Saurauia polysperma

Saurauia polysperma is a species of flowering plant in the family Actinidiaceae. It is endemic to the Philippines.^[2] In the Philippines it is also known as tsuke.^{[citation needed]} Francisco Manuel Blanco, the Augustinian friar who first formally described the species, using the basionym Gordonia polysperma, named it after its many seeds (Latinized form of Greek σπέρμα, spérma).

Saurauia polysperma
Herbarium specimen of Saurauia polysperma.[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Ericales
Family:	Actinidiaceae
Genus:	Saurauia
Species:	S. polysperma
Binomial name
Saurauia polysperma (Blanco) Merr.
Synonyms
Saurauia subglabra Merr. Gordonia polysperma Blanco

Description

It is a small tree reaching about 1.5 meters in height. Its leaves are narrow and tapering with serrated margins and are almost hairless. Its petioles are very short. Its Inflorescences are organized as panicles each bearing a few flowers. Its inflorescences are axillary. Its flowers have a calyx with 5 oval-shaped sepals fused at their base. Its corolla has 5 oval lobes that are fused at their base. Each lobe has a notched tip. Its flowers have up to 30 stamens. Its fertilized ovaries have chambers, each containing numerous seeds.^[3][4]

Reproductive biology

The pollen of Saurauia polysperma is shed as permanent tetrads.^[5]