Volume 16 > Part 1 > Year 2022 > Page 22 > Annonaceae > Alphonsea

13. Alphonsea malayana Kesslerwfo-0000527359

Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 118: 97. 1995; Leeratiwong et al., Thai Forest Bull., Bot. 48: 28. 2020.

Accepted Name : This is currently accepted.

Description : Tree 8–12 m tall; bark greyish brown, longitudinally striate. Twigs glabrous to sparsely covered with brown appressed hairs when young, later glabrous. Leaves subcoriaceous, lanceolate to elliptic, 2.5–10 by 1–3.5 cm, base cuneate, apex acuminate, the acumen 2–10 mm long, or acute, margins revolute, glabrous above, glabrous or sometimes very sparsely appressed hairy on midrib below, midrib plane above, secondary veins 5–10 per side, tertiary venation on lower surface forming a close network; petioles 2–5 mm long. Inflorescences 1–3-flowered, peduncle 1.5–3 mm long, pedicels 5–10 mm long, each bearing a single bract near the base; buds conical. Sepals connate at base, ovate, 1–1.5 mm by 1–1.5 mm, obtuse. Outer petals triangular-ovate or ovate, 6–8 by 3.5–5 mm, apex obtuse, hairy on both sides. Inner petals ovate-triangular or triangular-elliptic, 6–7 by 3–4 mm, apex obtuse, hairy outside, glabrous to sparsely hairy at apex inside. Stamens ca 30, ovate to elliptic, 0.8–1 mm long. Carpels 1–2, ovaries elliptic-oblong or oblong, ca 2.5 mm long. Fruit of 1 monocarp borne on a pedicel ca 10 mm long. Monocarps ovoid to subglobose, 1.8–4 by 1.3–3 cm, slightly verrucose, very sparsely brown-hairy or glabrous, apex rounded, base contracted into a stipe 3–6 mm long. Seeds not seen.

Thailand : PENINSULAR: Satun (Tarutao), Yala (Betong).

Distribution : Peninsular Malaysia (type).

Ecology : Tropical rain forests or in transition areas between mangrove and lowland forests, 50–1,100 m alt. Flowering: May; fruiting: March, May.

Vernacular : Tam yao malay (ตำหยาวมาเลย์).

Notes: Alphonsea malayana closely resembles A. pallida but differs from the latter in having ovoid to subglobose monocarps with a slightly verrucose surface and not constricted between seeds (vs cylindrical or ellipsoid monocarps with a smooth surface and constrictions between the seeds).