''Sapranthus palanga'', commonly known as palanca, is a species of cauliflorous tree in the family Annonaceae, native to the tropical regions of

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

, especially

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

. This species was recently separated from ''Sapranthus violaceus'', on the basis of cauliflory (flowers emerging from the side of stem instead of shoots). Schatz 2018 The flowers are dark purple when mature and emit

amine In chemistry, amines (, ) are compounds and functional groups that contain a basic nitrogen atom with a lone pair. Amines are formally derivatives of ammonia (), wherein one or more hydrogen atoms have been replaced by a substituen ...

s such as

putrescine Putrescine is an organic compound with the formula (CH2)4(NH2)2. It is a colorless solid that melts near room temperature. It is classified as a diamine. Together with cadaverine, it is largely responsible for the foul odor of putrefying flesh, b ...

and

cadaverine Cadaverine is an organic compound with the formula (CH2)5(NH2)2. Classified as diamine, it is a colorless liquid with an unpleasant odor. It is present in small quantities in living organisms but is often associated with the putrefaction of anim ...

which mimic the smell of a rotting carcass to attract target pollinating agents such as flies.

Footnotes

References

* (2018): ''Revision of the Neotropical genus Sapranthus (Annonaceae)
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* ''Zamora, N.1999. Annonaceae. En Manual de Plantas de Costa Rica. Missouri Botanical Garden- Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad- Museo Nacional de Costa Rica.'' Annonaceae Cauliflory Trees of Costa Rica {{Annonaceae-stub Trees of Central America Trees of El Salvador