''Xylopia macrantha'' is a species of plant in the Annonaceae family. It is native to

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 ...

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 ...

and Panama. José Jerónimo Triana and Jules Émile Planchon, the botanists who first formally described the species, named it after its large flowers (Latinized forms of Greek , macros and , anthos).

Description

It is a tree. The young branches are covered in long silky hairs. Its narrow, oblong, leathery leaves are 9-12 by 3-4 centimeters. The bases of the leaves are rounded, and their tips taper to a point. The leaves are shiny and hairless on their upper surfaces. The undersides of the leaves are reddish, particularly near the midrib. The undersides of the leaves have long soft hairs that lay flat. Its petioles are 3-4 millimeters long. Its solitary Inflorescences 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 leaves on short, 5-6 millimeter long

pedicels In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence. Such inflorescences are described as ''pedicellate''. Description Pedicel refers to a structure connecting a single flower to its inflorescence. In the absenc ...

. Its large flowers have 3

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 fused to form bell-shaped calyx that are 8-10 by 10-11 millimeters. The lobes of the calyx are triangular, covered in silky hairs, and have shallowly pointed tips. Its 6 petals are arranged in two rows of 3. The thick, rigid, oblong outer petals have broad bases and are 20-23 by 8 millimeters. The outer surfaces of the outer petals are covered in soft hairs, their inner surfaces have grey woolly hairs. The inner petals are shaped like a quadrangular prism and have a 3 millimeter diameter. The inner petals have very pointed tips. The flowers have

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 ...

that are 1.5-2 millimeters long. The flowers have about 45

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'' ...

. The flowers have linear ovaries set within cup-shaped receptacles.

Reproductive biology

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

Distribution and habitat

It has been observed growing in tropical rainforests and seasonal forests at elevations of 0-550 meters.

References

{{Taxonbar, from= Q15366347 Plants described in 1862 Flora of Colombia Flora of Costa Rica Flora of Panama Taxa named by José Jerónimo Triana Taxa named by Jules Émile Planchon macrantha