Genus and species were published first in Flora of British India 5: 189. 1886 as Hexapora, with a brief description. However, J.D. Hooker soon realized his mistake, there are 6 stamens with 2 pores each, thus 12 pores, not 6, and changed the name to Micropora. In some copies has been corrected, but the index still lists the name as Hexapora, the genus and the species are formally described as Micropora, citing in synonymy "Hexapora curtisii, p.189 of this volume." According to Richard Chung, personal communication to Jens G. Rohwer, 19 Nov 2010, there is no material of this genus in KEP, and Kochummen had seen nothing but the type. According to Khoon Meng Wong, personal communication to Jens G. Rohwer, 19 Nov 2010, there are 9 sheets in SING.
Characteristics
Evergreen laurel forest plants of Cloud forest in Malaysia, Peninsula, in Penang Hill. Leaves evergreen, lauroid, alternate, spiral, leathery, petiolate. Flowers aggregated in inflorescences, small and fragrant. Tepals extremely short. Anthers dehiscing via pores. Fruit fleshy, a small berry. The fruiting carpel indehiscent and baccate. Fruit enclosed in the fleshy receptacle, 1 seeded. Dispersed by birds. Hexapora curtisii is a species of plant in the family Lauraceae, endemic to Malaysia. It is threatened by habitat loss. It was named also, Micropora curtisii, Litsea scortechinii, Nectandra caudatoacuminata.
Ecology
The ecological requirements of the genus are those of the laurel forest and like most of their counterparts laurifolia in the world, it is a vigorous species with a great ability to populate the habitat that is conducive. The natural habitat is rainforest which is cloud-covered for much of the year. The species is found in forests that face threats of destruction by human deforestation. Because of the special lack of worldwide knowledge about the family lauraceaein general, very little is known about their diversity. The knowledge of this family on a national level is that to be expected in countries with limited economic means, i.e. the vast majority of species is indeterminate or at least poorly determined. On the other hand, a high percentage of recently described new speciescome from collections made in these countries. Therefore an increase in the study of the family on national level is of utmost importance for the progress of the systematics of the family in general. Recent monographs of the small and medium genera of lauraceae with up to 100 species per genus have produced a high increase in the number of known species. This high increase is expected for other genera as well, particularly for those with more than 150 species recorded, bringing an expected considerable increase in the total number of species of the family. A related vegetal community evolved millions of years ago on the supercontinent of Gondwana, and species of this community are now found on several separate areas of the Southern Hemisphere, including South America, Africa, New Zealand, Australia and New Caledonia.
