''Mitrephora tomentosa'' 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. It is native to

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

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 ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

, and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. Joseph Hooker and

Thomas Thomson Thomas Thomson may refer to: * Tom Thomson (1877–1917), Canadian painter * Thomas Thomson (apothecary) (died 1572), Scottish apothecary * Thomas Thomson (advocate) (1768–1852), Scottish lawyer * Thomas Thomson (botanist) (1817–1878), Scottis ...

, the British botanists who first formally described the species, named it after the dense covering of hair ( in Latin) on its young branches, leaves and flowers.

Description

It is a tree reaching 20 meters in height. Its young branches are densely covered in fine, yellow-brown hairs and have

lenticel A lenticel is a porous tissue consisting of cells with large intercellular spaces in the periderm of the secondarily thickened organs and the bark of woody stems and roots of dicotyledonous flowering plants. It functions as a pore, providing a ...

s. Its leathery, oval to lance-shaped leaves are 6.5-21.5 by 3-10 centimeters. The leaves have pointed tips and rounded or slightly lobed bases. The leaves are hairless and shiny on their upper surfaces and densely covered in fine hairs underneath. The leaves have 8-20 pairs of secondary veins emanating from their midribs. Its petioles are 4-12.5 by 1.2-3.5 millimeters and densely covered in fine, short, pale hairs. Its

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

s are composed of up to 1-2 flowers on a densely hairy

rachis In biology, a rachis (from the grc, ῥάχις [], "backbone, spine") is a main axis or "shaft". In zoology and microbiology In vertebrates, ''rachis'' can refer to the series of articulated vertebrae, which encase the spinal cord. In this c ...

positioned opposite from leaves. Each flower is born on a fleshy

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 11-22.5 by 1-2 millimeters and densely covered in fine yellow-brown hairs. Oval

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 the base of pedicels are 4.4-5.1 by 3.5-5.1 millimeters while middle bracts are 4.1-7.4 by 5.5-9 millimeters. Its oval

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 are 5-9 by 5-9 millimeters. The outer surfaces of the sepals have dense, yellow-brown hairs; the inner surfaces have sparse hairs at their margins. Its flowers have 6 petals in two rows of three. The yellow, lance-shaped outer petals are 16-34 by 7.5-18 millimeters with pointed tips and wavy margins when mature. The outer surfaces of the outer petals are densely covered in fine brown hairs; the inner surfaces have sparse hairs. The inner petals are 8.5-16.5 by 7-12.5 millimeters and yellow with purple highlights. The inner petals have a basal claw below rhomboidal blade. The outer surfaces of the inner petals are densely covered in short pale brown hairs; the inner surfaces have longer hairs near their tips. Its flowers have numerous yellow, hairless

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 1-1.3 by 0.4-0.6 millimeters. Its flowers have up to 12-17

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 1.5-1.7 by 0.5-0.8 millimeters. The carpels are covered in fine hairs. Its stigma are shaped like narrow, inverted cones. The carpels have 10-12

ovule In seed plants, the ovule is the structure that gives rise to and contains the female reproductive cells. It consists of three parts: the ''integument'', forming its outer layer, the ''nucellus'' (or remnant of the megasporangium), and the fe ...

s arranged in two rows. Its fruit are found in clusters of 9-15. The round fruit are 12-23 by 8.5-19.5 millimeters. The fruit have a longitudinal ridge, their surface has a whitish waxy sheen and short brown hairs. The fruit are born on 16.5-38.5 by 1.5-2.8 millimeter stipes that have dense, long, brown hairs. The stipes are attached to a woody

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 is 15-33.5 by 2.7-4.3 millimeters and densely covered in pale brown hairs. The fruit have 4-10 brown, oval seeds that are 12 by 8 millimeters.

Reproductive biology

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

Habitat and distribution

It has been observed growing in evergreen forests at elevations of 50-1200 meters.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17140050 tomentosa Flora of Bangladesh Flora of Indo-China Plants described in 1855