Picconia
{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}}
{{other uses|Picconia (fly)}}
{{Automatic taxobox
|image = Picconia excelsa.jpg
|display_parents = 2
|taxon = Picconia
|authority = DC.
|subdivision_ranks = Species
|subdivision = See text
}}
Picconia is a genus of two species of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae, found in the laurel forests habitat of Macaronesia.{{cite web|url=http://biblioteca.universia.net/html_bura/ficha/params/title/vegetative-propagation-of-the-endangered-azorean-tree-picconia-azorica/id/54598910.html|title=Vegetative Propagation Of The Endangered Azorean Tree Picconia Azorica|website=biblioteca.universia.net|access-date=2012-05-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427210749/http://biblioteca.universia.net/html_bura/ficha/params/title/vegetative-propagation-of-the-endangered-azorean-tree-picconia-azorica/id/54598910.html|archive-date=2014-04-27|url-status=dead}}
Description
They are evergreen shrubs to trees with large, opposite, entire, shiny, ovoid leaves and numerous flowers.
The fruit is a drupe. The flowers are small, white and fragrant, followed by one-seeded, olive-like green fruits, ripening to bluish-black.{{cite web|url=http://www.rareplants.de/shop/prodtype.asp?strPageHistory=compare&CAT_ID=714|title=Picconia --- Rareplants.eu Shop|website=www.rareplants.de}} Picconia are native of open spots in the laurel forest of the Azores, Madeira and Canary Islands where they are found only in the humid to hyper-humid evergreen forests of the cloud belt.{{Cite web | title=Managing and protecting Natura 2000 sites - European Commission | url=http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/management/habitats/pdf/9360_Macaronesian_laurel_forests.pdf | access-date=2025-03-27 | website=ec.europa.eu}} Tree species with laurel-like leaves are predominant, forming a dense canopy up to 40 m high that blocks out most light, resulting in scant vegetation in the understory. Most of these tree species in Africa are ancient paleoendemic{{cite journal|title=The distribution of species diversity across a flora's component lineages: dating the Cape's 'relicts'|first1=Ben H.|last1=Warren|first2=Julie A.|last2=Hawkins|date=7 September 2006|journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences|volume=273|issue=1598|pages=2149–2158|doi=10.1098/rspb.2006.3560|pmid=16901834|pmc=1635518}} species of the genera Laurus, Ocotea, Persea, and Picconia, which in ancient times were widely distributed on the African and European continents.
Species
- Picconia azorica - endemic to the archipelago of the AzoresSecretaria Regional do Ambiente e do Mar (2008), Plantas Endémicas dos Açores: Guia da Ilha do Faial, p.13
- Picconia excelsa - tree up to 15m; Madeira, Canaries
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
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Category:Endemic flora of Macaronesia
{{Oleaceae-stub}}