Trichilia elegans A.Juss.
-
Authority
Pennington, Terence D. 1981. Meliaceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 28: 1-359, 418-449, 459-470. (Published by NYBG Press)
-
Family
Meliaceae
-
Scientific Name
-
Description
Species Description - Young branches slender, at first pubescent to densely golden villose usually soon glabrous, dark brown to greyish with prominent pale lenticels. Bud scales absent. Leaves imparipinnate or rarely trifoliolate, (3-)5-15.5 cm long; petiole and rhachis semiterete, nearly always flattened and slightly broader below each pair of leaflets, usually puberulous or pubescent, less frequently densely pubescent (erect, crisped hairs), tomentose, or villose; petiolule 0-2(-3) mm long, often appearing longer due to long decurrent base of leaflet; petiolule of terminal leaflet often longer, to 1.5 cm. Leaflets opposite or subopposite, (3-)5-7(-9), usually elliptic, less frequently oblanceolate, oblong, or lanceolate, apex usually attenuate or acuminate, less frequently acute, obtuse, or rounded, base usually attenuate and often long decurrent, less frequently cuneate or acute, regular or asymmetric, chartaceous to subcoriaceous, (2.5-)3.5-10.5(-13.5)[7.0] cm long, l-5[2.4] cm broad, terminal often larger; leaflets gradually reduced in size towards base of leaf, margin usually revolute, upper surface usually glabrous, less frequently midrib puberulous or pubescent and lamina scattered pubescent or rarely pilose, lower surface nearly always with prominent tufts of hairs in the frequently hollowed out vein axils (domatia), otherwise glabrous or less frequently sparsely to densely pubescent rarely pilose, granular red papillae sometimes present, leaflets densely pellucid-punctate and -striate; venation eucamptodromous or less frequently brochidodromous, midrib flat or slightly prominent; secondaries (6-)7-13(-16) on either side of midrib, shallowly to steeply ascending, parallel to convergent, straight to arcuate; intersecondaries varying from prominent to absent. Flowers unisexual, plants dioecious (Bornmuller 621 from Rio Grande do Sul and Hatschbach 12944 from Parana are apparently monoecious); inflorescence usually axillary, less frequently several clustered around shoot apex in axils of caducous scale-leaves, (1.5-)3-10(-15) cm long, usually a slender to broadly pyramidal, laxly- to rather densely-flowered, thyrse, rarely racemose, sparsely to densely pubescent or glabrous rarely pilose; pedicel (0-)0.3-1(-1.25) mm long. Calyx cyathiform or rarely patelliform, (0.5-)1-1.5(-2) mm long; sepals 5, usually free or less frequently fused to 1/2 their length, triangular, ovate or lanceolate, acute or rarely obtuse, usually ciliate and sparsely puberulous, pubescent, or glabrous, persistent in fruit, aestivation quincuncial or open. Petals 5, free, imbricate or rarely quincuncial, (1.75-)2-2.5(-3.5) mm long, 0.75-1.25 mm broad, oblong-lanceolate or elliptic, apex acute, obtuse or rounded, usually glabrous less frequently sparsely puberulous or pubescent outside, rarely ciliate. Staminal tube cyathiform or urceolate, rarely shortly cylindrical, 0.75-1.25(-2) mm long, 0.75-1.25(-2) mm broad; filaments usually fused and then the margin with or without (9-) 10(-11) short acute appendages alternating with anthers and to 1/2 their length, less frequently filaments free at apex and terminated by 2 short acute lobes or truncate or rounded, outside of tube with few minute crisped hairs in upper half or glabrous, inside barbate to puberulous in throat, less frequently glabrous; anthers (9-)10(-11), (0.4-)0.7-l mm long, usually glabrous rarely sparsely pubescent; antherodes slender, indehiscent, without pollen. Nectary usually a small glabrous annulus fused to base of ovary, less frequently absent, rarely patelliform and then sometimes prolonged upwards in a number of thin subulate projections. Ovary ovoid or conical, (2-)3-locular, loculi with 2 collateral ovules, glabrous; style short, stout, glabrous, surmounted by a capitate or discoid style-head with 3 stigmatic lobes, below or equalling anthers; pistillode similar in structure but with smaller non-functional ovules. Capsule usually ellipsoid, less frequently broadly ovoid, apex acute, obtuse or rounded, apiculate, base usually ± truncate, less frequently rounded or slightly tapered, smooth, densely granular papillose, with or without some puberulous or pubescent indumentum, 0.7-2 cm long, 0.51.4 cm broad, (2-)3-valved; pericarp 0.5-1 mm thick, outer part fleshy, endocarp thick, cartilaginous. Seeds 1-3 in each fruit, 0.6-1.6 cm long, 0.4-0.7 cm broad, ± ellipsoid or shaped like the segment of an orange, provided with a thick fleshy arillode which develops only around the upper 1/2 and adaxial surface of the seed, and also round aborted ovules; arillode free except along a thin line of attachment from micropyle along short ventral raphe; seed coat tough, shining. Embryo with plano-convex, ± collateral cotyledons, these sometimes subdivided into a number of angular segments; radicle apical or dorsal near apex, included or extending to surface. Endosperm absent.