''Monodora hastipetala'' 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
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 ...
. Thomas Couvreur, the botanist who first
formally described the species, named it after its spear ( in Latin) shaped inner petals.
Description
It is a tree reaching 8 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 papery leaves are 10-12 by 3-4 centimeters and come to a point at their tips. The leaves are smooth on their upper and lower surfaces. Its
petioles are 2 millimeters long. Its pendulous flowers are solitary and
axillary. Each flower is on a
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
...
17-10 millimeters long. Its flowers have 3 smooth
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 6-7 by 3-4 millimeters with rounded tips. Its 6 petals are arranged in two rows of 3. The white, narrow outer petals are 20-26 by 6-8 millimeters. The outer petals are smooth and wavy. The inner petals are white with purple highlights, have a 4-5 millimeter 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 10-17 by 4-7 millimeter wide blade. The inner petals are densely hairy on the inner surface of their base and less hairy on the outer surface. It has 40-50
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 ...
that are 0.6 millimeters long. Its bumpy oval-shaped fruit are 30 millimeters long and 20 millimeters in diameter. Its light brown seeds are 10 by 7 millimeters.
Reproductive biology
The pollen of ''M. hastipetala'' is shed as permanent tetrads.
Habitat and distribution
It has been observed growing in scrub and coastal forests at elevations from 200 to 400 meters.
References
hastipetala
Flora of Tanzania
Plants described in 2006
{{annonaceae-stub