Rollinia membranacea Triana & Planch.

  • Authority

    Maas, Paulus J. M., et al. 1992. Rollinia. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 57: 1-188. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Annonaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Rollinia membranacea Triana & Planch.

  • Type

    Type: Colombia. Tolima: Valley of Río Coello, Mar 1844 (fl), Goudot s.n. (lectotype, P: here selected; isolectotype, K). The second collection cited by Triana and Planchon: Triana s.n. ("Espinal et la Chamba, dans le haut Magdalena, Colombia"), could not be traced.

  • Synonyms

    Rollinia rensoniana Standl., Rollinia standleyi R.E.Fr., Rollinia rensoniana subsp. granatensis R.E.Fr., Rollinia cherimolioides R.E.Fr., Rollinia mexicana Standl.

  • Description

    Species Description - Tree, 3-15 m tall and to 40 cm in diam. Leafy twigs and petioles densely covered with erect, ferruginous (particularly when young) to white, simple and some furcate hairs to 1 mm long, becoming glabrous. Petioles 5-12 mm long, 1-2 mm in diam. Lamina elliptic to narrowly elliptic, chartaceous, often greyish-green above, pale green below, 12-25(-31) cm long, 6-11 cm wide, sparsely (to rather densely) covered with white, straight to crisped hairs to 0.5 mm long particularly along primary and secondary veins above, densely to rather densely covered with white to brown, erect, simple and some furcate hairs to 0.7(-l) mm long below, base rounded to acute, apex acuminate, the extreme tip acute, obtuse, to mucronate; secondary veins straight to curved, 15-25 on either side of primary vein, occasionally with few short intersecondaries, angles with primary vein 45-70°, occasionally loop-forming down to 1/2 of the length, smallest distance between loops and margin up to 1 mm, tertiary veins 3-5 per intercosta, reticulate to weakly percurrent. Domatia occasionally present, indistinct. Inflorescences supra-axillary, leaf-opposed, or sub-axillary, rarely terminal on a short axillary shoot, 1-4-flowered, rarely subumbellate clusters of up to 3 rhipidia, peduncles and pedicels densely covered with erect, mostly ferruginous, simple and some furcate hairs to 1 mm long, bracts and outer side of sepals same, but hairs erect to appressed, corolla very densely covered with pale greyish-white (brownish when young), erect to appressed, simple and some furcate hairs to 0.5 mm long. Peduncles 0-2 mm long, 1-1.5 mm in diam., fruiting peduncles to 10 mm long, to 6 mm in diam. Pedicels 10-45 mm long, 1-2 mm in diam., fruiting pedicels to 6 mm in diam. Bracts broadly elliptic to triangular, l-2(-3) mm long, upper bract basal to inserted in the lower 1/3 of the pedicel, or missing. Flowers green to brownish-green in vivo. Sepals free, appressed, triangular to broadly triangular, 2.5-6 mm long, 3-4 mm wide, acute to acuminate, not gibbous (to sometimes slightly gibbous when young). Corolla tube 3-5 mm high, 4-7{-9} mm in diam., wings obovate to elliptic, ascending to (when mature:) horizontal to slightly recurved, 8-12 {-20} mm long, 5-7 {-9} mm high, 1-2 mm thick, index = 1.5-2. Fruit (sub)globose, 2-5 cm in diam., yellow in vivo, blackish when dry, composed of ca. (50-)70-100 carpels, densely covered with greyish-white to pale brownish, appressed, simple and some furcate hairs, areoles pyramidal, straight to slightly incurved (to more or less conical, or pulvinate with prominent, straight to slightly incurved apicule in upper half), 5-10 × 5 mm at the base, apex (or apicule) acute to obtuse, to 5 mm high, finely tuberculate; wall to 5 mm thick. Seeds 12-13 × 5-7 mm.

  • Discussion

    The fruit is reported as edible (Allen 6843) and sweet (Allen 6920).

    Rollinia membranacea shares many features in common with R. mucosa. The only difference is in the indument on the lower leaf side: appressed hairs in R. mucosa, erect hairs in R. membranacea. Apparently, in both species the fruit can be eaten.

  • Common Names

    Anona, Cherimoya, Chulumuyu, Churumuyu, Chirimoya, Anon, Anon de monte

  • Distribution

    From Mexico to Colombia. In forest, also montane forest ("selva alta mediana subperennifolia"), sometimes in pastures, at altitudes mostly from 600-1700 m. Flowering specimens found throughout the year, fruiting specimens from April through December.

    Mexico North America| Chiapas Mexico North America| Veracruz Mexico North America| Guatemala Central America| Santa Rosa Guatemala Central America| El Salvador Central America| Nicaragua Central America| Granada Nicaragua Central America| Managua Nicaragua Central America| Río San Juan Nicaragua Central America| Rivas Nicaragua Central America| Alajuela Costa Rica Central America| Guanacaste Costa Rica Central America| San José Costa Rica Central America| Colombia South America| Antioquia Colombia South America| Cauca Colombia South America| Cundinamarca Colombia South America| Huila Colombia South America| Tolima Colombia South America| Valle Colombia South America|