The young tree of Goniothalamus tapis was flowering and fruiting when I walked through the under-storey tropical forest of the Botanic Gardens and the clusters of deep maroon fruit dotting the crown caught my eye. Otherwise, this nondescript tree would just have been another random tree to me.
Goniothalamus tapis is from the SEA region and part of the Annonaceae family whose other famous members include the very fragrant Cananga odorata (Ylang Ylang) and the deliciously saccharine Annona squamosa (custard apple). I did not find the flowers of G. tapis to be fragrant, but there weren't many left on the tree to begin with.
According to Dave's Garden, the name is Greek for angle (Gonio) and inner room chamber (thalamus) likely alluding to some structure of the plant. Surprisingly, many studies have also been done on the chemicals elucidated from this species as well as other from the same genus. Many of these chemicals have shown to have cancer fighting properties.
It's the quiet, boring ones that will surprise!
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| Cluster of ruby fruits |
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| Not your typical looking flower |
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