Goniothalamus grandiflorus

Goniothalamus grandiflorus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Magnoliids
Order:	Magnoliales
Family:	Annonaceae
Genus:	Goniothalamus
Species:	G. grandiflorus
Binomial name
Goniothalamus grandiflorus (Warb.) Boerl.
Synonyms
Beccariodendron grandiflorumWarb. Oxymitra macranthaHemsl.

Goniothalamus grandiflorus is a species of rainforest tree in the Custard Apple Family Annonaceae. It is native to New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. ^[1] It was first formally described by Otto Warburg, a German-Jewish botanist, using the basionym Beccariodendron grandiflorum after its big, dark red flowers. ^[2] These flowers are borne directly on the trunk and major branches (cauliflory), the largest of all cauliflorous flowers.

Description

It is a tree with gray smooth branches. Its young branches have rust colored hairs. Its petioles are 1 centimeters long. Its hairless, elliptical to oblong leaves are 20–25 by 8-9 centimeters with tips that taper to a short point and bases that come to a shallow point. The upper surface of leaves are bright colored while the undersides are paler. The leaves have 9-12 pairs of secondary veins emanating from their midribs. Its flowers are on 15 millimeter long pedicels. Its 3 sepals are 10 millimeters wide and 15 millimeters long and are conjoined at their margins for 5 millimeters at their base. The sepals come to a shallow point. Its flowers have 6 petals in two whorls of 3. The outer petals are 13 centimeters long (occasionally as much as seven inches (18 centimeters) in length) ^[3] and 12 millimeters wide. The inner surface of the outer petals have brown hairs. The inner petals are 15 by 15 millimeters. Its anthers are 2 millimeters long. Each of its flowers produces a multiple fruit, consisting of many carpels, each with 4-6 ovules. The large fruit consists of up to 40 oval, brown, wrinkled berries. each developing from one carpel, on short stalks, resembling a cluster of large grapes. Each berry in the fruit has 4-6 seeds. ^{[2] [4]}

Reproductive biology

The pollen of G. grandiflorus is shed as permanent tetrads. ^[5]

Uses

Bioactive molecules extracted from its bark, leaves and flowers have been reported to have antibacterial activity against both Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria. ^[6]

References

1. "Goniothalamus grandiflorus (Warb.) Boerl". Plants of the World Online. The Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. n.d. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
2. Warburg, O (1891). "Beiträge zur Kenntnis der papuanischen Flora". Botanische Jahrbücher für Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie (in German and Latin). 13: 230–455.
3. "Flora of the Solomon Islands", Kew Bulletin # 102 (June–July 1895)Issue No. CCCCLXI
4. Boerlage, J.G. (1899). "Notes sur Les Anonacées du Jardin Botanique de Buitenzorg". Icones Bogorienses (in French). Vol. 1. Leiden: E. J. Brill.
5. Walker, James W. (1971). "Pollen Morphology, Phytogeography, and Phylogeny of the Annonaceae". Contributions from the Gray Herbarium of Harvard University. 202: 1–130. JSTOR   41764703.
6. Khan, M.R.; Komine, K.; Omoloso, A.D. (2008). "Antimicrobial Activity of Goniothalamus Grandiflorous". Pharmaceutical Biology. 37 (5): 340–342. doi:10.1076/phbi.37.5.340.6049. ISSN   1388-0209.