''Mitrephora pallens'' is a species of
plant in the family
Annonaceae. It is native to
Vietnam.
Suzanne Jovet-Ast
Suzanne Jovet-Ast (born 1914) was a French botanist, who worked principally at the National Museum of Natural History, France.
Life
Suzanne Ast was born in Paris, France, on 8 February 1914. She received her Baccalauréat (1932) from Lycée ...
, the French botanist who first
formally described the species, named it after its pale ( in Latin) flowers.
[
]
Description
It is a tree reaching 2 to 7 meters in height. Its leathery, oval-shaped leaves are 2.5-8 by 2-5 centimeters and with pointed to heart-shaped bases and pointed to notched tips. The leaves are smooth and shiny on their upper surfaces, while their undersides are slightly hairy. The leaves have 5-8 pairs of secondary veins emanating from their midribs. Its petioles are 3-6 by 1-1.7 millimeters long and covered in short, brown hairs. Its flowers are arranged in groups of 3 or fewer on a woody rachis positioned opposite leaves. Each flower is on a fleshy, densely hairy pedicel
Pedicle or pedicel may refer to:
Human anatomy
*Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures
...
12-13 by 0.6-1.1 millimeters long. The pedicels have an oval, basal bract that is 3.1 by 2.7 millimeters, and another middle bract that is 2 by 2.1 millimeters. Its flowers have 3, triangular, green-brown 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 ...
that are 2-3.5 by 2.5-3 millimeters. The outside of the sepals are densely hairy, while their inner surfaces are smooth. Its 6 petals are arranged in two rows of 3. The white to cream-colored, lance-shaped to oblong, outer petals are 12.5 by 6 millimeters, and come to a point at their tip. The edges of their outer petals are slightly wavy. Both surfaces of the outer petals are slightly hairy. The inner petals are white with red highlights and 11 by 8 millimeters. The inner petals have a basal claw and a rhomboidal blade. The outside surface of the inner petals is slightly hairy while the inner surface is dense with long hairs. Its flowers have more than 100 yellow 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 ...
that are 1 by 0.5-0.6 millimeters. Its flowers have up to 8 hairy 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'' ...
that are 1.2-1.5 by 0.4-0.6 millimeters. The carpels have 8-10 ovules arranged in two rows. Its stigma are shaped like narrow, inverted cones. Its fruit occur in clusters of up to 5-7 on woody pedicels that are 6-16 by 2.2-2.4 millimeters and covered in sparse, fine hairs. The smooth, hairy, dull grayish-green, round to oblong fruit are 13-19 by 6.5-13 millimeters. The fruit are attached to the pedicel by stipes that are 7-10 by 1.4-2.7 millimeters and covered in grey-brown hairs. Each fruit has 4-8 oval, brown, seeds that are 10 by 6 millimeters.
Reproductive biology
The pollen of ''M. pallens'' is shed as permanent tetrads.[ It flowers between February and March and fruits between June and November.][
]
Habitat and distribution
It has been observed growing on rocky substrates, at elevations of 100 to 300 meters.[
]
References
pallens
Flora of Vietnam
Plants described in 1940
Taxa named by Suzanne Jovet-Ast
{{annonaceae-stub