''Goniothalamus monospermus'' 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 The Annonaceae are a Family (biology), family of flowering plants consisting of trees, shrubs, or rarely lianas commonly known as the custard apple family or soursop family. With 108 accepted genera and about 2400 known species, it is the largest ...

. It is native to

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

Asa Gray Asa Gray (November 18, 1810 – January 30, 1888) is considered the most important American botanist of the 19th century. His ''Darwiniana'' was considered an important explanation of how religion and science were not necessarily mutually excl ...

, the American botanist who first formally described the species using the

basionym In the scientific name of organisms, basionym or basyonym means the original name on which a new name is based; the author citation of the new name should include the authors of the basionym in parentheses. The term "basionym" is used in both botan ...

''Richella monosperma'', named it after its fruit's solitary seed (Latinized forms of Greek , mónos and , spérma) which have notable wing-like fringes.

Description

It is a tree reaching 15 meters in height. Its thin to leathery, hairless, elliptical to oblong leaves are 12.7-17.7 by 5.1-7.6 centimeters. The leaves come to a short tapering tip and have a rounded or shallowly pointed base. The leaves have slender veins that form a network pattern. Its solitary flowers are born on peduncles that are 2.5 centimeters or longer and are positioned axially or opposite leaves. 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 form a three-lobed calyx. Its flowers have 6 greenish-yellow petals with orange highlight arranged in two rows of three. The oval outer petals are 1.7 centimeters long with tips that slightly taper to a point. The oval inner petals are 0.8 centimeters long. The 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 ...

in several rows. The stamen have short filaments, and the tissue connecting the lobes of the anthers is thickened and terminates abruptly at its apex. The anthers

dehisce Dehiscence is the splitting of a mature plant structure along a built-in line of weakness to release its contents. This is common among fruits, anthers and sporangia. Sometimes this involves the complete detachment of a part; structures that op ...

longitudinally. Its flowers have roughly 20

pistils 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 oblong

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 about as long as the stamen and contract into a thick styles, which are also as long as the stamen. The styles have a longitudinal channel and their stigma occupy the length of their inward facing surface. Its yellow, oval fruit are 3.8 by 2.5 centimeters. Each fruit has a solitary seed that is an 2.5 long and almost as wide. The oval seeds are flat on one side and keeled on the other. The brown, leathery surface of the seeds forms a wing-like margin with an offset notch at the base.

Reproductive biology

The pollen of ''G. monosperma'' is shed as permanent tetrads.

Habitat and distribution

It has been observed growing in dense forests at elevations of 100–1,500 meters.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q50841665 monospermus Flora of Fiji Taxa named by Richard M.K. Saunders