''Monodora crispata'' 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

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, and

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

. Adolf Engler, Heinrich Gustav Adolf Engler, the German botanist who first formally described the species, named it after its curled ( in Latin) petal margins.

Description

It is a tree reaching 20 meters in height with dark brown bark with

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 hairless, dark green, membranous to leathery, oval to elliptical leaves are 5-17 by 2.5-6 centimeters. The tips of the leaves taper to a point and the bases are rounded or pointed. The leaves have 9-13 pairs of secondary veins emanating from their midribs. Its petioles are 3-7 by 1-1.5 millimeters and have a groove on their upper surface. It has solitary flowers, positioned opposite from leaves, that hang down. Each flower is born on a hairless, dark green

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 20-50 by 0.9-0.7 millimeters. The pedicels have an upper, hairless, oval, green

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 ...

that is 6-15 by 5-9 millimeters. The base of the bract runs down the pedicel, its tip is pointed, and its edges are wavy. It has 3 oval, green, hairless

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 5-18 by 3-6 millimeters. The sepals have flat bases, pointed tips and wavy edges. Its flowers have 6 petals in two rows of three. The outer petals are white at their base, transitioning to yellow with red-brown highlights near their tips. The, hairless, oblong outer petals are 35-70 by 6-20 millimeters. The outer petals have flat bases, tapering tips and strikingly curled margins for which the species is named. The heart-shaped to triangular inner petals are 4-17 by 6-20 millimeters and white to yellow with red highlights near the margins. The inner petals have heart-shaped bases and pointed tips. The edges of the inner petals touch one another and are curled. The faces of the inner petals are covered in short, straight hairs, and their margins have short curly hairs. The inner petals have a basal, hairless, bright yellow

claw A claw is a curved, pointed appendage found at the end of a toe or finger in most amniotes (mammals, reptiles, birds). Some invertebrates such as beetles and spiders have somewhat similar fine, hooked structures at the end of the leg or tarsus ...

below the blade that is 3-8 by 1-3 millimeters. Its flowers have 9-11 rows of

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 0.5-1 millimeters long. The stamen filaments extend above the anthers to form a shield. Its

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'' ...

are fused forming an ovary wall that is 1.5 millimeters wide. Its hairless stigma are 1.5-2 millimeters in diameter. The fruit are born on hairless, 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 are 3-5 by 4-10 millimeters. The hairless, conic fruit are 6-15 by 3.5-5 centimeters with a pointed tip. The fruit have 6-7 prominent ribs and green-grey. The fruit have white pulp with elliptical, smooth, light brown seeds that are 10-13 by 5-9 millimeters.

Reproductive biology

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

Habitat and distribution

It has been observed growing in sandy soils in secondary rain forests and along streams, at elevations from 0-400 meters.

Uses

It is grown as an ornamental tree. Its wood is used in construction and its seeds have aromatic qualities.

References

Flora of Cameroon Flora of Equatorial Guinea Flora of Gabon Flora of Ghana Flora of Guinea Flora of Ivory Coast Flora of Liberia Flora of Sierra Leone Plants described in 1899 Taxa named by Adolf Engler crispata {{annonaceae-stub