Rugel's pawpaw

Asimina rugelii B. L. Robinson in A. Gray et al., Syn. Fl. N. Amer. 1(1): 465. 1897

Leaves: petiole 1-2 mm. Leaf blade oblong to obovate or oblanceolate, 1-7 cm, margins revolute, apex acute to obtuse, broadly rounded, often notched. Inflorescences: peduncle slender, 1-2.5 cm. Flowers spreading-ascending to recurved, canary yellow, rarely purple, faintly fragrant; sepals 2-3, erect or slightly spreading, ovate to oblong, ca. 10 mm, apex acute; petals prevalently 6, ascending to slightly spreading, lance-oblong, ca. 1.5 cm × ca. 3-4 mm; pistils (2-)5(-7), fusiform. Berries 3-6 cm. Seeds 1-1.5 cm, ± compressed laterally.

Flowering spring, all year as disturbance reaction. Moist sandy peats of slash pine-palmetto flats, savannas; of conservation concern; 0-50 m; Fla.

Deeringothamnus rugelii commonly associates with both Asimina pygmaea and A . reticulata , and overlaps in flowering time with both. No hybrids between the two genera had been observed until a recent discovery of a putative hybrid between D . rugelii and Asimina reticulata by Dr. E. Norman (pers. comm. 1994).

SELECTED REFERENCES

Small, J. K. 1930. Deeringothamnus rugelii. Addisonia 15: 17-18.