Didierea madagascariensis

Didierea madagascariensis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Didiereaceae
Genus: Didierea
Species:
D. madagascariensis
Binomial name
Didierea madagascariensis
Baill. (1880)
Synonyms[1]

Didierea mirabilis Baill.; Alluaudiopsis marnieriana Rauh

Didierea madagascariensis, commonly known as the octopus tree,[2] is a species of Didiereaceae endemic to the spiny thickets of southwestern Madagascar.[3] It was first described scientifically by the French botanist Henri Ernest Baillon in 1880[4] and is the type species of the genus Didierea.

It is known in Malagasy as sohongy, sony and soribarika.[5] Sohongy and sony come from the Tanosy dialect word songo meaning "lock of hair" or a rooster's crest or comb[6] possibly referring to its branches that sprawl upwards.

  1. ^ Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 06 Jul 2019 <http://www.tropicos.org/Name/10700010>
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Couzens2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Baillon1880 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ de La Beaujardière, Jean-Marie, ed. (2001). "Botanical scientific names". Malagasy Dictionary and Malagasy Encyclopedia.
  6. ^ Boiteau, Pierre (1999). "sony". Dictionnaire des noms malgaches de végétaux (in French). Vol. III. Editions Alzieu – via Malagasy Dictionary and Malagasy Encyclopedia.