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Haptanthus is a monotypic genus containing the sole species Haptanthus hazlettii, a shrub or small tree known only from the locality of Matarras in the Arizona Municipality in Honduras. Its flowers are unique among the flowering plants. A single "female" (carpellate) flower has two branches on either side which carry "male" (staminate) flowers. The flowers are very simple, lacking obvious sepals or petals. The family placement of the genus has been uncertain but based on molecular phylogenetic research, it is included in the family Buxaceae as of September 2014. Very few individuals have ever been found, and its habitat is threatened by logging.
Haptanthus hazlettii has only been found in a very small area of tropical rain forest on the northern coast of Honduras, close to Matarras in the Arizona Municipality. After the original specimen was collected in 1989, numerous attempts were made to find the species again but without success; the area had become covered with grass following tree clearance. It was thought that the species was perhaps extinct. In 2010 an expedition organized by Alexey B. Shipunov and Ekaterina Shipunova found a single tree 2 km (1.2 mi) from the original collection point. A few more were later found nearby. Work to conserve the species is being led by the Lancetilla Botanical Garden of Tela, Honduras.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Haptanthus by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
