Apodytes dimidiata
Apodytes dimidiata E.Mey. ex Arn.
Apodytes dimidiata is a tree native to Southern Africa, growing up to 5 m tall, and is part of the Metteniusaceae family. It features fragrant white flowers and small fruits that are black when dry, with a red fleshy appendage. The fruit is laterally compressed, with a mesocarp thickness of about 80–100 µm and a persistent calyx. The endocarp is brown, bilaterally symmetrical, and has a thickened sclerotic mass in the truncate part, likely for mechanical reinforcement. The plant's English common name refers to its timber's resemblance to that of the European pear tree.
Description
Apodytes dimidiata produces fruits that are initially fleshy with a red appendage, turning black when dry. The epicarp is glabrous and shriveled, exposing endocarp ridges. The endocarp is unilocular, single-seeded, and measures approximately 5.5 mm in length and 7.6 mm in width. Its outer surface is ridged with about 10 lateral ridges. The endocarp wall is 177–266 µm thick, composed of two cell layers: an outermost layer with 4–7 rows of anticlinally oriented cells and an innermost layer with one row of periclinally oriented cells. A sclerotic mass, about 1.3 mm thick, is present in the truncate part, possibly reinforcing the connection to the fleshy appendage.
Distribution
Global · LA · Aldabra · Angola · Assam · Borneo · Burundi · Cambodia · Cameroon · Cape Provinces · China South-Central · China Southeast · Comoros · Eritrea · Ethiopia · Hainan · India · Jawa · Kenya · KwaZulu-Natal · Laos · Lesser Sunda Is. · Madagascar · Malawi · Malaya · Maluku · Mauritius · Mozambique · Myanmar · Nigeria
Synonyms
Jobalboa aberdaricaMappia philippinensisNothapodytes philippinensisNothapodytes zeylanicaNeoleretia philippinensisPterocelastrus macrostylusApodytes acutifoliaApodytes beddomeiApodytes benthamianaApodytes bequaertiiApodytes cambodianaApodytes curtisiiApodytes dimidiata subsp. acutifoliaApodytes dimidiata var. acutifoliaApodytes dimidiata var. emirnensisApodytes dimidiata f. farinosaApodytes dimidiata var. hazomaitsoApodytes dimidiata var. ikongoensisApodytes dimidiata var. inversaApodytes dimidiata f. microphyllaApodytes emirnensisApodytes frappieriApodytes gardnerianaApodytes giungApodytes hazomaitsoApodytes inversaApodytes javanicaApodytes mauritianaApodytes stuhlmanniiApodytes tonkinensis
