Ouratea guildingii (Planch.) Urb.

  • Authority

    Maguire, Bassett. 1989. The Botany of the Guayana Highland- Part XIII. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 51: 1-127.

  • Family

    Ochnaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Ouratea guildingii (Planch.) Urb.

  • Description

    Species Description - Shrubs or trees 2-10(-25) m tall. Leaves coriaceous, highly variable in size and shape, elliptic- oblong, lance-elliptic, ovate, suborbicular, subacute, obtuse, or rounded at apex, acute, obtuse, or rounded at base, 2-10 cm long, 1.5-5 cm wide, finely acutely sermlate, obscurely serrulate, or subentire, finely nerved with 10-15 lateral nerves, impressed, horizontal with upwardly curved extremities on upper surface, less conspicuous on lower surface, tertiary veins on lower surface obscurely finely reticulate; petioles 2-5 mm long. Inflorescence paniculately racemiform, sometimes with longer basal axes, but mainly of nearly uniform width, usually elongated and loosely flowered, (3-)8-15 cm long, 1.5-3.5(-5) cm wide, mainly 3-7 times longer than broad, rachis glabrous or puberulent. Peduncle none or 2-5 mm long. Flowers at the ends of leafless branches of the paniculate, falsely racemiform many-flowered inflorescence. Pedicels

    Distribution and Ecology - Mainly of dry savannas and semiarid habitats of the West Indies (St. Vincent, Antigua, Montserrat, Guadeloupe, Tobago, Trinidad), coastal Colombia, south Rupununi of Guyana, and llanos of eastem and central Venezuela, as well as dry areas near the coast in the central Venezuelan state of Aragua.

  • Discussion

    Gomphia guildingii Planchon, London J. Bot. 6: 12, 1847.

    Gomphia pyrifolia Griseb. Fl. Brit. W. Ind. 105. 1864.

    Ouratea pyrifolia (Griseb.) Engl., Mart. Fl. bras. 12(2): 320. 1876,

    Cercouratea grosourdyi van Tieghem, Ann, Sci. Nat. Bot. VIII 16: 278. 1902.

    Ouratea pittieri Sleumer, Notizbl. Bot. Gart, Berlin- Dalheml3: 351. 1936.

    Ouratea praecox Sleumer, Notizbl. Bot. Gart, Berlin- Dalhem 13: 352. 1936.

    Ouratea grosourdyi (van Tieghem) Steyerm,, Fieldiana Bot, 28: 370, 1952.

    Sleumer's type of O. praecox {Pittier 12369) has the same collection number as that indicated by Pittier for an unpublished herbarium name. Gomphia guildingii Planchon, although treated as a synonym of Ouratea nitida (Swartz) Engl. (Mart. Fl. bras. 12(2): 310. 1876), is a distinctly diflferent taxon with much smaller leaves and nanowly racemiform inflorescences.

    Specimens examined. VENEZUELA, bolivar: Ciudad Bolivar, 4-25 Nov 1929, HoU & Gehriger 160 (NY, VEN); Caicara, Alto Orinoco, 12 Jun 1940, Williams 13287 (VEN); between Ciudad Bolivar and El Cristo, 3 Apr 1943, Killip 37227 (VEN); Laguna Los Francos, Ciudad BoHvar, 10 Apr 1954, Aristeguieta 2165 (NY, VEN); laderas Cerro Bolivar, Ciudad Piar, Apr 1954, Aristeguieta 2203 (NY, VEN); Rio Horeda, 1 ^ km above mouth, 15 Dec 1955, Wurdack & Monachino 39901 (K, M G , M O , N Y , P, US, VEN); N end of Cerro GavUan (Cerro Carichana), 21 Dec 1955, Wurdack & Monachino 40890 (MO, N Y , VEN); bajos de Ciudad Bolivar, desembocadura del Rio Mamanta, Aug 1962, Aristeguieta 4864 (VEN); margenes del Rio Caroni, Pto. Ordaz-San Felix, Apr 1964, Aristeguieta 5280 (NY, VEN); entre San Felix y Puerto Ordaz, nr. Fabrica de Alfareria, 26-27 Jun 1964, Steyermark 94274 (NY, VEN); cerca de Guasipati, Jun 1965, Aristeguieta s.n. (VEN); Parque Caroni, Sep 1965, Aristeguieta 5879 (NY, VEN).