[permaculture] BEN # 124 Genera of the Nitrogen Fixing Trees

Lawrence F. London, Jr. lflj at intrex.net
Sun Jan 13 18:59:34 EST 2008


 From aceska at cue.bc.caSat Jan 13 18:30:34 1996
Date: Sat, 13 Jan 1996 08:09:57 -0800
From: Adolf Ceska <aceska at cue.bc.ca>
To: ben at cue.bc.ca
Subject: BEN # 124


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No. 124                              January 13, 1996

aceska at freenet.victoria.bc.ca        Victoria, B.C.
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  Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2
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GENERA OF THE NITROGEN FIXING TREES
From: James Brewbaker <brewbake at hawaii.edu>
          [based on Brewbaker et al. 1990 - see References]

A  summary  table  is  provided of trees and large shrubs (> 3 m
high) that were validated as nodulating, and known  or  presumed
to  fix  nitrogen.  The  summary is derived from NFTA's expanded
database that includes about 1500 taxa.  Only  one  family  that
includes  nodulating plants, the Datiscaceae, does not appear in
this table, as the genus Datisca lacks arboreal or woody forms.

Most of the 115 genera of N-fixing trees and  shrubs  (NFT)  are
legumes.  As  calculated  by  de Faria et. al. (1989) nodulation
characterized 23% of 349 tested caesalpinioid  species,  90%  of
454 tested mimosoids and 97% of the 2592 papilionids.

Nodulation  involves  symbiosis  with  rhizobial bacteria in the
legume and in the genus Parasponia (and possibly other  taxa  in
the  Ulmaceae). All other non-leguminous genera are nodulated by
actinomycetes of the genus Frankia.

             LIST OF GENERA OF NITROGEN FIXING TREES

BETULACEAE: Alnus (38/38)

CASUARINACEAE: Allocasuarina (11/20), Casuarina (8/45),
Gymnostoma (1/2)

CORIARIACEAE: Coriaria (16/16)

ELEAGNACEAE: Elaeagnus (10/45), Hippophae (1/3), Shepherdia
(2/3)

LEGUMINOSAE:
    CAESALPINIOIDEAE [nodulation found in 23% of tested species -
all "positive" genera listed here]: Brownea (1/30), Chamaecrista
(2/250), Colvillea (1/1), Cordeauxia (1/2), Dialium (1/40),
Dicymbe (2/13), Dimorphandra (2/25), Epurea (1/14),
Erythrophleum (2/9), Gossweilerodendron (1/2), Hardwickia (1/1),
Lysidice (1/1), Maniltoa (1/20), Sclerolobium (3/35), Tachigali
(2/24)
    MIMOSOIDEAE [nodulation found in 90% of tested species, only
the larger genera listed]: Acacia (193/1200), Albizia (30/150),
Calliandra (11/200), Inga (14/350), Mimosa (3/400), Newtonia
(1/11), Parapiptadenia (1/3), Paraserianthes (1,5), Prosopis
(15/44), etc.
    PAPILIONOIDEAE: [nodulation found in 97% of tested species,
only the larger genera listed]: Aeshynomene (2/150), Caragana
(4/80), Chamaecytisus (1/30), Clitoria (1/70), Dalbergia
(17/100), Desmodium (including Codariocalyx and Ougeinia)
(4/300), Erythrina (26/108), Indigofera (1/700), Laburnum (4/2-
6), Lonchocarpus (8/150), Robinia (3/4), Sophora (7,50),
Swartzia (8/135), Tephrosia (1/400), Wisteria (4/6), etc.

MYRICACEAE: Comptonia (1/1), Myrica (13/35)

RHAMNACEAE: Ceanothus (14/55)

ROSACEAE: Cercocarpus (4/20), Purshia (1/2)

ULMACEAE: Aphananthe (1/5), Celtis (2/80), Parasponia (3/6),
Trema (2/30)

Note: First number is the number of species validated as  NFT's;
second is number of species in the genus.

References:

Brewbaker,  J.L.,  K.B.  Willers,  &  W. Macklin. 1990. Nitrogen
    fixing trees; Validation and prioritization. "Proceedings  of
    IUFRO  Congress,"  Montreal,  Canada. Publ. by IUFRO, Vienna,
    Vol. 2: 335-349. (Reprinted in Nitrogen Fixing Tree  Research
    Reports 8: 8-16. 1990.)

de  Faria,  S.M.,  G.P.  Lewis,  J.I. Sprent, & J.M. Sutherland.
    1989.  Occurrence  of  nodulation  in  the  Leguminosae.  New
    Phytol. 111: 607-619.




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