Morisonia speciosa

Morisonia speciosa is a tree or shrub that is 2–8 metres (6 ft 7 in – 26 ft 3 in) in height. It has a dense crown and foliage, with fine, tortuous branches and smooth, thornless, dark green bark. Its elliptic, green leaves are simple and alternate, ranging from 3–8 centimetres (1.2–3.1 in) in length and 2–4 centimetres (0.79–1.57 in) in width. The margins of the leaves are simple, with a prominent midrib on the underside, and often notched at the tip, with a small mucron or spine. Morisonia speciosa has flowers with anisosepalous calyces which are distinctively decussate-imbricate. The floral nectaries have four dimorphic scales. The pollen grains have a fine reticulate surface. The yellowish flowers infloresce solitarily, reaching 3–5 centimetres (1.2–2.0 in) in length. The fruit of Morisonia speciosa are green spherical berries with a shiny exterior. They are 3–5 centimetres (1.2–2.0 in) in diameter and hang from long peduncles. They contain a yellow-orange pulp and four to eight dark, subglobose seeds which are strongly anisocotylary. They have a compact major cotyledon and a reduced or suppressed minor cotyledon.

Morisonia speciosa is native to the Gran Chaco region and can be found in Bolivia, Paraguay, western Brazil, and northern Argentina. It grows in tropical dry broadleaf forests, sometimes co-occurring with carob trees.