''Goniothalamus maewongensis'' is a species of
plant in the family
Annonaceae. It is native to
Thailand.
Richard M.K. Saunders
Richard M. K. Saunders (born 1964) is a botanist.
Work
Among other subjects, his work has focused on the systematics and evolution of Annonaceae, a Family (biology), family of flowering plants.
Legacy
He is the authority for the followin ...
and Piya Chalermglin, who first
formally described the species, named it after the
Mae Wong National Park in Thailand where the
type specimen was collected.
Description
It is a tree reaching 8 meters in height. Its oblong, papery leaves are 19.5-25.5 by 5-7 centimeters with tips that taper to a point and wedge-shaped or pointed bases. Its leaves have smooth upper sides and lightly hairy undersides. The leaves have 13-15 pairs of secondary veins emanating from their midribs. Its
petioles are 7-14 by 1.7-2.4 millimeters and hairless or sparsely hairy. Its solitary flowers are
axillary and droop downwards. Its flowers are on densely hairy
pedicels that are 12-14 by 1.7-2 millimeter. The pedicels have up to 5
bracts. It has 3 light-yellow, oval to triangular
sepals
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 ...
, 5 by 5 millimeters, with smooth inner surfaces and lightly hairy outer surfaces. The margins of the sepals are fuse at their base, and they curve back on themselves when mature. It has 6 petals in two rows of three. Its 3 light-yellow, oval shaped outer petals are 19 by 15 millimeters, and densely hairy on both surfaces. Its inner petals are 9-13 by 6.5-7 millimeters, densely hairy on both surfaces and yellow with pink highlights. Its flowers have up to 200
stamens that are 2.3-2.5 by 0.6-0.7 millimeters. Its flowers have up to 20
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'' ...
with
ovaries that are 2.7-2.9 by 0.3-.05 millimeters. The ovaries are bald, with the exception of a line of gold-colored hairs. The
stigma and hairless style together are 3.2-3.6 millimeters long. The stigma are spindle-shaped, hairless and have warty appearance. Clusters of fruit are born on 10-18 by 2.7-2.8 millimeters hairy pedicels. The round to elliptical, green-colored fruit are 21-35 by 16-26 millimeters with smooth or slightly wrinkly surfaces. Each fruit is attached by a 1 by 2.3 millimeter hairless
stipe. Each fruit has 1-4 elliptical, wrinkly, brown seeds that are 18-21 by 18-19 millimeters and sparsely covered in hairs.
[
]
Reproductive biology
The pollen of ''G. maewongensis'' is shed as permanent tetrads.[
]
Habitat and distribution
It has been observed growing in mountainous rainforests at altitudes of 1300 meters.[
]
Uses
Bioactive molecules extracted from its bark and leaves have been reported to have cytotoxic activity in tests with cultured human cancer cells.
References
maewongensis
Flora of Thailand
Plants described in 2008
Taxa named by Richard M.K. Saunders
{{Annonaceae-stub