Duguetia A. St.-Hil., Fl. Bras. Merid. (A. St.-Hil.), 1: 35, 1825

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 : 100

Duguetia A. St.-Hil., Fl. Bras. Merid. (A. St.-Hil.), 1: 35, 1825

= Pachypodanthium Engl. & Diels, Notizbl. Königl. Bot. Gart. Berlin 3: 55, 1900.

Type species.

Duguetia lanceolata A.St.-Hil. (a Brazilian species).

Description.

Trees, 8-50 m tall, d.b.h. up to 50 cm; stilt roots or buttresses absent. Indumentum of stellate or fasciculate hairs. Leaves: petiole 1-10 mm long, 2-6 mm in diameter; blade 7-34 cm long, 3-8 cm wide, ovate to elliptic to obovate, apex acuminate to acute, acumen 0.5-1 cm long, base cordate to acute, discolorous, whitish below or concolorous; midrib sunken or flat; secondary veins 8 to 25 pairs; tertiary venation reticulate. Individuals bisexual; inflorescences ramiflorous on young and old leafless branches, leaf opposed or supra-axillary. Flowers with 9 perianth parts in 3 whorls, 2 to 5 per inflorescence; pedicel 3-22 mm long; in fruit 1-50 mm long; bracts 2, one basal and one upper in the lower half of pedicel, basal bract 7-12 mm long, upper bract similar than basal one; sepals 3, valvate, free, 6-15 mm long, apex acute, base truncate; petals free, outer petals longer than inner to sub equal; outer petals 3, valvate, free, 10-30 mm long, 4-10 mm wide, elliptic to ovate, apex acute to acuminate, base truncate; inner petals 3, imbricate, free, 4-20 mm long, 4-9 mm wide, elliptic to ovate to obovate, apex acute to acuminate, base truncate; stamens numerous, 1-2 mm long, broad; connective discoid; staminodes absent; carpels free, 50 to 125, 1.5-3.5 mm long, stigma globose. Fruit pseudosyncarpous; carpels sessile, connate or free, 60 to 125 carpels, 15-55 mm long, 7-30 mm in diameter, globose to ovoid to ellipsoid, apex domed-shaped to acute to apiculate; seed 1, 7-20 mm long, 4-13 mm in diameter, obovoid to ellipsoid; aril present, rudimentary.

A genus of 94 species, with a disjunct distribution, 89 in the Neotropics and 4 in Africa, but absent from Madagascar. All four African species are known from Cameroon, one endemic.

This genus of trees is characterized by stellate hairs on its leaves and pseudosyncarpous fruits. The only other tree genus with stellate hairs in Cameroon is Annickia , but the latter has a yellow slash and apocarpous fruits with clearly stipitate monocarps.

Taxonomy.

Maas et al. (2003); present work.