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African Annonaceae
Uvariopsis lovettiana Couvreur & Q.Luke
SUMMARY
Monoecious tree 3-7 m tall, d.b.h. 7-30 cm. Young branches sparsely covered with short appressed hairs. Leaves 15-28 cm long, 4.5-7 cm wide, length:width ratio 3-3.6, narrowly elliptic, base acute, apex acute to acuminate, acumen 0.5-1 cm long, glabrous, coriaceous, dark green above, lighter green below; midrib sunken above, raised below; sparsely appressed-pubescent hairs when young, the hairs rapidly disappearing with age, secondary veins 11-14, moderately curved upwards, looped towards margin, glabrous on both sides; tertiary venation reticulate.
Male and female flowers borne on leafy branches (no cauliflory observed), axillary, single. Flowering pedicels 3-5 cm long, 2-3 mm diam., sparsely puberulous, green. Bract basal, 1 mm long, 1 mm wide, covered with short erect hairs. Hairs of flowers with conspicuously dark red base and translucent apex. Sepals 2, 2-3 mm long, 4-5 mm wide, length:width ratio 0.5-0.6, depressed ovate, base fused, apex rounded, densely appressed-pubescent hairs outside, sparsely so inside, green. Petals 4, free, in one whorl, 12-15 mm long, 8-10 mm wide, 2-3 mm thick, length:width ratio 1.5, ovate, base truncate, apex acute, coriaceous, sparsely appressed-pubescent hairs outside, glabrous inside, light green outside, white inside. Male and female receptacle globose, ca. 5 mm in diameter. Female flowers with numerous tightly packed carpels; these 2.5-3 mm long, c. 1 mm wide, densely appressed-pubescent; ovules 4-5, uniseriate; stigma 0.2 mm in diameter, sessile, glabrous; with 1-5 fertile minute stamens of c. 1 mm long present at the base of receptacle. Male flowers with numerous stamens, c. 2 mm long, apex of connective not prolonged. Fruiting pedicels 3-3.5 cm long, 2-2.5 mm diam., sparsely appressed-puberulous. Monocarps 2-4, 2.5-3 cm long, 1-1.5 cm diam., oblong, markedly constricted between seeds in dried material, glossy yellow turning orange red at maturity, very sparsely puberulous; stipe ca. 1 cm long, ca. 2 mm diam., sparsely puberulous; apex rounded with the clear presence of the stigma. Seeds 2-4 per monocarp, uniseriate, c. 1.5 cm long, c. 1 cm wide, ca. 8 mm thick; testa smooth, very thin papery, pealing off, light cream; raphe sunken; hilum c. 4 mm long 1.5 mm wide, narrowly elliptical.