Anneslea Genus

Anneslea is a small genus of flowering shrubs and trees in the family Pentaphylacaceae, placed within the order Ericales. Its native range extends from Nepal eastward through southern China, Taiwan, and across mainland Southeast Asia to Sumatra, where species occupy montane forests and thickets on slopes and in valleys.

Plants in the genus are woody, ranging from shrubs to trees reaching 3–15 metres in height. The bark is dark brown, and young branches tend to be grayish to reddish brown. Leaves are alternate, leathery to thinly leathery, and variable in shape — ovate, elliptic, obovate-elliptic, oblong, or oblong-lanceolate — typically pale green or glaucescent on the underside with reddish-brown glandular punctations. Flowers are axillary, pale yellow, and arranged in corymbs of up to ten or more. The fruit is an ellipsoid berry 2–3.5 cm in diameter with a fleshy red outer layer enclosing long obovate seeds. Flowering occurs from October to March, with fruits ripening from July to September.

The genus contains four accepted species: Anneslea fragrans Wall. (the most widespread and best-documented member), Anneslea donnaiensis (Gagnep.) Kobuski, Anneslea paradoxa H.H.Nguyen & Yakovlev, and Anneslea steenisii Kobuski. Anneslea fragrans has been placed historically in Theaceae before the segregation of Pentaphylacaceae as a distinct family. Several infraspecific varieties of A. fragrans have been recognised, primarily distinguished by leaf morphology.