''Xylopia nitida'' 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 family. It is native to

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 ...

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. Michel Félix Dunal, the botanist who first formally described the species, named it after the shiny (' in Latin) upper surface of its leaves.

Description

It is a tree reaching 20 meters in height. The young branches are covered in dense pale brown hairs, but as they mature they become hairless. Its narrow, elliptical, papery leaves are 8.5-13 by 3-4.5 centimeters. The leaves have pointed bases and tapering tips, with the tapering portion 5-10 millimeters long. The leaves are shiny and hairless on their upper surfaces, and have dense, slivery-white to brown hairs that lay flat on their lower surfaces. Its petioles are 2-6 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 leaves or fallen leaves. Each inflorescence has up to 8 flowers. 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 1-13 by 1-3 millimeters. Its flowers have 3 oval to triangular

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 1-2 millimeters long. The lower part of the sepals are fused at their margins to form a cup-shaped calyx that is 4-5 millimeters long. Its 6 petals are arranged in two rows of 3. The orange outer petals are 18-20 by 3-5 millimeter. The orange inner petals are 15 by 1-2 millimeters. Its flowers have 170-270

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 1-1.5 millimeters long. The stamen are attached to a

receptacle Receptacle may refer to: Biology * Receptacle (botany), a plant anatomical part * Seminal receptacle, a sperm storage site in some insects Electrical engineering * Automobile auxiliary power outlet, formerly known as ''cigarette lighter recep ...

that forms a cone that is 1.8-2.2 by 1.2-1.5 millimeters. Its flowers have 20-30

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'' ...

. Its stigma are capped with soft hairs. The hairless, green to red, narrow, cylindrical fruit occur in clusters of 10-27. The fruit are 10-60 millimeters long with longitudinal grooves. Each fruit has 4-6 egg-shaped seeds that are 5-6.5 millimeters long.

Reproductive biology

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

Distribution and habitat

It has been observed growing in subtropical forests, tropical moist lowlands, and savanna.

Uses

Its leaf oils contain terpinenes,

cymene ''p''-Cymene is a naturally occurring aromatic organic compound. It is classified as an alkylbenzene related to a monoterpene. Its structure consists of a benzene ring ''para''-substituted with a methyl group and an isopropyl group. ''p''-Cym ...

, and limonene.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15366580 Plants described in 1817 Flora of Brazil Flora of Colombia Flora of Ecuador Flora of French Guiana Flora of Guyana Flora of Suriname Flora of Venezuela Taxa named by Michel Félix Dunal nitida