''Xylopia calophylla'' is a species of

plant Plants are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic eukaryotes of the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all curr ...

in the

Annonaceae The Annonaceae are a 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 family in the M ...

family. It is native to

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

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,

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar language, Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechuan ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

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 ...

Robert Elias Fries (Klas) Robert Elias Fries (11 July 1876, Uppsala – 29 January 1966, Stockholm), the youngest son of Theodor Magnus Fries (1832–1913) and grandson of Elias Magnus Fries(1794–1878) and an expert on mushrooms. A Swedish botanist who was a mem ...

, the botanist who first formally described the species, named it after its beautiful leaves (Latinized forms of Greek , calli- and , phullon).

Description

It is a medium-sized tree. The young branches are densely covered in soft, silky, rust-colored hairs, but as they mature they become hairless. The branches have reddish bark and often have

lenticels A lenticel is a porous tissue consisting of cells with large intercellular spaces in the periderm of the secondarily thickened organs and the bark of woody stems and roots of dicotyledonous flowering plants. It functions as a pore, providing a ...

. Its elliptical, papery leaves are 8-10 by 2.5-3.5 centimeters. The leaves have short, pointed bases and tapering, somewhat blunted tips, with the tapering portion 5-10 millimeters long. The leaves are differently colored on their upper and lower sides. The upper sides are shiny and hairless. The lower sides are densely covered in silvery hairs that lay flat against the surface. The midribs of the leaves are impressed on their upper surface and very prominent on their lower surface. The leaves have secondary veins that are also impressed on the upper surface and form a network pattern. Its petioles are 5-6 millimeters long, covered in soft hairs, with a groove on their upper side. 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 ...

s occur in axillary positions. The flowers are on

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 ...

that are up to 3 millimeters long, packed together in dense groupings, and covered in gold-colored silky hairs. Its flowers have 3 egg-shaped

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 2 by 2 millimeters, with pointed tips. The base of the sepals are fused at their margins. The sepals have silky hairs on their lower surfaces and are hairless on their upper surfaces. Its 6 petals are arranged in two rows of 3. The linear, outer petals are 15-16 by 1.5-2 millimeter with rounded tips. The outer surfaces of the outer petals have gold-colored, silky hairs. The inner petals are shorter and narrower and covered in downy, white hairs except on the base of the inner surface. The flowers have short

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 filam ...

s that are 0.6-0.7 millimeters long with lobed anthers that have 2, or sometimes 3, chambers. The flowers have up to 7

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'' ...

with silky

ovaries The ovary is an organ in the female reproductive system that produces an ovum. When released, this travels down the fallopian tube into the uterus, where it may become fertilized by a sperm. There is an ovary () found on each side of the bod ...

that are 1 millimeter long. The flowers have thread-like stigma that are 4 millimeters long with styles that are bent at their base.

Reproductive biology

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

Distribution and habitat

It has been observed growing in forests at elevations of 200-300 meters.

References

{{Taxonbar, from= Q15367668 Plants described in 1939 Flora of Bolivia Flora of Brazil Flora of Colombia Flora of Ecuador Flora of Peru Flora of Venezuela Taxa named by Robert Elias Fries calophylla