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Family:

Lecythidaceae (Magnoliophyta)

Primary Citation:

Polygonac., Guttif. & Lecythidac. Suriname 81. 1932

Description:

Author: Scott A. Mori, Ghillean T. Prance & N. P. Smith

Type: French Guiana. Saint Jean du Maroni, 1 Apr 1914 (fl), Benoist 1065 (lectotype, P, designated Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 21(II). 1990; isolectotype, K).

Description: Trees, to 25 m tall, the trunk not buttressed. Bark (Mori 18125) reddish brown, peeling in irregular plates, the outer bark ca. 1 mm thick, red, the inner bark 2 mm thick, white to yellow. Stems glabrous or rarely puburulent (Oliveira 4175 from Brazil). Leaves: petioles 11-21 mm long, glabrous to puberulent, canaliculate; blades elliptic to narrowly elliptic, oblong, or narrowly obovate, 16–34 x 9.0–15 cm, chartaceous, glabrous, papillae absent abaxially, the base obtuse to rounded, the margins entire to crenate (e.g., Mori 8831 from French Guiana and Oliveira 4175 from Brazil), the apex short acuminate to acuminate; venation brochidodromous, the midrib prominent adaxially, salient, round, or square (in cross section) abaxially, puberulous abaxially, the secondary veins in 15-22 pairs, prominent, intersecondary veins present, prominulous to prominent, the tertiary veins reticulate. Inflorescences terminal, spicate, unbranched or with 1 order of branching, the rachis 5–11 cm long, glabrous, with 10-20 congested flowers; pedicel/hypanthium less than 1–2 mm long below articulation, 5–10 mm long above articulation, the bract ovate, 11 x 12 mm, bracteoles ovate, 12 x 14 mm. Flowers when leaves present, ca. 7 cm diam.; hypanthium truncate, rugose (when dry), glabrous, green, longitudinally oriented mucilage-bearing ducts present; calyx-lobes 6, very widely to widely ovate, imbricate, 11-16 x 12-19 mm, glabrous, green (Mori 25766) to very dark purple (Vreden 14803 - NY682702); petals 6, widely obovate, 25-32 x 16-18 mm, white with tinges of rose or purple; androecium zygomorphic, a staminal lip present, the staminal ring with ca. 300 stamens, the filaments 2.5-4 mm long, unidimensional to slightly dilated at apex, the anther length and color not known, the hood curved, 2.0-2.5 cm long, outer surface texture not known (probably smooth), whitish to yellow (Mori 25766), with numerous vestigial stamens, the vestigial stamens proximal and distal, swept inward, possibly forming a partial or single coil (see Elburg 9844 - NY barcode 682709), yellow, staminodes present proximally, anterior hood extension present (e.g., Elburg 9844), often poorly developed; ovary 4-locular, the ovary summit truncate, the ovules 20–40 per locule, inserted on lower septum, oblique, the style oblique, 6-7 mm long, stylar collar absent. Fruits dehiscent, globose to turbinate or oblongoid, 5-7 x 5-7.5 cm, the calyx-lobes persistent, enlarged but scarcely lignified, inserted near middle of fruit, oriented upwards, the infracalycine zone 2.5–5 cm long, truncate to rounded to pedicel, the supracalycine zone 2–3.5 long, erect, the pericarp 4–7 mm thick (10 mm thick in Krukoff specimens from Belém, NY682634 and NY682635), operculum with persistent, thickened style. Seeds: number per fruit not known, 3.5 x 1.5 cm, the major veins prominent, lighter than testa, the testa < 1 mm thick, brown; aril present, basil, white.

Common names: Surinam: Eyma (1932) records the following names for this species: barklak (Surinam Dutch), barkraki (Negro English), atotoito, komantie kwatie (Saramaccan Negro), wadili lanaballi diamaro, wadodori lanaballi diamaro, kakkaralli balli (Arowaccan Indian), mekoekoeware, mekoe kwaire, arepawane, jawanébolotin, kwatere (Indian). French Guiana: man tapouhoupa (Paramaka language).

Distribution: Eschweilera simiorum is distributed throughout the north of all three Guianas. It has also been collected from the region of the Jarí River of Brazil ( E. de Oliveira 4175) and two fruiting collections from the municipality of São Paulo de Olivença, Amazonas, Brazil (Krukoff 8664, 8797) appear to represent this species. The size, form, basal arils, and 4-locular ovaries of Krukoff's collections match those of Eschweilera simiorum. Nevertheless, flowering material is needed in order to confirm this disjunction which has been found in other species of plants (e.g., Couepia parillo DC., Prance, 1972; Mouriri oligantha Pilg., Morley, 1976; Couratari stellata A. C. Smith, this volume; Lecythis zabucajo Aublet (as L. tumefacta), Mori & Prance, 1981a).

Ecology: Eschweilera simiorum is an understory to canopy tree of non-flooded forest.

Phenology: This species flowers from Nov to Apr.

Pollination: No observations recorded but this species is most likely pollinated by bees.

Dispersal: No observations recorded but the basal arils are most likely eaten by animals, possibly monkeys as suggested by the protologue, which indicates at least some interaction with monkeys. The pericarp of Mori 25519 from Brownsberg, Surinam is softer than the pericarps of any other species of zygomorphic-flowered Lecythidaceae that the senior author has observed in the field, the pericarps and many of the fruits under the tree appeared to have been eaten by undetermined animals (S. A. Mori, pers. obs.).

Predation: The species epithet refers to monkeys, probably in reference to the utilization of the fruits and/or seeds by unknown monkeys, but this is not mentioned in the protologue. The senior author observed many fallen fruits under a tree of this species in the Brownsberg Nature Park Suriname (Mori 25519). The relatively soft pericarp had been eaten by animals but it is not known if monkeys ate the pericarp, the aril, or the seeds. Local informants reported that monkeys visit the tree and handle the fruits. The senior author (Mori et al. 25815) observed that the morphologically and molecularly similar E. congestiflora (Mori et al., 2007; Huang., 2010; Huang et al., 2011) had its fruits opened by capuchin monkeys just before they dehisced but did not observe what the monkeys were eating; in this case, there was no damage to the pericarp. We conclude that monkeys utilize some part of the fruits and/or seeds of E. simiorum; but, we have not determined if they seed predators or dispersal agents, or perhaps even both.

Field characters: This species is characterized by its understory to canopy habit; relatively large, chartaceous leaves without a whitish tinge abaxially (i.e., with papillae abaxially); white petals tinged with pink; androecial hood without a well-defined coil; and fruits with presistent but scarcely lignified calyx-lobes. In one population, the pericarp may be relatively soft at maturity but that needs to be confirmed with other observations.

Taxonomic notes: Eschweilera simiorum is morphologically similar to E. congestiflora, but lacks the abaxial leaf blade papillae of the latter species.The 4-locular ovary and seeds with a basal aril are features of Lecythis and not of Eschweilera. In addition, the androecial hood does not possess the double coil of Eschweilera and, thus, this is also consistent with placing this species in Lecythis. Placement of this species in Lecythis is also consistent with the most recent molecular publication (Mori et al., 2007). Eschweilera simiorum is morphologically similar to E. congestiflora from which it differs in its more chartaceous leaves without a papillate abaxial leaf blade surface. In a molecular study of Lecythidaceae, these two species fall in the same clade but their relationships were not resolved (Mori et al., 2007) and, therefore, if the previous circumscription of Lecythis (Mori & Prance, 1990) is changed these two species may not even be placed in Lecythis (Mori et al., in review).

Conservation: This species has not been assessed for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, vers. 2012.1. In French Guiana this species occurs in areas with large expanses of old growth forest, and even around the type locality of St. Jean du Maroni there are large expanses of habitat suitable for the survival of this species. The Brazilian populations also occur in areas with significant old growth forest still persisting.The biggest threat to this species in uncontrolled logging of other species.

Uses: None recorded.

Etymology: The specific epithet means "of the monkeys" and probably alludes to the fact that monkeys may eat part of the fruit or seeds but there is no mention of this in the protologue.

Source: Based on Mori & Prance(1990) and review of specimens at NY (2012).

Acknowledgements: We are grateful to J. Lindeman for allowing us to use the image of the flowers to illustrate the characters of this species.

Flora and Monograph Treatment(s):

Eschweilera simiorum (Benoist) Eyma: [Article] Mori, S. A. & Prance, Ghillean T. 1990. Lecythidaceae - Part II: The zygomorphic-flowered New World genera (Couroupita, Corythophora, Bertholletia, Couratari, Eschweilera, & Lecythis). With a study of secondary xylem of Neotropical Lecythidaceae by Carl de Zeeuw. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 21: 1-376.