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Annonaceae
Monodora crispata Engl.
Nomenclature
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Tribe: MonodoreaeGenus: Monodora
SUMMARY
Tree to 20 m high, sometimes leaning and giving a lianescent appearance; d.b.h. to 30 cm; outer bark dark brown with vertical lenticels; young branches drying black, glabrous; old branches brown-blackish, glabrous. Petioles 3-7 mm long, 1-1.5 mm in diameter, leaf lamina inserted on side, narrowly grooved adaxially. Leaf lamina 5-10(-17) cm long, 2.5-5(-6) cm wide, length:width ratio1.8-3.2, narrowly obovate to obovate or narrowly elliptic to elliptic, base rounded to acute, apex acuminate, acumen 3-10 mm long, membranous when young to coriaceous, glabrous, dark green; midrib adaxially raised becoming sunken towards the base, glabrous, prominent and glabrous abaxially; secondary veins 9-13 pairs. Flowers single, leaf opposed, sometimes extra axillary, pendulous. Flowering pedicels 20-50 mm long, 0.9-0.7 mm in diameter, glabrous, dark green. Upper bract inserted centrally or subapically on the pedicel, 6-15 mm long, 5-9 mm wide, length:width ratio 2-3, ovate to narrowly ovate, base decurrent, apex acute, glabrous on both surfaces, green, margins undulate, sparsely covered with curly hairs to glabrous. Sepals (5-)9-18 mm long, 3-6 mm wide, length:width ratio 2-3.6, narrowly ovate to ovate, base truncate, apex acute, glabrous on both surfaces, green, reflexed upwards, falling in fruit, margins undulate to crisped, glabrous. Outer petals 35-70 mm long, (6-)10-20 mm wide, length:width ratio 2-6.5, narrowly oblong to oblong, base truncated, apex attenuate, arc-shaped in the lower part, both surfaces glabrous, white or yellow at base then yellow with red-brown tiger markings, strongly crisped, margins strongly crisped, glabrous. Inner petals 4-17 mm long, 6-20 mm wide, length:width: ratio 0.5-1.5, clawed triangular to cordate, base cordate, apex acute, connivent by the margins, sparsely to densely covered with 2-3 mm long straight hairs inside, glabrous outside, white to yellow with red streaks towards margins, margins crisped, densely covered with short curly hairs; claw 3-8 mm long, 1-3 mm wide, claw:inner petal ratio, 0.4-1.1, glabrous, bright yellow. Receptacle 3-4 mm in diameter, flat to slightly convex. Stamens in 9-11 rows, 0.5-1 mm long, connective shield ca. 0.2 mm long, densely covered with short erect hairs, white, those of innermost whorl not elongated over ovary wall. Ovary ca. 2 mm long, ca. 1.5 mm wide stigma ca. 1.5-2 mm in diameter, weakly capitate, sparsely covered with short erect hairs. Fruiting pedicels 3-5 cm long, 4-10 mm in diameter, woody, glabrous. Fruits 6-15 cm long, 3.5-5 cm in diameter, length:width ratio 1.5-2.5, conic, apex acute, conspicuously 6 to 7-ribbed, sometimes ribs separated halfway up the fruit, small secondary ribs present but disappearing upwards, smooth, glabrous, green-grey; pericarp 3-5 mm thick. Seeds 10-13 mm long, 5-9 mm wide, broadly ellipsoid, packed in white pulp; testa smooth, light brown; raphe not thickened, brown; hilum 4-5 mm long, 2-2.5 mm wide, elliptical.