''Annona jahnii'' is a species of

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...

in the family Annonaceae. It is native to the

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. William Edwin Safford, the American botanist who first formally described the species, named it after the Venezuelan scientist, explorer and mountain climber

Alfredo Jahn Dr. Alfredo Jahn Hartman (8 October 1867 – 12 July 1940) was a Venezuelan civil engineer, botanist and geographer. Jahn was a member of the Academy of History, the Academy of Physical Sciences, Mathematics and Naturalist of Venezuela and t ...

Description

It is tree reaching 4-6 meters in height. Its membranous, oval to oblong leaves are 12.5-18 by 7-10 centimeters and come to a tapering point at their tips. The mature leaves are hairless on their upper surface, except for the midrib, and have rust-colored hairs on their lower surface. Its leaves have 10-14 pairs of secondary veins emanating from their midribs. Its petioles are 6-8 millimeters, have a groove on their upper surface, and are covered in dense rust-colored hairs. Its flowers are on solitary, extra- axillary peduncles that are 12-15 millimeters long. The peduncles are covered in rust-colored hair and have a bracteole near the middle of their length. It has fused

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s with 3 triangular lobes that come to a long tapering point. It has three thick, oval petals, 20 by 18 millimeters, with margins that touch, but are not fused. The outer surface of the petals is covered in very fine light green hairs. The inner surface of the petals is covered in dense woolly gray hairs. Its inner petals are essentially absent. It has numerous

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s that are 2.5-2.8 millimeters long. The tissue connecting the lobes of the anther forms a brown, velvety cap. Its 2.6-2.8 millimeter long

carpels Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...

have two styles terminating in long grooved stigmas that are covered in minute hairs. Its

ovaries The ovary is an organ in the female reproductive system that produces an ovum. When released, this travels down the fallopian tube into the uterus, where it may become fertilized by a sperm. There is an ovary () found on each side of the body. T ...

are covered in yellow-white to red hairs. Its oval-shape fruit are 4.5-7 by 3-4 centimeters. The fruit are covered in pyramid-shaped bumps arranged in a spiral pattern and dense rust-colored hairs. The fruit have a groove opposite their attachment point, and terminate in a woody, hooked point. Its immature, smooth, brown seeds are 9-10 by 4-5 millimeters, and have a prominent caruncle at their base. The pulp of the fruit was reported by William Safford, in 1914, to be edible, sweet and pleasantly flavored.

Reproductive biology

The yellow pollen of ''Annona jahnii '' is shed as permanent tetrads.

Distribution and habitat

It grows in thickly forested areas at the margins of streams.

Uses

Bioactive compounds extracted from twigs have been reported to inhibit

mitochondrial A mitochondrion (; ) is an organelle found in the cells of most Eukaryotes, such as animals, plants and fungi. Mitochondria have a double membrane structure and use aerobic respiration to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is use ...

electron transport.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q15398783 jahnii Flora of Brazil Flora of Colombia Flora of Venezuela Plants described in 1914 Taxa named by William Edwin Safford