''Saurauia avellana '' is a species of

plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...

in the

Actinidiaceae The Actinidiaceae are a small family (biology), family of flowering plants. The family has three genus, genera and about 360 species and is a member of the order Ericales. Distribution They are temperate and subtropical woody plant, woody vines, ...

family. It is native to the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

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 In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

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 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

, 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 (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

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

ovary The ovary () is a gonad in the female reproductive system that produces ova; when released, an ovum travels through the fallopian tube/ oviduct into the uterus. There is an ovary on the left and the right side of the body. The ovaries are end ...

. 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 sporangium, megasporangium), ...

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