Itoa orientalis
Itoa orientalis is a species of flowering plant belonging to the family Salicaceae. It is an evergreen tree from China and Vietnam, and cultivated as an ornamental tree.
Description
A tree that grows up to high. It has branchlets that are covered with yellowish hairs when young and later become glabrous and lenticellate. The leaves are evergreen, long and wide. They are elliptic to obovate or broad-lanceolate in shape. With the upper surface of the leaf, largely glabrous and the lower surface with stiff hairs, particularly on the veins. The leaves have 10–26 secondary veins on each side of the midrib, with margins almost entire to regularly crenate or serrate and an apex that is acute or emarginate. The petiole is long and pubescent. It begins blossoming between May and June, with clusters of curious yellow buff flowers. The staminate inflorescences are paniculate, about 5 cm long with about 12 flowers. The axes are pubescent. The staminate flowers are ribbed and densely tomentose in bud. The pistillate flowers are small and solitary. It begins fruiting between September and October. The seed capsule is pale yellow, ovoid in shape, tomentose, long and wide with a 6-8-lobed stigma at the tip. The fruiting peduncle is robust. The seeds are small, with a wing up to 2 cm wide.Taxonomy
The genus name of Itoa is in honour of Keisuke Itō a Japanese physician and biologist, and his grandson Tokutarō Itō, and the Latin specific epithet of orientalis means coming from the Orient or the east.It was first described and published in Hooker's Icon. Pl. Vol.27 on table 2688 in 1901.