''Monodora grandidieri '' 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

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

, and

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

Henri Ernest Baillon Henri Ernest Baillon was a French botanist and physician. He was born in Calais on 30 November 1827 and died in Paris on 19 July 1895. Baillon spent his professional life as a professor of natural history, and he published numerous works on bo ...

, the French botanist who first formally described the species, named it after the French naturalist and explorer

Alfred Grandidier Alfred Grandidier (20 December 1836 – 13 September 1921) was a French naturalist and explorer. From a very wealthy family, at the age of 20, he and his brother, Ernest Grandidier (1833–1912), undertook a voyage around the world. At first ...

who collected the specimen Baillon examined. It has been reported to be used as a traditional medicine by the

Giriama The Giriama (also called Giryama) are one of the nine ethnic groups that make up the Mijikenda (which literally translates to "nine towns"). The Mijikenda occupy the coastal strip extending from Lamu in the north to the Kenya/Tanzania border in ...

and Digo people of Kenya.

Description

It is a tree reaching 12 meters in height. Its branches have

lenticels 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 ...

. Its leaves are 20-24 by 1.5-8.2 centimeters and come to a point at their tips. Its petioles are 2-3 millimeters long. Its flowers are solitary and appear before young leaves. Each flower is on a thin, lightly 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 ...

2-5.7 centimeters long. Its flowers have 3

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 1-2 by 3-5.5 centimeters with wavy, densely hairy margins. The sepals curve backwards and are green or red with green veins. Its 6 petals are arranged in two rows of 3. The outer petals are light yellow with green or red highlights, curve backwards, and come to a point at their tips. The outer petals are 3.7-6.5 by 0.5-1.8 centimeters, have wavy margins, and are densely hairy on their outer surface. The inner petals are similarly colored, have a 0.7-0.9 centimeter long

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 ...

at their base and a 1.2-1.6 centimeter wide blade. Its

stamens 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 ...

are 1 millimeters long. Its smooth, green and white fruit are 5-7.5 by 4-4.5 centimeters in diameter. Its light brown seeds are 1.3-2.6 by 1-1.8 by 0.9-1.1 centimeters.

Reproductive biology

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

References

grandidieri Flora of Kenya Flora of Malawi Flora of Mozambique Flora of Somalia Flora of Tanzania Plants described in 1868 Traditional African medicine Taxa named by Henri Ernest Baillon {{annonaceae-stub