| General Information |
| Distribution | Native to tropical America, but exact place of origin unknown.In the Hawaiian Islands,
naturalized on
Moloka`i.
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Habit
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Small tree, 7.5‒9 m tall, new growth puberulent with reddish brown hairs.
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Leaves
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Leaves distichous, petiolate; blade narrowly obovate, narrowly elliptic or obovate-elliptic, 6.5‒20 cm long, 2.5‒6.5 cm wide, base acute to rounded, apex acuminate, shiny and glabrous adaxially, strigillose along midrib and secondary veins abaxially, with barbate domatia in secondary vein axils, secondary veins 8‒12 pairs; petiole thick, 5‒8 mm long.
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Flowers
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Inflorescences cauligerous or ramigerous, sometimes in fascicles on knobby outgrowths of trunk, or solitary and leaf-opposed. Flowers on stout pedicel, 15‒20 mm long, 2‒2.5 mm in diameter medially, obconical, rusty puberulent, bracteolate; sepals 3, valvate, broadly triangular, 3‒4 mm long, 5‒6 mm wide, thick, apex acute, puberulent externally, petals thick, fleshy, glabrous, greenish yellow to yellow, 3 outer petals ca. 30 mm long, 22 mm wide, ovate, base cordate, apex acuminate, 3 inner petals 20‒22 mm long, 10‒15 mm wide, elliptic, cucullate, base acute to attenuate, apex obtuse; stamens numerous, 4 mm long, 1 mm in diameter, clavate with thickened apex; ovary ca. 5 mm long, 8 mm wide, broadly conical, carpels densely velutinous.
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Fruit
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Fruit to 30 cm long, 15 cm wide, ovoid to oblong, often somewhat curved, when fresh exocarp green, surface bearing regularly well-spaced, soft, conical, curved spines 2‒3 mm long, flesh white, juicy and with cottonlike fibers surrounding the seeds.
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Seeds
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Seeds numerous, light to dark brown, 13‒17 mm long, 9‒10 mm wide, ellipsoid, compressed, with low marginal ridge; endosperm ruminate.
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Contributor
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David Lorence
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