''Neostenanthera hamata'' 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 found in

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

, 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 ...

. George Bentham, the English 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 ...

'' Oxymitra hamata'', did not explicitly explain the

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

, but it has distinctive outer petals with hooked ( in Latin) tips.

Description

It is a tree reaching 25 meters in height. Its elliptical to lance-shaped leaves are 4.5-17.8 by 1.3-5.4 centimeters. The tips of the leaves taper to a point, and their bases are blunt to wedge-shaped. The upper surface of the leaves are dark green and hairless to slightly hairy, their lower surface is pale waxy blue to brown and slightly hairy. The leaves have 9-14 pairs of secondary veins emanating from their midribs. Its petioles are 3-6 by 0.8-2 millimeters and covered in fine hairs. It has solitary flowers that are positioned on the stem, often opposite from leaves. The flowers are born on 31-45 millimeter long

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 covered in fine hairs. The pedicels are attached to 1.8-4 by 0.9-2 millimeter peduncles that are covered in fine hairs. It has 3 triangular to oval, slightly hairy,

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 that are 0.8-1.9 by 2-5 millimeters. The tips of the sepals are pointed. Its flowers have 6 petals in two rows of three. The outer petals have a total length of 17.2-111.7 millimeters. The spoon-shaped basal portion is 3.5-5.8 by 4.7-8.1 millimeters with a slightly hairy upper side. The apical lance-shaped portion of the outer petal is 13-106.5 by 1.9-7.9 millimeters. The tip is tail-like and curved backwards in a hook shape. The inner petals have a total length of 7.2-13.4 millimeters. The basal portion is 3.7-9.3 by 3.5-7.4 millimeters and slightly hairy on its upper surface and edges. The apical portion is 1.2-5 by 1.2-2.9 millimeters, tapers to a point and is hairless on the underside. Its flowers have 187-244

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 1.2-2.3 millimeters long with anthers that are 0.9-1.8 by 0.2-0.5 millimeters. The tissue connecting the lobes of the anthers extends upward for 0.1-0.5 millimeter and is hairless. Its flowers have 123-142

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 1.6-3.1 by 0.2-0.8 millimeters with 0.5-1.3 millimeters long styles that are straight or slightly curved. Each elliptical fruit is 18-99 by 7.8-22.2 millimeters with a blunt base and a 0.1 millimeter long tapered tip. The fruit are smooth and slightly hairy to hairy. Each fruit is attached to a 2.3-5.5 centimeter long pedicel, which in turn is attached to a 4.3 centimeter long peduncle. The fruit have elliptical seeds that are 6.3-17.3 by 3.2-12.5 millimeters.

Reproductive biology

The pollen of ''N. hamata'' is shed as permanent tetrads.

Habitat and distribution

It has been observed growing in humid habitats, near rivers, on slopes, in high and secondary forests, at elevations from 90-700 meters.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5460360 hamata Flora of Ivory Coast Flora of Ghana Flora of Liberia Flora of Sierra Leone Vulnerable flora of Africa Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Plants described in 1862 Taxa named by George Bentham Taxa named by Arthur Wallis Exell