''Rhopalocarpus mollis'' is a tree in the family

Sphaerosepalaceae The Sphaerosepalaceae are a family of flowering plants including 14 species of trees and shrubs in two genera, '' Dialyceras'' and '' Rhopalocarpus'', all of which are endemic to Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

. 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 ...

' is from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

meaning "soft", referring to the very soft

indumentum In biology, an indumentum (Latin, literally: "garment") is a covering of trichomes (fine "hairs") on a plant Davis, Peter Hadland and Heywood, Vernon Hilton (1963) ''Principles of angiosperm taxonomy'' Van Nostrandpage, Princeton, New Jersey, pa ...

on the leaves' underside.

Description

''Rhopalocarpus mollis'' grows as a tree up to tall with a trunk diameter of up to . The

coriaceous This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...

leaves are elliptic in shape and measure up to long. It is not known to have any flowers. The fleshy fruits are coloured green when fresh. They may be spherical measuring up to in diameter or two-lobed and measure up to across.

Distribution and habitat

''Rhopalocarpus mollis'' is known only from four locations in the northern

regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

and

Analanjirofo Analanjirofo is a region in northeastern Madagascar. Until 2009 it was a part of Toamasina Province. It borders Sava Region to the north, Sofia Region to the west, Alaotra-Mangoro Region to the southwest and Atsinanana Region to the south. The c ...

. Its habitat is subhumid forests from to altitude.

Threats

''Rhopalocarpus mollis'' is threatened by shifting patterns of agriculture. Because the species is used as timber, subsistence harvesting is also a threat.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15611790

mollis Mollis is a former municipality in the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Effective from 1 January 2011, Mollis is part of the municipality of Glarus Nord. History Mollis is first mentioned in 1288. Geography Mollis has an area, , of . Of this ...

Endemic flora of Madagascar Trees of Madagascar Plants described in 2006