Ruizodendron

Ruizodendron is a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Annonaceae. It is part of Malmeoideae subfamily and Malmeeae tribe.^[3] The only known species is Ruizodendron ovale.^[4]

Ruizodendron
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Magnoliids
Order:	Magnoliales
Family:	Annonaceae
Subfamily:	Malmeoideae
Tribe:	Malmeeae
Genus:	Ruizodendron R.E.Fr.
Species:	R. ovale
Binomial name
Ruizodendron ovale (Ruiz & Pav.) R.E.Fr.
Synonyms[2]
Guatteria ovalis Ruiz & Pav.

Its native range is western South America and it is found in northern Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras and Peru.^[4] It grows in tropical rain forests.^[3]

The genus name of Ruizodendron is in honour of Hipólito Ruiz López (1754–1815), a Spanish botanist known for researching the floras of Peru and Chile during an expedition under Carlos III from 1777 to 1788,^[5] and the Greek word for tree dendron.^[3] The Latin specific epithet of ovale is derived from Latin ovum meaning egg-shaped.^[6] Both the genus and the species were first described and published in Ark. Bot. Vol.28 (Edition 4) on page 3 in 1936.^[4]