Taxon Profile:

	The Plant List
	International Plant Name Index
	Tropicos
	Catalogue of Life
	Global Biodiversity Information Facility
	JSTOR Types
	JSTOR
	BHL
	Encyclopedia of Life
	WikiSpecies
	Google Scholar
	PubMed
	Morphbank
	IUCN
	National Center for Biotechnology Information
	Barcode of Life

Additional Resources:

Family:

Lecythidaceae (Magnoliophyta)

Primary Citation:

Bull. Misc. Inform., Kew 1932: 215. 1932

Accepted Name:

This name is currently accepted.

Description:

Author: Scott A. Mori and Ghillean T. Prance

Type: French Guiana. Vic. of Godebert Camp, nr. Crique Sainte-Marguerite, no date (fi), Wachenheim 359 (lectotype, P, designated Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 21(II). 1990, photo NY).

Description: Small to medium-sized trees, to 25 m tall. Bark reddish-brown, with irregular depressions, lenticellate. Leaves not know to flush just before anthesis; petioles 6-10 mm long, glabrous; blades elliptic, 10-16 x 4-6 cm, glabrous, chartaceous, the base acute, obtuse or rounded, the margins entire, the apex long acuminate; secondary veins in 6-11 pairs. Inflorescences terminal, axillary, or ramiflorous, usually unbranched, occasionally once-branched, the principal rachis 0.5-7 cm long, pubescent, the pedicel poorly defined or 3-5 mm long, puberulous. Flowers 2-2.5 cm diam.; calyx with 6 lobes, the lobes widely to very widely ovate, 2-2.5 x 2-2.5 mm, not imbricate, thick, convex to carinate abaxially, slightly gibbous at base; petals 6, widely obovate, 14-17 x 10-12 mm, yellow or white; androecium with staminal ring asymmetric, with ca. 200 stamens, the filaments 1-1.5 mm long, not clavate, the anthers 0.5 mm long, the hood ca. 9 x 12 mm, with distinct double coil; hypanthium either more or less cuneate and tapered into poorly defined pedicel or abruptly tapered into well-defined pedicel, puberulous; ovary 2-locular, with 3-10 basally attached ovules. Fruits small, depressed globose, 2-2.5 x 3 cm (including operculum), the base cup-shaped, the calycine ring inserted near middle, the pericarp 2-5 mm thick, light brown, rough, the operculum dome-shaped, ca. 1 cm high. Seeds unknown.

Common names: Guyana: fine-leaved black kakaralli, fine-leaved kakaralli.

Distribution: Eschweilera wachenheimii is distributed in Central Amazonian Brazil, Guyana, Surinam, and French Guiana.

Ecology: This species is a small to medium-sized tree usually of the understory of non-flooded forest.

Phenology: Eschweilera wachenheimii flowers from Aug to Nov.

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

Dispersal: No observations recorded.

Predation: No observations recorded.

Field characters: Eschweilera wachenheimii is characterized by its small stature; relatively small, chartaceous leaves with distinct marginal veins, impressed secondary veins adaxially, and long acuminate apex; small flowers' and small fruits with a rough, light brown exocarp. In some of the populations, there is a small trough-like furrow circuling the fruit just above the calycine ring.

Taxonomic notes: The Guyana population has an annular furrow between the calycine ring and the opercular opening. The seedlings (Forest Dept. British Guiana 4218) have very pronounced, narrowly attenuate apices to 2.5 cm long. This species is morphologically similar to E. micrantha from which it differs by having an unbranched, short inflorescence and by lacking the anterior furrow of the androecial hood common to E. micrantha. There is considerable variation in petal color and pedicel length in our circumscription of this species. Some individuals have white petals and others have yellow ones, and some individuals have a cuneate hypanthium which grades into a poorly defined pedicel whereas others (e.g., Mori et al. 8225, 8226, 8228; Sandwith 280) have well-defined pedicels. There is a general tendency for white petals to be associated with well-developed pedicels and for yellow flowers to be found in individuals with subsessile flowers. However, at least one collection (Forest Dept. British Guiana JB.42), has yellow petals and well-defined pedicels. Consequently, two taxa may be included in our concept of E. wachenheimii.

Conservation: IUCN Red List: not on list (IUCN, 2012).

Uses: None recorded.

Etymology:

Source: Based on Mori & Prance (1979) and Mori & Lepsch-Cunha (1995).

Flora and Monograph Treatment(s):

Eschweilera wachenheimii (Benoist) Sandwith: [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.
Eschweilera wachenheimii (Benoist) Sandwith: [Article] Mori, S. A. & Lepsch da Cunha, Nadia M. 1995. The Lecythidaceae of a central Amazonian moist forest. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 75: 1-55.