Trema (plant)
genus of plants
Trema is a genus of evergreen trees closely related to the hackberries (Celtis), occurring in subtropical and tropical regions of southern Asia, northern Australasia, Africa, South and Central America, and parts of North America. They are generally small trees, reaching 10–20 m (33–66 ft) tall.
Taxonomy
Previously included either in the elm family, Ulmaceae, or with Celtis in the Celtidaceae, genetic analysis has shown the Celtidaceae are best placed in the hemp family, Cannabaceae.
Description
The leaves are alternate, simple, 7–15 cm (2.8–5.9 in) long, ovate-acuminate to lanceolate with a long pointed tip, and evenly serrated margins. The fruit is a small drupe 3–5 mm (0.12–0.20 in) in diameter.
Species associations
Trema species are sometimes used as food plants by the larvae of hepialid moths of the genera Aenetus, including A. splendens, which burrow horizontally into the trunk then vertically down, and Endoclita, including E. malabaricus.
Some Trema species unusually able to live in symbiosis with rhizobia for nitrogen fixation as a non-legume. In this case it is customary to mention these species as a separate genus Parasponia.
Uses
Trema orientale is widely planted for land reclamation in southern Asia, valued for its tolerance of poor soils due to its ability to fix nitrogen. It is also an invasive species on some Pacific Ocean islands.
The public source identifies “Trema (plant)” as genus of plants. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Trema, plant and genus.
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This entry incorporates text from “Trema (plant)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.