''Goniothalamus scortechinii'' is a species of
plant in the family
Annonaceae. It is native to
Peninsular Malaysia and
Thailand.
George King George King may refer to:
Politics
* George King (Australian politician) (1814–1894), New South Wales and Queensland politician
* George King, 3rd Earl of Kingston (1771–1839), Irish nobleman and MP for County Roscommon
* George Clift King (184 ...
, the British botanist who first formally described the species, named it in honor of
Benedetto Scortechini, an Italian priest and member of the
Linnean Society of London and
New South Wales who collected many important botanical samples in Peninsular Malaysia.
Description
It is a tree reaching 7 meters in height. Its membranous, oblong to lance-shaped leaves are 22–50 by 5.5–19.5 centimeters with short tapering tips and pointed bases. Its leaves have 18–32 pairs of secondary veins emanating from their midribs that arch near the leaf margins. Its
petioles are 0.8 centimeters long. Its 3 membranous, rigid, round to oval
sepals are 0.8–2.4 by 0.8–2.3 centimeters with shallowly pointed tips and fused at bases. Its solitary (rarely in pairs) flowers are in
axillary positions and on
pedicels
In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence. Such inflorescences are described as ''pedicellate''.
Description
Pedicel refers to a structure connecting a single flower to its inflorescence. In the absenc ...
that are 1.27 centimeters long. The pedicels are thicker at their apex, curved downward and have two
bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...
s at their base. Its flowers have 6 petals arranged in two rows of three. The leathery, oblong to lance-shaped outer petals are 1.7–2.5 by 0.8–1.4 centimeters with shallow tips. The outer petals are covered in fine rust colored hairs. The leathering, oval inner petals are 1.3 centimeters long with pointed tips. The inner petals are covered in fine rust colored hairs. Its flowers have 126–180
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 ...
. Its flowers have 15–32
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'' ...
. Each carpel has 1
ovule, a straight style, and a 2–3 lobed stigma. Its fruit are on pedicels that are 0.8–2.0 centimeters long. The hairless, oval to oblong fruit are 1.1 centimeters long and have persistent calyx. The fruit have pale, smooth, hairless to sparsely hairy seeds.
Reproductive biology
The pollen of ''G. scortechinii'' is shed as permanent tetrads.
Habitat and distribution
It has been observed growing in rainforests at elevations of 30–500 meters.
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Uses
It is commonly called akar gajah beranak and is used in traditional medicine.antiplasmodial
''Plasmodium'' is a genus of unicellular eukaryotes that are obligate parasites of vertebrates and insects. The life cycles of ''Plasmodium'' species involve development in a blood-feeding insect host which then injects parasites into a verteb ...
, and antibacterial activity.
References
scortechinii
Flora of Peninsular Malaysia
Flora of Thailand
Traditional medicine
Plants described in 1892
Taxa named by George King (botanist)
{{Annonaceae-stub