Amanoa

  • Authority

    Maguire, Bassett. 1967. The botany of the Guayana Highland--Part VII. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 17: 1-439.

  • Family

    Euphorbiaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Amanoa

  • Type

    Type. A. guianensis Aubl.

  • Description

    Genus Description - Amanoa in many respects (cymules, extrastaminal disk) is similar to Drypetes but it is more sharply circumscribed and better understood. It is monoecious and the cymules form spikes and racemes which are not axillary. The $ flowers have 5 sepals, 5 petals, and 5 free stamens, with a distinct rudiment of the ovary. The seeds are large ellipsoid or ovoid. The venation of the coriaceous leaves is very characteristic. The lateral veins are numerous and closely spaced, the venules are reticulate and not prominent.

  • Discussion

    In the New World the genus is confined to the Tropics between Honduras and Mato Grosso with the center of development in the Guianas, Northern Brazil ( Para, Piauhy, Mato Grosso, Goya). It is weakly represented in the West Indies (A. caribaea) and the Andes. Whether or not section Strobilanthus Pax with 3 species in Africa really belongs to Amanoa is doubtful.

    The Bolivian A. muricata Rusby, known only by fruit, has peculiar processes, and needs further investigation.