL | BR | - |
| Southern America | 84 | Brazil Northeast | BZE | Bahia | BA | BZE-BA | BR | - |
| Southern America | 84 | Brazil Northeast | BZE | Maranhão | MA | BZE-MA | BR | - |
| Southern America | 84 | Brazil Northeast | BZE | Pernambuco | PE | BZE-PE | BR | - |
| Southern America | 84 | Brazil South | BZS | Paraná | PR | BZS-PR | BR | - |
| Southern America | 84 | Brazil Southeast | BZL | Espírito Santo | ES | BZL-ES | BR | - |
| Southern America | 84 | Brazil Southeast | BZL | Minas Gerais | MG | BZL-MG | BR | - |
| Southern America | 84 | Brazil Southeast | BZL | Rio de Janeiro | RJ | BZL-RJ | BR | - |
| Southern America | 84 | Brazil Southeast | BZL | São Paulo | SP | BZL-SP | BR | - |
| Southern America | 84 | Brazil West Central | BZC | Brasilia Distrito Federal | DF | BZC-DF | BR | - |
| Southern America | 84 | Brazil West-Central | BZC | Goiás | GO | BZC-GO | BR | - |
| Southern America | 84 | Brazil West-Central | BZC | Mato Grosso | MT | BZC-MT | BR | - |
| Southern America | 84 | Brazil West-Central | BZC | Mato Grosso do Sul | MS | BZC-MS | BR | - |
| Southern South America | 85 | Argentina Northeast | AGE | Misiones | MI | AGE-MI | AR | - |
| Southern South America | 85 | Paraguay | PAR | Paraguay | OO | PAR-OO | PY | - |
Which ecological niche do they live in?
Mountain, dry and moist forests; wet lowland forests; Cerrado (grassland);
Primary and secondary forests;
Forest canopy strata: C/D vegetation layers (understorey layers;)
In newly open forest where trees have fallen;
Colonisers of open and waste ground;
As a coloniser these species are considered a weed in agricultural settings.
Where do I find genetic information for this family?
Number of chromosomes: circa 2n = 62 thus n = 31 [see Morawetz 1981].
May I suggest this European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI) database search of Lacistemataceae to start you on your journey.
Do any of these species have any human uses?
Duchelle (2007) discovered that the Indigenous Shuar people of Ecuador use Lozania klugii for construction, forage and fuel.
Lozania pittieri has been tested as a cancer chemopreventive agent : Cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitor - see Jang (1997) for more information.
Roumy and colleagues (2007) investigated Lacistema aggregatum as a source of a traditional medicine to treat malari as used by the Peruvian indigenous tribes of the Quechua and Mestizo based in Loreto.
Williams (1936) wrote Lacistema rosidiscum (a synonym of Lacistema aggregatum) is a "strong, durable timber is esteemed for use in general construction and carpentry." He also says Lacistema nena "is a timber only used for fuel."
Why is the website background yellow?
It is yellow for two reasons :
1 : for dyslexics it makes the text easy to read. It provide less of a contrast between background and foreground colors;
2 : I am photosensitive and it reduces the brightness of the pages.