Dialypetalanthus (Amazon tree)

[Elmar Robbrecht]

Dear Taxacomers

Some of you will have read our contribution to the enigmatic Amazon tree
Dialypetalanthus (Dialypetalanthaceae) in the last issue of the Annals of
the Missouri Botanical Garden (84: 201-223), which was based on herbarium
material only. Despite many attempts, we have been unable to get fixated
material to pursuit this study.

We still are very eager to carry out a floral ontogenetic study, and need
for that fixated flowers and fruits in all stages of development (from
floral primordia as small as a needle pin onwards).

We also curious to see whether our assumption that the tree could well be
beetle-pollinated holds after field observations.

If anybody knows the tree in the field, we would be pleased he contacts us -
perhaps better directly at robbrecht at BR.fgov.be rather than cluttering up
Taxacom.

Thank you very much.

Elmar Robbrecht
Herbarium, National Botanic Garden of Belgium
Frederic Piesschaert and Erik Smets
Plant Systematics K.U.Leuven (Belgium)