3. Deeringothamnus Small, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club. 51: 389. 1924.
[For Charles Deering, frequent sponsor of J. K. Small in his botanical explorations]
Shrubs , 2-3(-5) dm, from stout-linear or fusiform taproots. Bark thin, glabrate. Shoots arching to semidecumbent, simple or sparingly branched, glabrate; lenticels pale; buds naked. Leaves tardily deciduous. Leaf blade leathery, glabrate. Inflorescences from axils of new shoot leaves, solitary flowers; peduncle not bracteate. Flowers ascending to nodding; receptacle flat-surfaced; sepals persistent, (2-)3(-4), oblong to ovate, imbricate in bud; petals 6-9(-15) in 2 whorls, ±equal, fleshy, veins impressed adaxially, imbricate in bud; stamens 10-20(-25), erect in flat-topped mass; connective short-cylindric, extruding, blunt; pistils 1-5(-7), distinct, narrowly fusiform, glabrate; ovules 3-8 per pistil in 2 staggered rows. Fruits simple berries, 1-5 per flower, yellow-green, unevenly oblong-cylindric, pulpy, insipid. Seeds 3-8 per pistil, bean-shaped to ovoid, coat tough, margins absent.
Species 2 (2 in the flora): peninsular Florida.
SELECTED REFERENCES
Kral, R. 1983c. Deeringothamnus. In: R. Kral, ed. 1983. A Report on Some Rare, Threatened, or Endangered Forest-related Plants of the South. Washington. Pp. 452-456. [U.S.D.A. Forest Service Techn. Publ. R8-TP 2.] Wilbur, R. L. 1970. Taxonomic and nomenclatural observations on the eastern North American genus Asimina (Annonaceae). J. Elisha Mitchell Sci. Soc. 86(2): 88-96.
