Malania

Malania oleifera is a rare, 10 to 20 meters high tree species from the family of Olacaceae. Malania oleifera is the only species of the monotypic genus Malania. The seed oil of the tree is known due to the relatively high proportion of nervonic.

Description

The brown branches of the tree are covered with scattered lenticels. The petioles are 1-2 cm long, the blade shape elliptic to elliptic- lanceolate. The thick leathery leaves are up to 7 to 15 long and 2.5 to 6 cm wide. Umbels with 10 to 15 flowers. The peduncle is 1 to 2.5, the pedicel 5-7 mm long. The 3 mm long petals are greenish and broadly ovate of the form. Malania oleifera carries 3 to 4.5 cm flattened by measuring or pear-shaped stone fruits. The spread of the tree population is due to the relatively high weight of the seed of 30 to 40 g quite low.

Occurrence and risk

Malania oleifera grows on limestone mountains up to an altitude of 1700 m and is scattered in China in the western Guangxi and eastern Yunnan to find. The stock is endemic to China and is classified by the IUCN as endangered. The holdings were greatly reduced by deforestation, also because the wood is of good quality.

In the largest distribution area Guangnan the stock of Malania counts oleifera about 40,000 copies. A larger inventory of the tree is in Longzhou nature reserve under protection.

Swell

• Malania oleifera Chun & SK Lee, Bull Bot Lab. N. E. Forest. Inst, Harbin. 6:. 68th 1980 at "Flora of China" (English, accessed on 19 May 2010)
• Lu Shugang: THE CURRENT STATUS AND THE CAUSE OF THE ENDANGEMENT OF CHUN ET LEE Malania OLEIFERA IN SE. YUNNAN Online (English, accessed on 19 May 2010; PDF; 219 kB)