Korupodendron
Encyclopedia
Korupodendron is a genus of the family Vochysiaceae
Vochysiaceae
Vochysiaceae is a plant family belonging to the order of Myrtales.-Description:Trees or shrubs with opposite leaves; flowers are zygomorph 1--5 merous; ovary inferior or superior; one fertile stamen; fruits samara or capsules-Biogeography:...

. The genus is represented by a single species: K. songweanum. It was first discovered in Korup NP in NW Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...

 and named in honor of Dr N. Songwe. Korupodendron differs from the other African genus Erismadelphus by having three conspicuous and petaloid sepals and two inconspicuous sepals.

Description

K. songweanum is a tall canopy tree species, with opposite simple leaves; the leaf shape is elliptic to ovate,with an entire margin, acute to obtuse base and an accuminate apex
Apex
Apex may refer to:- Biology :* Apex , the tip of the spire of the shell of a gastropod* Apex is the Apical meristem or its remnant on a flower...

, chartaceous, glabrous (dimensions: 8–12.5 x 4–6 cm).The sessile flowers are zygomorph with five white sepals fused at the base, and five free petals readily deciduous; the upper sepal forms a sac-like spur over the unilocular ovary;the only fertile stamen and the style are strait to slightly curved; fruits indehiscent with three large wings and two smaller ones.

Distribution

The species is distributed from NW Cameroon to north Gabon
Gabon
Gabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...

 with a disjunction for most of Cameroon. A population was recently discovered in Mbé National Park in Gabon
Gabon
Gabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...

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