Taxon Details: Lecythis brancoensis (R.Knuth) S.A.Mori
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Multimedia:
Narratives:
Leaf morphology and anatomy of Lecythis brancoensis.
Inflorescence and flower morphology and anatomy of Lecythis brancoensis.
Leaf morphology and anatomy of Lecythis brancoensis.
Inflorescence and flower morphology and anatomy of Lecythis brancoensis.
Additional Resources:
Botanical line illustration of Lecythis brancoensis. Drawing by B. Angell.
New combination Lecythis brancoensis.
Botanical line illustration of Lecythis brancoensis. Drawing by B. Angell. New combination Lecythis brancoensis.Family:
Lecythidaceae (Magnoliophyta)
Lecythidaceae (Magnoliophyta)
Scientific Name:
Lecythis brancoensis (R.Knuth) S.A.Mori
Lecythis brancoensis (R.Knuth) S.A.Mori
Primary Citation:
Brittonia 33: 359. 1981
Brittonia 33: 359. 1981
Accepted Name:
This name is currently accepted.
This name is currently accepted.
Synonyms:
Chytroma brancoensis R.Knuth
Eschweilera miersii (R.Knuth) A.C.Sm.
Chytroma miersii R.Knuth
Chytroma lata R.Knuth
Chytroma brancoensis R.Knuth
Eschweilera miersii (R.Knuth) A.C.Sm.
Chytroma miersii R.Knuth
Chytroma lata R.Knuth
Description:
Author: Scott A. Mori and Nathan P. Smith
Type: Type. Brazil. Roraima: Rio Branco, Sao Marcos, 1913 (fl), J. G. Kuhlmann 913 (RB.3517) (neotype, RB, designated Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 21(II): 1990, photo NY; isoneotypes, IAN, photo NY, RB. 351 7, RB-carpoteca 846, photo RB-carpoteca at NY).
Description: Trees or shrubs, to 5 m tall, the trunk only 2-3 cm wide (in small, mature individuals, e.g., N. P. Smith 377). Bark lenticelate, the outer bark thin, the inner bark yellowish (e.g., N. P. Smith 377-381). Stems stout, 5-6 mm diam., glabrous, sometimes with vertically oriented lenticels. Leaves: petioles 7–13 mm long, glabrous; blades widely oblong to rotund, 10–15.5 x 6–10.2 cm, coriaceous, glabrous, the abaxial surface glaucous, rugose as seen with SEM (see Hoffman1084, NY810343>), the base rounded to truncate, the margins entire, the apex short acuminate; venation eucamptodromous to brochidodromous, the midrib prominent adaxially, salient abaxially, glabrous, the secondary veins in 10-18 pairs, usually decurrent, prominent abaxially, the intersecondary veins generally not-well developed, sometimes 1-2 between each pair of secondary veins, the tertiary veins reticulate. Inflorescences terminal, racemose, unbranched, the rachis 10-22 cm long, glabrous, with horizontally elongated lenticels (at least when dry); pedicel/hypanthium nearly absent below articulation, 5–10 mm long above articulation (Clarke 2071), the bract and bracteoles not known. Flowers when leaves present, ca. 3 cm diam.; hypanthium tapered, smooth or slightly rugose (when dry), glabrous, green, longitudinally oriented mucilage-bearing ducts absent; calyx-lobes 6, ovate, imbricate, 10-13 x 9-11 mm, finely rugose (when dry), glabrous, green; petals 6, ovate to orbicular, 2–3 x 1.8–2 cm, glabrous, greenish white to yellow-cream; androecium zygomorphic, a staminal lip present, the staminal ring with ca. 1000 densely packed stamens, the filaments 4.5 mm long, thickened for 3/4 length, the anthers ca. 1.0 mm long, yellow, the hood flat, ca. 2.5 x 1.5 cm, outer surface proximally smooth and distally comprised of an invagination and the filaments of loose staminodes, white, staminodes present throughout hood, proximal staminodes long and swept inward, these with well-developed yellow anthers, vestigial stamens absent, anterior hood extension present, long; ovary (3-)4-locular, the ovary summit truncate, the ovules 20-40 per locule, inserted on basal septum, oblique, the style tapering to apex, erect, 7 mm long, stylar collar absent. Fruits dehiscent, 6-8 (excluding knob) x 7-11 cm, the calyx-lobes persistent, erect or sometimes reflexed, the infracalycalycine zone 4 cm long, truncate, rounded into an abrupt knob 1 x 2 cm long at pedicel, the supracalycine zone 3.5–5 cm long, erect with thickened ring at upper margin, the pericarp ca. 3–4 mm thick, slightly rough to mostly smooth, brown, operculum flat to slightly convex, with style persisting as woody spine. Seeds ca. 50 per fruit, 20-30 x 16 mm, leaving distinct polygonally shaped impressions on inside of pericarp, the testa ca. 1 mm thick, reddish-brown, the outer surface of veins same color as testa; aril present, basal, 0.75-2 cm long, white.
Common names: Brazil: castanha de macaco.
Distribution: Lecythis brancoensis is endemic to the Roraima Territory of Brazil and adjacent Guyana.
Ecology: Lecythis brancoensis is a small tree of savanna vegetation (cerrado).
Phenology: Flowers of this species have been collected from Apr to Sep and fruits with seed have been gathered in Feb and Mar.
Pollination: No observations recorded but the flower morphology and high stamen number are similar to these features in Lecythis barnebyi and L. poiteau, two species known to be pollinated by bats.
Dispersal: No observations recorded but the basal aril is similar to that of species know to be dispersed by bats.
Predation: No observations recorded.
Field characters: A small, nocturnally flowering species of savanna with a flat androecial hood, anther-bearing hood appendages, nearly 1000 stamens in the staminal ring, and fruits with numerous seeds.
Taxonomic notes: Lecythis brancoensis is morphologically similar to L. barnebyi and L. poiteaui. The terminal inflorescence, flat androecial hood with antheriferous appendages, and very numerous, densely packed stamens of the staminal ring are diagnostic of these three species. Lecythis brancoensis is easily separated from the aforementioned species by low stature and savanna habitat; very wIde androecial hood; stamens that are thickened for the upper 3/4 of their lengths; lengths; fruits with a wide, erect supracalycine zone and thickened opercular rim; and numerous seeds in each locule. The seeds leave distinct impressions on the inner fruit wall. Transfer of the earliest name for this species, Chytroma miersii, to Lecythis results in a later homonym of Lecythis miersii Pampanini, a synonym of L. lanceolata Poiret. Chytroma brancoensis is based on a single fruit (Ule 33 from Roraima, Brazil) which I have not been able to locate at B. Likewise, Chytroma lata is based on a single fruit (Schomburgk s.n. from Guyana) which I also have not been able to locate at B. I have therefore selected Kuhlmann 913 as the neotype of both of these names. My description of L. brancoensis has been emended to exclude Ducke RB.21525gathered from near the mouth of the Amazon. This collection represents Eschweilera simiorum, an unrelated species.
Conservation: IUCN Red List: Vulnerable B1+2c ver 2.3 (World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. Lecythis brancoensis. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.1. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 14 October 2012).
Uses: The label of Silva 179 states that the seeds taste like those ofthe "sapucaia" (L. pisonis) but that they cause upset stomach and vomiting when consumed.
Etymology: The epithet refers to the Rio Branco area of Brazil where the species is found.
Source:: This species page is based on Mori in Mori & Prance (1990). The description has been revised based on new collections.
Acknowledgements: We are grateful to B. Angell for allowing us to use her line drawing to illustrate the characters of this species.
Author: Scott A. Mori and Nathan P. Smith
Type: Type. Brazil. Roraima: Rio Branco, Sao Marcos, 1913 (fl), J. G. Kuhlmann 913 (RB.3517) (neotype, RB, designated Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 21(II): 1990, photo NY; isoneotypes, IAN, photo NY, RB. 351 7, RB-carpoteca 846, photo RB-carpoteca at NY).
Description: Trees or shrubs, to 5 m tall, the trunk only 2-3 cm wide (in small, mature individuals, e.g., N. P. Smith 377). Bark lenticelate, the outer bark thin, the inner bark yellowish (e.g., N. P. Smith 377-381). Stems stout, 5-6 mm diam., glabrous, sometimes with vertically oriented lenticels. Leaves: petioles 7–13 mm long, glabrous; blades widely oblong to rotund, 10–15.5 x 6–10.2 cm, coriaceous, glabrous, the abaxial surface glaucous, rugose as seen with SEM (see Hoffman1084, NY810343>), the base rounded to truncate, the margins entire, the apex short acuminate; venation eucamptodromous to brochidodromous, the midrib prominent adaxially, salient abaxially, glabrous, the secondary veins in 10-18 pairs, usually decurrent, prominent abaxially, the intersecondary veins generally not-well developed, sometimes 1-2 between each pair of secondary veins, the tertiary veins reticulate. Inflorescences terminal, racemose, unbranched, the rachis 10-22 cm long, glabrous, with horizontally elongated lenticels (at least when dry); pedicel/hypanthium nearly absent below articulation, 5–10 mm long above articulation (Clarke 2071), the bract and bracteoles not known. Flowers when leaves present, ca. 3 cm diam.; hypanthium tapered, smooth or slightly rugose (when dry), glabrous, green, longitudinally oriented mucilage-bearing ducts absent; calyx-lobes 6, ovate, imbricate, 10-13 x 9-11 mm, finely rugose (when dry), glabrous, green; petals 6, ovate to orbicular, 2–3 x 1.8–2 cm, glabrous, greenish white to yellow-cream; androecium zygomorphic, a staminal lip present, the staminal ring with ca. 1000 densely packed stamens, the filaments 4.5 mm long, thickened for 3/4 length, the anthers ca. 1.0 mm long, yellow, the hood flat, ca. 2.5 x 1.5 cm, outer surface proximally smooth and distally comprised of an invagination and the filaments of loose staminodes, white, staminodes present throughout hood, proximal staminodes long and swept inward, these with well-developed yellow anthers, vestigial stamens absent, anterior hood extension present, long; ovary (3-)4-locular, the ovary summit truncate, the ovules 20-40 per locule, inserted on basal septum, oblique, the style tapering to apex, erect, 7 mm long, stylar collar absent. Fruits dehiscent, 6-8 (excluding knob) x 7-11 cm, the calyx-lobes persistent, erect or sometimes reflexed, the infracalycalycine zone 4 cm long, truncate, rounded into an abrupt knob 1 x 2 cm long at pedicel, the supracalycine zone 3.5–5 cm long, erect with thickened ring at upper margin, the pericarp ca. 3–4 mm thick, slightly rough to mostly smooth, brown, operculum flat to slightly convex, with style persisting as woody spine. Seeds ca. 50 per fruit, 20-30 x 16 mm, leaving distinct polygonally shaped impressions on inside of pericarp, the testa ca. 1 mm thick, reddish-brown, the outer surface of veins same color as testa; aril present, basal, 0.75-2 cm long, white.
Common names: Brazil: castanha de macaco.
Distribution: Lecythis brancoensis is endemic to the Roraima Territory of Brazil and adjacent Guyana.
Ecology: Lecythis brancoensis is a small tree of savanna vegetation (cerrado).
Phenology: Flowers of this species have been collected from Apr to Sep and fruits with seed have been gathered in Feb and Mar.
Pollination: No observations recorded but the flower morphology and high stamen number are similar to these features in Lecythis barnebyi and L. poiteau, two species known to be pollinated by bats.
Dispersal: No observations recorded but the basal aril is similar to that of species know to be dispersed by bats.
Predation: No observations recorded.
Field characters: A small, nocturnally flowering species of savanna with a flat androecial hood, anther-bearing hood appendages, nearly 1000 stamens in the staminal ring, and fruits with numerous seeds.
Taxonomic notes: Lecythis brancoensis is morphologically similar to L. barnebyi and L. poiteaui. The terminal inflorescence, flat androecial hood with antheriferous appendages, and very numerous, densely packed stamens of the staminal ring are diagnostic of these three species. Lecythis brancoensis is easily separated from the aforementioned species by low stature and savanna habitat; very wIde androecial hood; stamens that are thickened for the upper 3/4 of their lengths; lengths; fruits with a wide, erect supracalycine zone and thickened opercular rim; and numerous seeds in each locule. The seeds leave distinct impressions on the inner fruit wall. Transfer of the earliest name for this species, Chytroma miersii, to Lecythis results in a later homonym of Lecythis miersii Pampanini, a synonym of L. lanceolata Poiret. Chytroma brancoensis is based on a single fruit (Ule 33 from Roraima, Brazil) which I have not been able to locate at B. Likewise, Chytroma lata is based on a single fruit (Schomburgk s.n. from Guyana) which I also have not been able to locate at B. I have therefore selected Kuhlmann 913 as the neotype of both of these names. My description of L. brancoensis has been emended to exclude Ducke RB.21525gathered from near the mouth of the Amazon. This collection represents Eschweilera simiorum, an unrelated species.
Conservation: IUCN Red List: Vulnerable B1+2c ver 2.3 (World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. Lecythis brancoensis. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.1. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 14 October 2012).
Uses: The label of Silva 179 states that the seeds taste like those ofthe "sapucaia" (L. pisonis) but that they cause upset stomach and vomiting when consumed.
Etymology: The epithet refers to the Rio Branco area of Brazil where the species is found.
Source:: This species page is based on Mori in Mori & Prance (1990). The description has been revised based on new collections.
Acknowledgements: We are grateful to B. Angell for allowing us to use her line drawing to illustrate the characters of this species.
Narratives:
Leaf morphology and anatomy of Lecythis brancoensis.
Inflorescence and flower morphology and anatomy of Lecythis brancoensis.
Leaf morphology and anatomy of Lecythis brancoensis.
Inflorescence and flower morphology and anatomy of Lecythis brancoensis.
Flora and Monograph Treatment(s):
Lecythis brancoensis (R.Knuth) S.A.Mori: [Article] Prance, Ghillean T. & Mori, S. A. 1979. Lecythidaceae - Part I. The actinomorphic-flowered New World Lecythidaceae (Asteranthos, Gustavia, Grias, Allantoma & Cariniana). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 21: 1-270.
Lecythis brancoensis (R.Knuth) S.A.Mori: [Article] Prance, Ghillean T. & Mori, S. A. 1979. Lecythidaceae - Part I. The actinomorphic-flowered New World Lecythidaceae (Asteranthos, Gustavia, Grias, Allantoma & Cariniana). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 21: 1-270.
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