Alphitonia ponderosa is a tree that varies significantly in height, ranging from 4 to 25 meters tall. It is recognizable by its whitish, deeply corrugated bark, especially in drier habitats. Its leaves are simple and alternate, with various shapes from ovate to lanceolate, and sizes between 6 and 22.5 cm in length and 2.5 to 9.6 cm in width. The leaves feature dark green, somewhat glossy upper surfaces and densely rusty tomentose lower surfaces that may turn white with age or lose all hairs except in certain areas, becoming glabrate. The foliage includes pinnately veined, entire margins, and petioles that are tomentulose but become sparsely so over time. The flowers are bisexual, actinomorphic, and form in thyrses, typically 6–8 cm long, with a rusty tomentose texture. They feature a calyx of five sepals and a corolla of five spatulate petals, each partly enclosing a stamen. The stamens are five in number, with anthers that open via longitudinal slits, surrounding a partly inferior ovary. The fruit is a black, subglobose drupe, 14–18 mm in diameter, featuring a wrinkled surface that is indehiscent or tardily dehiscent. The seed, enclosed by a thin red aril, remains persistent on the receptacle and is about 6 mm long. It is found in dry to mesic forests between 240-1,250 meters.
Bean-shaped (Reniform): Resembling the shape of a kidney or bean.
Square or Oblong: Angular shape with all sides more or less equal or longer than wide.
Triangular: Three-sided shape, broadest below the middle.
Elliptic: Rounded at both ends. shaped like an ellipse or oval.
Ovate or Obovate: egg-shaped, broader at one end.
Linear: Extremely long and narrow, with sides usually parallel.
Round: Appears circular, with length and width roughly the same.
Cardioid (Heart-Shaped): One edge has a prominent double curve into two lobes.
Cylindrical: A cylinder with parallel sides and a circular cross-section.
Discoid: Resembling a disc or plate with two relatively flat surfaces.
Fusiform: Spindle-shaped, tapering at both ends.
Globose: Spherical.
Lenticular: Resembling a lens with two convex surfaces.
Ovoid: Egg-shaped.
Plano-convex: Having a flat ventral (planar) surface and a curved dorsal (convex) surface.
Polygonal: Having more than three flat faces meeting at angles.
Sectoroid: Resembling a segment of an orange with two relatively flat faces and one curved face.
Subglobose/ellipsoid: Inflated shape but less than spherical.
Trigonous: Having three faces that meet at a distinct angle; triangular in cross-section.
Endangered species (E) are species that are so rare they’re in danger of becoming extinct.
Threatened species (T) are species that are likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of their range.
Species of Concern (SOC) are species about which there are some concerns regarding status and threats, but insufficient information is available to list the species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
Plant Extinction Prevention (PEP) is a state status for rare plants that focuses its efforts on species that have fewer than 50 remaining wild individuals.
Orthodox seeds (desiccation-tolerant): can be dried to an internal seed moisture of less than 12% water and stored at freezing temperatures.
Intermediate seeds (temperature-sensitive) tend to age faster than orthodox seeds and may have only a 5-year lifespan when stored at -20°C. They are recommended for storage at 5°C.
Recalcitrant seeds (desiccation-sensitive): cannot be stored in a conventional freezer as they cannot survive after drying and/or freezing at -20°C. They are recommended for cryopreservation storage.