| Lardizabala | |
|---|---|
| |
| Botanical illustration, 1853 | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Ranunculales |
| Family: | Lardizabalaceae |
| Genus: | Lardizabala Ruiz & Pav. |
| Species: | L. biternata
|
| Binomial name | |
| Lardizabala biternata Ruiz & Pav.
| |
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Lardizabala is a monotypic genus of flowering plants. The sole species in the genus is Lardizabala biternata, known as Lardizabala or Zabala fruit. This species is an evergreen liana, native to temperate forests of central and southern Chile. It is grown for its edible fruits and ornamental flowers.
The genus is dedicated to Miguel de Lardizábal y Uribe, a Spanish statesman from the 18th century.
The seeds present in the large edible fruits of this species are hypothesised to have been dispersed by extinct Pleistocene meagafauna. Nowadays, foxes of the genus Lycalopex are thought to play the main seed dispersal role in its natural habitat.[1]
- ^ Muñoz-Concha, Diego; Mundaca, Enrique; Alarcón, Diego; Machuca, Juan; Crisol-Martínez, Eduardo; Loayza, Andrea (2022). "Could foxes be surrogate seed dispersers of a megafaunal fruit vine in southern South America?". Ecosphere. 13 (7). Bibcode:2022Ecosp..13E4186M. doi:10.1002/ecs2.4186. ISSN 2150-8925.