Horovitzia Explained

Horovitzia cnidoscoloides is a plant species in the family Caricaceae, endemic to the cloud forest of Sierra de Juarez in Oaxaca, Mexico at elevations of 800 to 1600 meters.^[1] It is the only species in the genus Horovitzia. The type specimen was collected in Ixtlán de Juárez, Oaxaca on 9 March 1986

Description

Small evergreen dioecious tree 0.5–4 meters tall, with subcapitate stigma, and stinging hairs covering the entire plant. Male flowers have a 3–10 cm long peduncle. Fruits are 6–15 cm long, green when mature, pendulous, ellipsoid with strong ridges. The plant has a chromosome count of 2n = 16.^[2]

Notes and References

1. Carvalho . Fernanda . Renner . Susanne . Correct names for some of the closest relatives of Carica papaya: A review of the Mexican/Guatemalan genera Jarilla and Horovitzia . PhytoKeys . Pensoft Publishers . 2013-11-19 . 29 . 1314-2003 . 10.3897/phytokeys.29.6103 . 63–74. 3881347 . 24399895 . free .
2. Rockinger . Alexander . Sousa . Aretuza . Carvalho . Fernanda A. . Renner . Susanne S. . Chromosome number reduction in the sister clade of Carica papaya with concomitant genome size doubling . American Journal of Botany . Wiley . 103 . 6 . 2016-05-27 . 0002-9122 . 10.3732/ajb.1600134 . 1082–1088. 27234227 . free .