Anonidium Engl. & Diels, Notizbl. Konigl . Bot. Gart. Berlin 3: 56, 1900

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. & Sonke, Bonaventure, 2022, Flora of Cameroon - Annonaceae Vol 45, PhytoKeys 207, pp. 1-532 : 46-47

Anonidium Engl. & Diels, Notizbl. Konigl. Bot. Gart. Berlin 3: 56, 1900

Type species.

Anonidium mannii Engl. & Diels.

Description.

Trees, 4-30 m tall, d.b.h. up to 80 cm; stilt roots or buttresses absent. Indumentum of simple hairs. Leaves: petiole 3-10 mm long, 2-5 mm in diameter, blade 20-50 cm long, 7-18 cm wide, oblong to obovate, apex rounded or abruptly acuminate, base subcordate forming two small lobes on top of the petiole, concolorous; midrib sunken or flat; secondary veins 10 to 20 pairs; tertiary venation reticulate. Individuals androdioecious or dioecious; inflorescences cauliflorous or ramiflorous on old leafless branches, axillary. Flowers with 9 perianth parts in 3 whorls. 5 to 20 or more per inflorescence; flowering peduncle long, up to 2-4 m, woody, hanging or semi erect; pedicel 10-70 mm long; in fruit 25-100 mm long; bracts 2-4, basal or inserted along the pedicel, 1-5 mm long; sepals 3, valvate, free, 3-4 mm long, triangular to ovate, apex acute, base truncate; petals free; outer petals longer than inner; outer petals 3, valvate, 10-15 mm long, 8-10 mm wide, ovate, apex acute, base truncate; inner petals 3, valvate, 8-10 mm long, 3-4 mm wide, narrowly oblong or narrowly elliptic, apex acute to obtuse, base truncate; stamens 65 to 700, in 2 to 3 rows, 2-3 mm long, linear; connective discoid, shortly pubescent; staminodes absent; carpels free, 180 to 260, ovary 1-2 mm long, stigma capitate, glabrous or pubescent. Fruit pseudosyncarpous, 20-50 mm long, 20-50 mm in diameter, obovoid to globose; monocarps sessile, completely fused, 250 to 500; seed 1, 8-10 mm long, 4-5 mm in diameter, flattened ellipsoid; aril absent.

A genus of trees with four species distributed in Central Africa, one widespread and common across its range ( A. mannii ) and three others mainly in Gabon (two endemic); in Cameroon two species, none endemic.

Anonidium usambarense R.E.Fr, endemic to Tanzania, is in fact a Polyceratocarpus species (probably Polyceratocarpus scheffleri Engl. & Diels, Couvreur, pers. obs.). Finally, one study ( Focho et al. 2010) reports the presence of Anonidium floribundum Pellegr. in the Mount Cameroon area. However, no herbarium collection is available to confirm this and we do not consider it present in Cameroon for now.

Taxonomy.

No recent revision has yet been published, but see Le Thomas (1969b) were most species are treated for Gabon.