''Annona paludosa'' 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

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 ...

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

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 ...

. Jean Baptiste Christophore Fusée Aublet, the French pharmacist and botanist who first formally described the species, named it after its swampy ( in Latin) habitat.

Description

It is a bush reaching 1.2-1.5 meters in height. Its branches have numerous light brown

lenticel A lenticel is a porous tissue consisting of cells with large intercellular spaces in the periderm of the secondarily thickened organs and the bark of woody stems and roots of dicotyledonous flowering plants. It functions as a pore, providing a ...

s. Its oblong, membranous leaves are 16-20 by 6-7.5 centimeters and come to a point at their tip. The mature leaves are hairless on their green upper surface, but have woolly rust colored hairs on their reddish lower surfaces. The leaves have 18-20 secondary veins emanating from each side of their midribs. Its petioles are 5 by 3 millimeters, densely covered in woolly hairs, and have a groove on their upper surface. Its flowers are on 10-15 millimeter long peduncles that occur alone or in pairs. The peduncles are covered in woolly hairs and have a bracteole at their base and midpoint. Its

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 are united to form a

calyx Calyx or calyce (plural "calyces"), from the Latin ''calix'' which itself comes from the Ancient Greek ''κάλυξ'' (''kálux'') meaning "husk" or "pod", may refer to: Biology * Calyx (anatomy), collective name for several cup-like structures ...

with 3 triangular lobes that are 10 by 10 millimeters and come to a tapering point. The outer surfaces of the sepals are covered in rust-colored woolly hairs. Its flowers have 6 petals arranged in two rows of 3. The thick, oval, outer petals have margins that touch but are not united. The outer petals are 15-18 by 15 millimeters, have a central ridge, and are covered in fine gray woolly hairs. The thinner inner petals are 14-15 by 6 millimeters and alternate with the outer petals. The inner petals are concave and covered on both surfaces with fine gray woolly hairs. Its flowers have 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 2.8-3 millimeters long. The velvety tissue connecting the lobes of

anthers 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 filam ...

forms a cap on top of the stamens. Its flowers have numerous

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'' ...

. Its mature, oval, yellow fruit are 6 by 4 centimeters and covered in fleshy, pointed projections. Its broad, smooth, oval seeds are 8 by 4 millimeters with a prominent caruncle at their base.

Reproductive biology

The pollen of ''Annona paludosa'' is shed as permanent tetrads.

Habitat and distribution

It grows in marshy meadows.

Uses

It was reported by the American agronomist and botanist

Edward Lewis Sturtevant Edward Lewis Sturtevant (January 23, 1842 – July 30, 1898) was an American agronomist and botanist who wrote ''Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World.'' An enormously prolific author, he was considered one of the giants of American agricultural ...

in 1919 to have edible, juicy, yellow fruit.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q15398657 paludosa Flora of Brazil Flora of French Guiana Flora of Guyana Flora of Suriname Flora of Venezuela Plants described in 1775 Edible fruits Taxa named by Jean Baptiste Christian Fusée-Aublet