''Pseuduvaria glossopetala'' 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 the

Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula (Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area ...

Yvonne Chuan Fang Su Yvonne Chuan Fang Su is a Hong Kong evolutionary biology, evolutionary biologist who is notable for her co-discovery of Pseuduvaria bruneiensis and Pseuduvaria borneensis. Her doctoral work at the University of Hong Kong focused on the Phylogenet ...

and

Richard M.K. Saunders Richard M. K. Saunders (born 1964) is a botanist. Work Among other subjects, his work has focused on the systematics and evolution of Annonaceae, a Family (biology), family of flowering plants. Legacy He is the authority for the followin ...

, the botanists who first formally described the species, named it after the tongue (Latinized form of Greek , glossa-) shaped gland on their inner petals (, in Latin).

Description

It is a small tree reaching 4

meters The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its prefi ...

in height. Its elliptical, leathery leaves are 15-21 by 4.5-7 centimeters. The leaves have pointed to blunt bases and tapering tips, with the tapering portion 17-21

millimeters 330px, Different lengths as in respect to the electromagnetic spectrum, measured by the metre and its derived scales. The microwave is between 1 meter to 1 millimeter. The millimetre (American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, ...

long. The leaves are hairless on their upper and lower surfaces. The leaves have 14 pairs of secondary veins emanating from their midribs. Its hairless petioles are 5-9 by 1.5-2.5 millimeters with a narrow groove on their upper side. 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 solitary and are organized on peduncles that are 3 by 0.5 millimeters. Each inflorescence has up to 4 flowers. Each flower is on a hairless

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 10-15 by 0.3 millimeters. The pedicels are organized on a rachis up to 6 millimeters long that have 3

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. The pedicels have a medial, densely hairy

that is 0.6 millimeters long. The flowers are thought to be unisexual, but neither female flowers nor fruit have not been observed. Its flowers have 3 oval

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 1.3 by 1.5 millimeters. The sepals are hairless on their upper surface, sparsely hairy on their lower surface, and hairy at their margins. Its 6 petals are arranged in two rows of 3. The pale yellow, egg-shaped, outer petals are 6.5 by 3-5 millimeters with slightly hairy upper and lower surfaces. The inner petals are pale yellow with dark red highlights. The diamond-shaped, inner petals have a 4.5 millimeter long claw at their base and a 7 by 3 millimeter blade. The inner petals have pointed bases and tips. The upper surfaces of the inner petals are densely hairy and very densely hairy on their lower surfaces. The inner petals have a solitary, tongue-shaped gland on their upper surface. Male flowers have up to 33

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 ...

s that are 1.5 by 2.3 millimeters.

Reproductive biology

The pollen of ''P. glossopetala'' is shed as permanent tetrads.

Habitat and distribution

It has been observed growing in limestone soil types in forests at elevations of 150–460 meters.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17135092 glossopetala Flora of Peninsular Malaysia Plants described in 2010 Taxa named by Yvonne Chuan Fang Su Taxa named by Richard M.K. Saunders