Letestudoxa Pellegr., Bull. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat. 26: 654 1920
Creators: name: Couvreur, Thomas L. P.
name: Dagallier, Leo-Paul M. J.
name: Crozier, Francoise
name: Ghogue, Jean-Paul
name: Hoekstra, Paul H.
name: Kamdem, Narcisse G.
name: Johnson, David M.
name: Murray, Nancy A.
name: Sonke, Bonaventure
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Plantae
Tracheophyta
Magnoliopsida
Magnoliales
Annonaceae
Letestudoxa

description: Letestudoxa Pellegr., Bull. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat. 26: 654, 1920 Type species. <i>Letestudoxa bella</i> Pellegr. Description. Lianas, to 40 m tall, d.b.h. up to 4 cm; stilt roots or buttresses absent. Indumentum of simple hairs. Leaves: petiole 3-12 mm long, 1-6 mm in diameter, pubescent to glabrous, slightly grooved, blade inserted on top of the petiole; blade 5-28 cm long, 3-12 cm wide, elliptic to obovate to oblong, apex acuminate to emarginate, base rounded to cordate; secondary veins 11 to 20 pairs; tertiary venation percurrent to indistinct. Individuals bisexual; inflorescences ramiflorous on old leafless branches, extra axillary. Flowers with 9 perianth parts in 3 whorls, 1 per inflorescence; pedicel 3-11 mm long, 1-7 mm in diameter; in fruit 3-7 mm long, 1-3 mm in diameter; bracts 2, one basal and one upper towards the lower half of pedicel; sepals 3, valvate, completely fused forming a nearly closed cup but tearing open at anthesis, 10-20 mm long; petals free, outer petals longer than inner; outer petals 3, imbricate, 30-55 mm long, 15-55 mm wide, ovate, apex acute to rounded, base attenuate; inner petals 3, imbricate, 15-35 mm long, 10-25 mm wide, elliptic to ovate, apex acute, base attenuate to acute; stamens up to 800, in 16 to 20 rows, 2-10 mm long, broad; connective flattened, pubescent, red; staminodes absent; carpels free, 150-175, 2-2.5 mm long, stigma capitate, pubescent. [Fruits only known from <i>L. bella</i>] Fruit pseudosyncarpous ca. 45 mm long, ca. 50 mm in diameter, globose; individual carpels sessile, 125 to 150 carpels, apex rounded to apiculate; seed 1, 15-16 mm long, 4-8 mm in diameter, ellipsoid; aril present. A genus of lianas with three known species, from Angola (Cabinda), Cameroon, Gabon and Republic of Congo; in Cameroon two species, none endemic. <i>Lestestudoxa</i> is distinguished by the lianescent habit and pseudosyncarpous fruits (carpels fusing after pollination to form a single fruiting unit, similar to those of the genus <i>Duguetia</i>, but the latter being trees) and the sepals completely fused around the floral bud and tearing at anthesis. The only other lianescent Annonaceae liana in Africa with pseudosyncarpous fruits is <i>Pseudartabotrys</i>, a monospecific genus endemic to Gabon (Le Thomas 1969b). Taxonomy. Chatrou (1998).
description: Published as part of <i>Couvreur, Thomas L. P., Dagallier, Leo-Paul M. J., Crozier, Francoise, Ghogue, Jean-Paul, Hoekstra, Paul H., Kamdem, Narcisse G., Johnson, David M., Murray, Nancy A. &amp; Sonke, Bonaventure, 2022, Flora of Cameroon - Annonaceae Vol 45, pp. 1-532 in PhytoKeys 207</i> on pages 153-154, DOI: 10.3897/phytokeys.207.61432
description: {"references": ["Le Thomas, A, 1969b. Annonacees. In: Aubreville, A, Ed., Flore du Gabon. Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris: 1 - 371", "Chatrou, LW, 1998. Changing genera. Systematic studies in Neotropical and West African Annonaceae. Utrecht University."]}