''Saurauia avellana '' 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

Actinidiaceae The Actinidiaceae are a small family of flowering plants. The family has three genera and about 360 species and is a member of the order Ericales. Distribution They are temperate and subtropical woody vines, shrubs, and trees, native to Asia ( ...

family. It is native to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

Adolph Daniel Edward Elmer Adolph Daniel Edward Elmer (June 14, 1870 – 1942) was an American botanist and plant collector.. He was mostly active in the Philippines, his collections being described as new species by both himself and other botanists. The Japanese sent him ...

, the American botanist who first formally described the species, named it after the dense covering of hazel-colored (''avellaneus'' in Latin) downy hair covering the underside of its leaves.

Description

It is a bush reaching 3 to 5 meters in height. Its rigid leaves are variable in size, but are normally 20 by 8 centimeters with rounded tips. The leaves are hairless on their upper surface and dense with nut-brown hair on their lower surface. The leaves have 13-17 pairs of secondary veins emanating from their midribs. The leaf margins have small serrations. Its scaly petioles are 1-3 millimeters long.

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 axillary and organized on peduncles 1-5 millimeters in length. The peduncle can be branched and more than one can emerge from the same leaf axil. Each flower is on a scaly

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 ...

3-5 millimeters in length. Its flowers have 5

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 ...

, 5 millimeters long, that are united at their base. The sepals are scaly on their outer surface and smooth on their inner surface. Its flowers have 5 white petals that are united at their base. The petals are smooth on both surfaces. Its flowers have numerous

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 1.75 millimeters long. Its styles are 3 millimeters long. Each flower has a 3-chambered superior

ovary The ovary is an organ in the female reproductive system that produces an ovum. When released, this travels down the fallopian tube into the uterus, where it may become fertilized by a sperm. There is an ovary () found on each side of the body. ...

. Each ovary contains numerous

ovule In seed plants, the ovule is the structure that gives rise to and contains the female reproductive cells. It consists of three parts: the ''integument'', forming its outer layer, the ''nucellus'' (or remnant of the megasporangium), and the fe ...

Reproductive Biology

The pollen of ''Saurauia avellana'' is shed as permanent tetrads.Jagudilla-Bulalacao, L (1997) Pollen Flora of the Philippines, Volume 1, Taguig, Metro Manila: Department of Science and Technology, Special Projects Unit, Technology Application and Promotion Institute.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q17252334 avellana Plants described in 1908 Flora of the Philippines Taxa named by Adolph Daniel Edward Elmer