''Sphaerocoryne affinis'' is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the

soursop Soursop (also called graviola, guyabano, and in Latin America ) is the fruit of ''Annona muricata'', a broadleaf, flowering, evergreen tree. It is native to the Tropics, tropical regions of the Americas and the Caribbean and is widely propag ...

family,

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 ...

. It is a

liana A liana is a long-Plant stem, stemmed Woody plant, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the Canopy (biology), canopy in search of direct sunlight. T ...

(woody climbing plant) growing in lowland wet tropical forests at an elevation of up to . It is distributed within west and central

Malesia Malesia is a biogeographical region straddling the Equator and the boundaries of the Indomalayan and Australasian realms. It is a phytogeographical floristic region in the Paleotropical kingdom. It was first recognized as a distinct region ...

, and occurs at one locality in Southern Thailand, on Tarutao Island. ''Sphaerocoryne affinis'' is similar in appearance to '' S. lefevrei'' (a species with cultural significance in Cambodia and Thailand, where it is known as rumduol and lamduan, respectively), and some sources treat them as the same species. In Cambodia, the rumdoul has been referred to by the scientific name ''Mitrella mesnyi'', which most authorities regard as an illegitimate synonym of ''S. affinis'', though this species does not occur in the country.

References

affinis Flora of Malesia {{Annonaceae-stub