Asimina × piedmontana explained

Asimina × piedmontana, known as the Piedmont hybrid pawpaw, is a hybrid species of pawpaw.[1] [2] It is a cross between the species Asimina triloba and Asimina parviflora.[3]

Description

Asimina × piedmontana is most easily identified by its flowers, which start out light green, and mature to dark burgundy, growing larger and opening wider as they do so. When fully mature, the flowers are an intermediate size between Asimina triloba and Asimina parviflora.[3]

Like Asimina parviflora, the hybrid flowers at a shorter height, and forms shrubs rather than trees, which helps to differentiate it from Asimina triloba, which forms larger tree trunks, and flowers when much older and taller.[3]

Taxonomy and etymology

The hybrid was described by botanist Charles Norman Horn in 2015.[4]

The hybrid is named "piedmontana" after the Piedmont region in the United States. It is most commonly found in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama, as the ranges of A. triloba and A. parviflora overlap there most heavily.[3]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Asimina × piedmontana C.N.Horn Plants of the World Online Kew Science . Plants of the World Online . 4 September 2023 . en.
  2. Web site: Asimina × piedmontana . Alabama Plant Atlas . Alabama Herbarium Consortium & The University of West Alabama . 3 September 2023.
  3. Horn . Charles N. . A New Hybrid of Asimina (Annonaceae) Based on Morphological and Ecological Data . Castanea . December 2015 . 80 . 4 . 262–272 . 10.2179/15-067 . 4 September 2023.
  4. Web site: Asimina ×piedmontana C.N.Horn . www.gbif.org . en.