''Xylopia cuspidata'' 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

Annonaceae The Annonaceae are a Family (biology), family of flowering plants consisting of trees, shrubs, or rarely lianas commonly known as the custard apple family or soursop family. With 108 accepted genera and about 2400 known species, it is the largest ...

family. It is native to

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

Ludwig Diels Dr. Friedrich Ludwig Emil Diels (24 September 1874 – 30 November 1945) was a German botanist. Diels was born in Hamburg, the son of the classical scholar Hermann Alexander Diels. From 1900 to 1902 he traveled together with Ernst Georg Prit ...

, the botanist who first formally described the species, named it after the leaves which have an abruptly pointed tip ( in Latin).

Description

It is a large tree. The young rust-colored branches are hairy, but as their bark becomes dark brown. Its elliptical to oblong, papery leaves are 15-25 by 7-9 centimeters. The leaves have rounded to slightly tapering bases and rounded tips that terminate in a 3-4 centimeter-long pointed cusp. The leaves are hairless on their upper surfaces, and have soft hairs that lay flat on their lower surfaces. The leaves have 10 pairs of secondary veins emanating from their midribs. Its petioles are 3-6 millimeters long. 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 occur in the

axil A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

s of fallen leaves. Each inflorescence has 1 flower. Each flower is on a

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 6-7 millimeters long and covered in rust-colored hairs. The pedicels have

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. Its flowers have 3 green, slightly membranous,

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 ...

. The lower portion of the sepals are fused to form a 3-4 millimeter cup-shaped structure with 3 minute lobes. The sepals are covered in rust-colored hairs. Its 6 petals are arranged in two rows of 3. The pale yellow, triangular to egg-shaped, outer petals are 5 by 8 millimeters with pointed tips. The outer surface of the outer petals are covered in silky hairs. The pale yellow, lance-shaped inner petals are 12.5 by 6.5 millimeters. The flowers have pale yellow

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. The flowers have numerous hairy

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'' ...

with 4-5

ovules 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 ...

. The carpels have club-shaped styles that are 4-5 millimeters long, and hairless stigmas that are held together by a glutinous exudate.

Reproductive biology

The pollen of ''Xylopia cuspidata'' is shed as permanent tetrads.

Distribution and habitat

It has been observed growing in high forests and bushlands at elevations of 110 meters.

Uses

Based on interviews with traditional healers in Peru extracts from the bark and leaves have been recorded as being used to treat rheumatism.

References

{{Taxonbar, from= Q15366700 Plants described in 1927 Flora of Bolivia Flora of Brazil Flora of Colombia Flora of Ecuador Flora of Peru Taxa named by Ludwig Diels cuspidata