''Mitrephora polypyrena'' is a species of plant in the family Annonaceae. It is native to Java, the

Lesser Sunda Islands The Lesser Sunda Islands or nowadays known as Nusa Tenggara Islands ( id, Kepulauan Nusa Tenggara, formerly ) are an archipelago in Maritime Southeast Asia, north of Australia. Together with the Greater Sunda Islands to the west they make up t ...

, and

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

. Carl Ludwig Blume, the German 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 ...

''Uvaria polypyrena'', named it after the many stones or seeds (Latinized forms of Greek , poly-, and , pyren) in its fruit.

Description

It is a tree reaching 20 meters in height. Its oval to lance-shaped, leathery leaves are 8-22.5 by 3.5-9 centimeters and come to a point at their tips. The leaves are smooth and shiny on their upper surfaces, while their undersides are slightly hairy. Its petioles are 4.5-11 by 1.5-3.5 millimeters. Its flowers are arranged in groups of 3 or fewer on a rachis. Each flower is on a fleshy, slightly 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 ...

that is 1.1-1.6 by 20-40 millimeters. The pedicels have an oval, basal bract that is 4-4.5 by 2.5-4.5 millimeters, and another oval, upper bract that is 3.5-5.5 by 4.5-7 millimeters. Its flowers have 3, oval-shaped

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 5-7.5 by 5.5-7.5 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 yellow, oval-shaped outer petals are 24-36 by 18-28 millimeters and come to a point at their tip. The outside surface of the outer petals are densely hairy, while their inner surface is slightly hairy. The inner petals are white with reddish-purple highlights and 17-22 by 9.5-16 millimeters. The outside surface of the inner petals is densely hairy while the tip of the inner surface has long hairs. Its flowers have more than 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 ...

that are 1.5-1.7 by 0.5-0.6 millimeters. Its flowers have up to 24-26 free

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 2-2.2 by 0.5-0.6 millimeters. The carpels have 12-14 ovules. Its fruit occur in clusters of up to 9-12 on pedicels that are 19-34 by 3-5 millimeters and covered in sparse, fine hairs. The round to oblong, smooth fruit are 19-31 by 8-17 millimeters. The fruit have a longitudinal ridge and are sparsely covered in fine brown hairs. The fruit are attached to the pedicel by stipes that are 12-21 by 2.5-4 millimeters and sparsely covered in fine brown hairs. Each fruit has 12-14 seeds that are 15-17 by 8-9.5 millimeters.

Reproductive biology

The pollen of ''M. polypyrena'' is shed as permanent tetrads.

Habitat and Distribution

It has been observed growing in wet evergreen forests, at elevations of 300 to 700 meters.

Uses

It is used as timber and cultivated as a cover crop and ornamental species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17140121 polypyrena Flora of Java Flora of the Lesser Sunda Islands Flora of Myanmar Plants described in 1858 Taxa named by Heinrich Zollinger Taxa named by Carl Ludwig Blume