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Deeringothamnus pulchellus

(Beautiful Pawpaw)

Overview

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Critically Endangered

Threat status

Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Common Names in English:

Beautiful Pawpaw, Beautiful-Pawpaw, Royal False Pawpaw

Description

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Family Annonaceae

Trees , shrubs , rarely woody vines , deciduous or evergreen , with aromatic bark , leaves, and flowers. Pith septate to diaphragmed . Leaves alternate, simple , without stipules, petiolate . Leaf blade pinnately veined, unlobed, margins entire. Inflorescences axillary to leaf scars on old wood or to leaves on new shoots , solitary flowers or few-flowered fascicles, pedunculate ; bracts or bracteoles present or absent. Flowers bisexual , rarely unisexual ; receptacle becoming enlarged, elevated or flat; perianth hypogynous, segments valvate or imbricate; sepals persistent , (2-) 3(-4), distinct or basally connate ; petals either 6 in 2 unequal whorls of 3 with petals of outer whorl larger, petals of inner whorl fleshier than the outer, often with corrugate nectary zone, or petals 6-12(-15), nearly equal or unequal, veins impressed on inner face ; stamens 10-20 or very numerous , hypogynous, spirally arranged , forming ball or flat-topped mass; filament short, stout; anther linear to oblong-linear, extrorse , longitudinally dehiscent ; connective apically elongate , connivent; pistils 1-many, superior, 1-carpellate, 1-locular, distinct or connate to various degrees with at least stigmas distinct; placentation marginal , placenta 1; ovules 1-many per pistil; style short, thick; stigma terminal . Fruits berries , distinct, 1-8(-12) per flower, or coalescent , forming syncarps, 1 per flower. Seeds 1-many per pistil, arillate ; endosperm ruminate , oily.

Genera ca. 128, species ca. 2300 (3 genera, 12 sp: mostly circumtropical .

The family has particular importance in the tropics because of the edible syncarps of some species of Annona ; in the eastern United States the fruit of Asimina triloba (pawpaw) was once much gathered and appreciated. Programs in breeding from selected stock of Asimina have been undertaken (G. A. Zimmerman 1941).

Currently, the Pawpaw Foundation is intensively researching means to develop commercially marketable fruits. Recent studies of the chemical properties of Asimina reveal its pesticidal possibilities, and its potential as an anticancer agent (E. M. Norman, pers. comm. ) The warm-climate genera Cananga, Rollinia, and Artabotrys have been used as ornamentals .[1]

Genus Deeringothamnus

Shrubs , 2-3(-5) dm, from stout-linear or fusiform taproots . Bark thin, glabrate . Shoots arching to semidecumbent, simple or sparingly branched, glabrate; lenticels pale ; buds naked. Leaves tardily deciduous. Leaf blade leathery, glabrate. Inflorescences from axils of new shoot leaves, solitary flowers; peduncle not bracteate . Flowers ascending to nodding ; receptacle flat-surfaced; sepals persistent , (2-) 3(-4), oblong to ovate , imbricate in bud; petals 6-9(-15) in 2 whorls, ±equal, fleshy , veins impressed adaxially, imbricate in bud; stamens 10-20(-25), erect in flat-topped mass; connective short-cylindric, extruding, blunt ; pistils 1-5(-7), distinct , narrowly fusiform, glabrate; ovules 3-8 per pistil in 2 staggered rows . Fruits simple berries, 1-5 per flower, yellow-green, unevenly oblong-cylindric, pulpy, insipid . Seeds 3-8 per pistil, bean-shaped to ovoid , coat tough, margins absent.

Species 2: peninsular Florida .[2]

Physical Description

Species Deeringothamnus pulchellus

Leaves: petiole 2-4 mm. Leaf blade spreading-ascending, mostly elevated above shoots , oblong to oblong-ovate or spatulate , 4-7 cm, base cuneate to narrowly rounded , margins narrowly revolute , apex obtuse to broadly rounded, often notched . Inflorescences: peduncle slender, 1-3cm. Flowers nodding to ascending , white to pale pink, sweetly fragrant; sepals 2-4, erect , ovate-triangular, ca. 5 mm; petals 6-12(-15), ascending to apically recurved, linear or narrowly oblong, 2-3 cm × ca. 2 mm; pistils (1-) 5(-7). Berries 4-7cm. Seeds 1-1.5 cm, slightly flattened laterally. Flowering late winter-spring, all year on disturbance . [source]

Deeringothamnus pulchellus commonly associates with Asimina reticulata and overlaps with that species in flowering times; no hybrids between them have been observed. When protected from fire, the elongate and branching shoots of D. pulchellus and D. rugelii will persist, but such new growth rarely produces flowers. A conservation measure for such species must involve periodic burning . [source]

Habit: Shrub

Habitat

Sandy peats of slash pine-palmetto flats, savannas ; of conservation concern; 0-50 m [3].

Biology

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Reproduction

Duration: Perennial

Taxonomy

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Synonyms

Asimina pulchella (Small) Rehder & Dayton • Orchidocarpum parviflorum Michx. • Porcelia parviflora (Michx.) Pers. • Uvaria parviflora (Michx.) Torr. & A. Gray

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 1960

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Deeringothamnus

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 2 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

D. pulchellus (Beautiful Pawpaw) · D. rugelii (Rugel's False Pawpaw)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 19, 2007:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Robert Kral "Annonaceae". in Flora of North America Vol. 3. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  2. "Deeringothamnus". in Flora of North America Vol. 3. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  3. "Deeringothamnus pulchellus". in Flora of North America Vol. 3. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
Last Revised: 7/15/2012