The Subfamily Kibessioideae, its Tribe Pternandreae, and its Sole Genus, Pternandra

Abstract

This chapter summarizes the morphology, geography, and ecology of the Kibessioideae, which consist of the genus Pternandra, a clade of some 15 species of trees distributed from Southern Thailand and China (Hainan) throughout Southeast (SE) Asia to tropical Australia and the Moluccas in eastern Indonesia; the center of diversity is Borneo from which 15 species are known. The Kibessioideae are characterized by a number of conspicuous autapomorphies, which have always suggested a phylogenetically isolated position. In molecular studies, the group appears to be the sister group of the Olisbeoideae and is therefore ranked as a subfamily. Ecological knowledge of the Kibessioideae is poor, and three of the species are only known from their type collections.