Antiaropsis

Primary tabs

Antiaropsis

Description

Trees or shrubs, dioecious. Leaves distichous; stipules free, lateral. Inflorescences discoid and involucrate, with interfloral bracts (?), pedunculate. stamens (2-) 3-5(-6). Fruit a dehiscent drupe; seed without endosperm, cotyledons equal, rather thick, involute, radicle apical, short.

Distribution

Asia-Tropical: New Guinea present
The genus comprises two closely related species and is only known from New Guinea.

Morphology

The pistils are surrounded by 4, ± conduplicate tepals. In the pistillate inflorescences of A. decipiens, in addition to the tepals, similar, somewhat larger and flat, structures occur on the receptacle, which could be regarded as interfloral bracts, but might be ‘displaced’ tepals. Such ‘interfloral bracts’ have not yet been detected in the material available of staminate inflorescences.

Phytochemo

α-antiarin and antioside, cardenolides known from Antiaris have also been found in seeds of Antiaropsis ().

Citation

K. Schum. & Lauterb. 1900: Fl. Schutzgeb. Südsee: 267
Boerl. 1900 – In: Handl. Fl. Ned. Ind.: 327
Engl. 1908 – In: Engl. & Prantl, Nat. Pflanzenfam. Nachtr. 2: 96
Corner 1962: p. 249. – In: Gard. Bull. Singapore 19: ‘Antiaropsi’.
Diels 1935 – In: Bot. Jahrb. Syst.: 174