Dombeya is a flowering plant genus. Traditionally included in the family Sterculiaceae, it is included in the expanded Malvaceae in the APG and most subsequent systematics. These plants are known by a number of vernacular names which sometimes, misleadingly, allude to the superficial similarity of flowering Dombeya to pears or hydrangeas (which are unrelated). Therefore, the genus as a whole is often simply called dombeyas. The generic name commemorates Joseph Dombey (1742–1794), a French botanist and explorer in South America, involved in the notorious "Dombey affair", embroiling scientists and governments of France, Spain, and Britain for more than two years.
Distribution These plants grow chiefly throughout Africa and Madagascar. Madagascar has the majority of species, with approximately 175 native species. 19 are found on the African mainland, with one, Dombeya torrida, also extending into the southwestern Arabian Peninsula.Skema, Cynthia. "Toward a New Circumscription of Dombeya (Malvales: Dombeyaceae): A Molecular Phylogenetic and Morphological Study of Dombeya of Madagascar and a New Segregate Genus, Andringitra." Taxon, vol. 61, no. 3, 2012, pp. 612–628. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41679276. Accessed 23 Aug. 2021. 24 species are native to the Mascarene Islands, of which 23 are endemic to the islands.Le Péchon, Timothée, Qiang Dai, Li-Bing Zhang, Xin-Fen Gao, and Hervé Sauquet (2015). "Diversification of Dombeyoideae (Malvaceae) in the Mascarenes: Old Taxa on Young Islands?" International Journal of Plant Sciences Volume 176, Number 3 March/April 2015. https://doi.org/10.1086/679350 Dombeya acutangula is native to east Africa, Madagascar, and the Mascarenes, with a disjunct population in Laos in Southeast Asia."Dombeya acutangula Cav.". Plants of the World Online, Kew Science. Accessed 23 August 2021. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:822892-1
Taxonomy Formerly believed to hold only about 80 species, in the present delimitation, Dombeya is one of the most speciose Malvaceae genera, containing as many as 255 species. Most have been moved here from distinct genera, which are now considered junior synonyms.Hinsley (2008) Some of these might warrant recognition as subgenera, to show the evolutionary and phylogenetic patterns of the numerous dombeyas more clearly.Cao et al. (2006) In addition to the synonyms listed here, Astiria is suspected to be a rather distinct derivative of Dombeya and would thus have to be included in the present genus. This requires renaming of species, as A. rosea conflicts with D. rosea, a junior synonym of D. burgessiae. Furthermore, several species have been moved here from related genera that are still valid, namely Pentapetes.
Dombeya of L'Héritier de Brutelle is a synonym of Tourrettia (Bignoniaceae). Dombeya of Lamarck is a synonym of Araucaria.
Selected species There are 197 accepted species of Dombeya. Selected species include:
Dombeya acuminatissima Hochr. – eastern Madagascar Dombeya acutangula Cav. – Bois Bete, mahot tantan. East Africa (Tanzania to Mozambique), Madagascar, Mascarene Islands, and Laos Dombeya aethiopica Gilli – Ethiopia Dombeya albisquama Arènes – central-eastern Madagascar Dombeya albotomentosa Arènes – central Madagascar Dombeya alleizettei Arènes – central Madagascar Dombeya amaniensis Engl. – Tanzania Dombeya ambalabeensis Arènes – southwestern and southern Madagascar Dombeya ambatosoratrensis Arènes – central-eastern Madagascar Dombeya ambohitrensis Arènes – northern Madagascar Dombeya ambositrensis Arènes – central Madagascar Dombeya ameliae Guill. – east-central Madagascar Dombeya amplifolia Arènes – central-eastern Madagascar Dombeya anakaensis Arènes – southwestern Madagascar Dombeya andapensis Arènes – central and eastern Madagascar Dombeya andrahomanensis Arènes – southern Madagascar Dombeya angustipetala Arènes – eastern Madagascar Dombeya ankaratrensis Arènes – central Madagascar Dombeya ankazobeensis Arènes – central Madagascar Dombeya anonyensis Arènes – central Madagascar Dombeya antsianakensis Baill. – central and eastern Madagascar Dombeya apikyensis Arènes – southeastern Madagascar Dombeya aquifoliopsis Hochr. – eastern Madagascar Dombeya asymmetrica Appleq. – Madagascar Dombeya australis Scott Elliot – southeastern Madagascar Dombeya autumnalis I.Verd. – Northern Province of South Africa Dombeya baronii Baker – central and eastern Madagascar Dombeya bathiei Hochr. – central Madagascar Dombeya befotakensis Arènes – eastern Madagascar Dombeya bemarivensis (Hochr.) Arènes – central Madagascar Dombeya biumbellata Baker – central Madagascar Dombeya blattiolens Frapp. ex Cordem. – Réunion Dombeya borraginea Hochr. – western Madagascar Dombeya breonii Baill. – central and eastern Madagascar Dombeya brevistyla Arènes – central and eastern Madagascar Dombeya buettneri K.Schum. – tropical Africa from Guinea to Ethiopia and Zambia Dombeya burgessiae Gerrard ex Harv. (= D. greenwayi Wild, D. mastersii Hook.f., D. parvifolia K.Schum., D. rosea E.G.Baker, D. tanganyikensis Baker) – South Sudan to Angola and South Africa Dombeya cacuminum Hochr. – northern and central Madagascar Dombeya cannabina – central Madagascar Dombeya capuroniana – north-central Madagascar (Montagne d'Ambre) Dombeya capuronii – central Madagascar Dombeya catatii – southeastern Madagascar Dombeya ciliata Cordem. – Réunion Dombeya condensata – central Madagascar Dombeya coria Baill. – central and eastern Madagascar Dombeya cymosa Harv. – southern Mozambique to South Africa Dombeya decanthera Cav. (= D. bojeriana Baill., Melhania decanthera (Cav.) DC) – southeastern Madagascar Dombeya delislei Arènes – Réunion Dombeya elegans Cordem. – sometimes included in D. burgessiae – Réunion Dombeya ficulnea Baill. – sometimes erroneously included in D. punctataCao et al. (2006), Hinsley (2008). – Réunion Dombeya formosa Le Péchon & Pausé – Réunion Dombeya glandulosissima Arènes – eastern Madagascar Dombeya kirkii Mast. – southern Ethiopia to KwaZulu-Natal Dombeya laurifolia (Bojer) Baill. (= D. parkeri Baill., D. valimpony R.Vig. & Humbert, D. valimpony f. obovalopsis Hochr., Melhania laurifolia Bojer) – central Madagascar Dombeya leandrii Arènes – western Madagascar Dombeya ledermannii Engl. – Nigeria and Cameroon Dombeya longebracteolata Seyani – southwestern and southern Ethiopia Dombeya montana (Hochr.) Arènes (= D. acerifolia var. montana Hochr.) – central Madagascar Dombeya palmatisecta Hochr. – Madagascar Dombeya pilosa Cordem. – Réunion Dombeya pulchra N.E.Br. – South Africa: Northern Province to KwaZulu-Natal Dombeya punctata Cav. (= D. lancea Cordem., D. pervillei Baill., Pentapetes punctata Poir.) – Réunion Dombeya quinqueseta – tropical Africa to Namibia Dombeya reclinata Cordem. – Réunion Dombeya rottleroides Baill. – northern and central Madagascar Dombeya rotundifolia (Hochst.) Planch. – Blompeer or "South African Wild Pear". southern Ethiopia to South Africa Dombeya shupangae K.Schum. – southeastern Kenya to Mozambique and Democratic Republic of the Congo Dombeya spectabilis Bojer (= D. chapelieri Baill., D. humblotii Baill., D. lantziana Baill., D. rotundifolia Bojer) – east-central Madagascar Dombeya tiliacea (Endl.) Planch. (= Xeropetalum tiliaceum Endl.) – South Africa: Eastern Cape Province to KwaZulu-Natal Dombeya torrida (J.F.Gmel.) Bamps – Central African Republic to Eritrea, Zambia, and Malawi; also Yemen and southwestern Saudi Arabia. Dombeya tsaratananensis (Hochr.) Arènes (= D. ficulnea var. tsaratananensis Hochr.) – central Madagascar Dombeya umbellata Cav. (= Pentapetes umbellata Poir.) – Réunion Dombeya wallichii (Lindl.) K.Schum. (= Astrapaea wallichii Lindl.) – Pink-ball, "Tropical Hydrangea". Eastern Madagascar
Formerly placed here Friedmannodendron rodriguesiana (as Dombeya rodriguesiana F.Friedmann) – Rodrigues
Footnotes
References (2006): Does minimizing homoplasy really maximize homology? MaHo: A method for evaluating homology among most parsimonious trees. C. R. Palevol 7(1): 17–26. (HTML abstract) (2008): Partial Synonymy of Dombeya. Retrieved 2008-JUN-25.
External links
malvaceae.info: Dombeya gallery. Retrieved 2008-JUN-25. PlantList search for Dombeya. Retrieved 20190318.