Roupala paulensis Sleumer

  • Authority

    Prance, Ghillean T., et al. 2007. Proteaceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 100: 1-218. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Proteaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Roupala paulensis Sleumer

  • Type

    Type. Brazil. São Paulo: São Paulo, State Park and Botanic Garden, 26 Oct 1931 (fl), F. C. Hoehne s.n. SP28400 (holotype, SP; isotypes, A, F, LIL, NY, SP).

  • Synonyms

    Roupala cearaensis Sleumer

  • Description

    Species Description - Tree, 3-15 m tall. Young branch indumentum dense, short-tomentose, very appressed (rarely velutinous), ferruginous to brown, fading to gray, gradually glabrescent; branch bark beige to gray, peeling to dark red-gray beneath. Lenticels absent or few, inconspicuous, < 0.5 mm diam., granular, orange-brown. Leaves compound, lobed, and simple on fertile adults, thin-coriaceous, long-petiolate, often drying bicolorous, matte, pale green above, cinnamomeous through rufous to brown due to indumentum beneath, or concolorous, brown, the indumentum short, very appressed-tomentose and forming a dense layer, to velutinous above and below when young, quickly glabrescent above, persistent beneath. Compound leaves 17-36 × 9-26 cm (to 52 × 26 cm in juvenile plants), between one leaflet and seven pairs; petiole 3.5-13 cm long. Lateral leaflets 4-19 × 1.5-7.5 cm, length:breadth 1.7-3:1, the base narrow cuneate on the narrow side, broad cuneate on the broad side, strongly asymmetrical, the apex obtuse or obtuse-acuminate, more rarely rounded or attenuate, lateral veins 4-8 pairs, the margins strongly serrate; petiolules 0.2-0.7 cm long. Terminal leaflets 11-19 × 7-15.5 cm (13-26.5 × 8-25.5 cm in juvenile plants), length:breadth 1-1.8:1, the base obtuse to rounded and decurrent, or if strongly asymmetrical, then narrow side narrow-cuneate, broad side broad-cuneate, often lobed, the apex obtuse acuminate or attenuate, the lateral veins 5-7(-9) pairs, the margins as for lateral leaflets; petiolules 0-5.5(-7.5) cm long. Simple leaf petiole not well defined, 3-8.5 cm long × 2-2.6 mm broad at midlength, 1/1.9-1/2.8 the length of the lamina, sub-terete for most of length, slightly canaliculate near the lamina, the indumentum as for lamina, longer-tomentose towards the base, ferruginous or cinnamomeous, fading to gray. Lamina (6-)9-20 × 5-12 cm, length:breadth (1-)1.4-2:1, variable in shape, widely elliptic, elliptic, ovate, widely to very widely ovate, widely oblong or widely obovate; base obtuse, acute, narrowly or broadly cuneate, more rarely rounded or truncate, usually decurrent, pressing flat or slightly folded, symmetrical; the apex predominantly obtuse-acuminate, otherwise rounded, rarely acute, sometimes folded on pressing, the apical point of midrib not protruding; margin entire, undulate, or coarsely dentate to serrate with ca. 10 serrations, strongly revolute towards the base; venation raised, ± conspicuous above, raised, conspicuous beneath, semicraspedodromous, the midvein reaching the apex; lateral veins 4-7 pairs. Inflorescences 8-16(-19)× 2-3 cm, axillary, unbranched, indumentum short-tomentose, orange-brown to dark brown; peduncle 0.5-1.8 cm × 1-1.3 mm, with sterile bracts usually present towards the base. Common bracts 0.6-1 × 0.5-0.8, tomentose. Flower-pair axis absent. Pedicels (1.8-)3-5.5 × 0.4-0.6 mm, the indumentum as for inflorescence. Buds 1.2-1.5 mm broad at the apex, 0.5-0.7 mm broad at midlength, indumentum as for pedicels except sparser and shorter. Flowers 6.513 mm long; filaments 0.2-1.0 mm long, adnate 5.58.0 mm from base of tepals; anthers 1.5-2.2 × 0.40.6 mm; nectary lobes 0.3-0.4 mm long, well separated; ovary hairs extending 1.3-3.5 mm from the base of the ovary, covering entire ovary and base of style, the hairs short, straight, yellow, orange-brown, or brown, appressed to slightly erect; ovules 0.6-0.7 × 0.3 mm. Infructescence 4-15 cm long. Fruit pedicels 3-6 × 1-1.3 mm. Immature fruit 2.7-4 × 1-1.2 cm, red-brown.

  • Discussion

    Observations: Ants seen to strip tree of flower buds, flowers and parts of the rhachis, carrying them to their ant hole in the ground in Bahia, Brazil.

    Roupala paulensis is a distinct species which occupies the same ecological niche as R. consimilis. Roupala paulensis is readily distinguished by the persistent indumentum on the underside of leaves as compared with glabrous leaves, narrower pedicels (0.4-0.6 mm vs. 0.6-1 mm), narrower flower buds (1.2-1.5 mm broad at the apex and 0.5-0.7mm at midlength vs. 1.8-2.2 mm and 1-1.5 mm, respectively), shorter flowers (6.5-10 mm long vs. 8-13.5 mm), and shorter anthers (1.5-2.2 mm long vs. 2.5-3.5 mm). Sterile specimens of the two species growing in dense forest, from the same locality of Juréia-Itatins, São Paulo cannot be distinguished.

    While Sleumer (1954) described Roupala cearaensis as a new species, his key is not convincing at the point of separation of this species from R. paulensis. Roupala cearaensis is first separated out in the first entry of couplet six as having simple leaves which are altogether entire, while R. paulensis falls within the second entry of couplet six which identifies simple leaves as being randomly dentate to serrate through subcreneate-undulate (sometimes obtuse-serrate and subentire at the same position on branches). Most species of Roupala are seen to vary considerably with respect to the leaf margin, so this is not considered to be a character worthy of separating species, each of which is known to show variability. Furthermore, the short descriptive couplets at 18 and 40, which separate the two species, are not convincingly different. While leaves of R. paulensis tend to be a little broader than R. cearaensis, and racemes are longer according to Sleumer’s descriptions, those measurements for R. cearaensis fall within the ranges of the description of R. paulensis given here. The specimens, including the type, that Sleumer cites among his specimens of R. cearaensis, which we have also seen, fall easily within the species limits of R. paulensis.

    Phenology. Flowering in Feb, May, Sep, and Oct; fruit developing in Feb and May.

    Tree, 3-15 m tall. Trunk straight. Bark fissured. Crown open. Slash with smell of tuna. Young parts of branches ferruginous, lenticels oriented horizontally. Leaves simple (near apex) and compound (near base), coriaceous, ferruginous on lower surface. Buds yellowish-green to cream colored, tinged brown with indumentum, opening near the base initially, then towards the apex. Flowers opening initially in the middle or the apex of the inflorescence, white, fragrant, style and stigma pale green, ovary yellow or pale brown. Young fruit ferruginous.

    A very distinct species, with the lamina usually drying pale green above and ferruginous beneath. Indumentum on underside of leaves persistent. Inflorescence indumentum like that on leaves and consists of very short, very appressed tomentose hairs forming a dense layer through which the laminar surface is invisible.

  • Common Names

    carvalho, maritatáea

  • Distribution

    Carrasco, forest, restinga, and roadside, from near sea level to 1000m alt., in eastern Brazil.

    São Paulo Brazil South America| Bahia Brazil South America| Rio de Janeiro Brazil South America| Pernambuco Brazil South America| Ceará Brazil South America|