Ocotea tomentella Sandwith

  • Authority

    Maguire, Bassett & Wurdack, John J. 1964. The botany of the Guayana Highland--Part V. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 10: 1-278.

  • Family

    Lauraceae

  • Scientific Name

    Ocotea tomentella Sandwith

  • Description

    Distribution and Ecology - Distribution. Tall tree with dioecious flowers, known only from the type locality and along neighboring rivers of British Guiana. BRITISH GUIANA. Mazaruni Station, For. Dept. F 631 (3367) ([female] fl. NY); Northwest Territory: clearing for washing plant, Matthews Ridge, Barima River, Maguire dc Cowan 39320 ([female] fl.NY).

  • Discussion

    Type. Tree 120 ft high, 37 inches diam., small buttresses extending 15 ft up trunk, flowers white, pedicels and peduncles very pale green, with brown-scurfy tomentum, leaves dark green above, pale below, in mixed forest, Arawak Matope, Cuyuni River, about 300 ft, 17 Jul 1938, T. G. Tutin 375 (isotope ([male] fl., US).

    Vernacular Name. Baradan (Tutin, Maguire & Cowan, For. Dept. Brit. Guiana).

    The densely foliaged tree with long, stiff, sturdy inflorescences is characterized by leaves with blades decurrent for up to 2.5 cm on the robust petioles. There may be a possible relationship with Ocotea caracasana (Nees) Mez, which also has dioecious flowers, based on Karsten 32, which type I have not seen, nor material compared with it. From the description given by Mez, the following differences emerge: Ocotea caracasana is a tree or shrub with ferruginoustomentellous inflorescences, branchlets, and young leaves, the mature leaves 13 cm long and 6 cm wide, borne on petioles up to 10 mm in length, slightly canaliculate. Ocotea tomentella is a tall tree, reported to be 125 ft high, with brown-tomentellous inflorescences and branchlets, the leaves up to 25 cm long and 9.5 cm wide, borne on petioles up to 20 cm in length and deeply canaliculate. The fruit of O. caracasana to m y knowledge has not been collected. The fruiting material cited by Sandwith, Lockie 2035 from Camaria, is described by him as being ellipsoid, up to 2 cm long and 1.2 cm broad, seated in a hemispheric cupule 8-10 mm deep, commonly 1.2-1.3 cm in diameter, with simple, entire margin, densely rugulose, glabrescent without, attenuated at its base into a thickened pedicel 4-5 mm long.

  • Distribution

    Distribution. Tall tree with dioecious flowers, known only from the type locality and along neighboring rivers of British Guiana.

    Guyana South America|