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Family:

Lecythidaceae (Magnoliophyta)

Primary Citation:

Polygonac., Guttif. & Lecythidac. Suriname 71. 1932

Accepted Name:

This name is currently accepted.

Description:

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

Type: French Guiana. Charvein, 11 Jan 1914 (fl), Benoist 578 (lectotype, P, photo NY, designated Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 21(II). 1990).

Description: Trees, to 25 m tall, the trunk unbuttressed. Bark squamose, the outer bark dark brown, the inner bark not known. Stems puberulent to glabrous. Leaves: petioles 17–30 mm long, glabrous to minutely puberulent; blades widely elliptic to elliptic, less frequently oblong or narrowly obovate, 18-33 x 8.5-17 cm, coriaceous, glabrous adaxially, papillate (best seen with SEM) with puberulent midrib abaxially, the base obtuse to rounded, the margins entire, sometimes revolute, the apex very short acuminate; venation brochidodromous, the midrib slightly impressed to prominent adaxially, salient abaxially, the secondary veins in 13-18 pairs, intersecondary veins present, prominulous, the tertiary veins retiuclate. Inflorescences terminal or in axils of uppermost leaves, spicate, unbranched, the rachis 5-12 cm long, angled, glabrous or puberulous, with 10-20 congested flowers; pedicel/hypanthium 1–3 mm long below articulation, ca. 5 mm long above articulation, the bract ovate, keeled, 15 x 16 mm, bracteoles ovate, keeled, 10-15 x 12-16 mm. Flowers when leaves present, ca. 6 cm diam.; hypanthium truncate, rugose (when dry), glabrous, green, longitudinally oriented mucilage-bearing ducts present; calyx-lobes 6, very widely ovate to widely ovate, imbricate, 10-20 x 11-18 mm, glabrous, green; petals 6, widely to narrowly obovate, 21-38 x 12-26 mm, white to pinkish white; androecium zygomorphic, a staminal lip present, the staminal ring with 340-400 stamens, the filaments 2.5–3 mm long, unidimensional to slightly clavate, the anthers not known, the hood curved, 20 mm long, outer surface texture smooth, yellow to whitish yellow, with numerous vestigial stamens, the vestigial stamens swept inward but not forming a coil, staminodes present in proximal part of hood, anterior hood extension present (see Bosbeheer 170 - NY682511); ovary 4-locular, the ovary summit truncate, the ovules 7-9 per locule, inserted at base of septum, erect, the style tapering to apex, oblique, 7.5-8 mm long, stylar collar absent. Fruits dehiscent, oblongoid to globose, 3-4.5 x 3-4.5 cm, the calyx-lobes persistent, not woody, sometimes reflexed, the infracalycine zone ca. 2 cm long, truncate to pedicel, the supracalycine zone ca. 1.5 cm wide, erect, the pericarp 1–5 mm thick (1-2 mm thick in Mori 25766), lenticellate, darker brown than infracalycine zone. Seeds fusiform, 1.8-2.2 x 1-1.6 cm, the major veins prominent, the secondary veins extend from major veins for short distance into intervenal area, the testa chestnut colored, the veins white; aril basal, short, white.

Common names: Surinam: akwanda. French Guiana: mahot a couatary à grandes feuilles, mahot noire.

Distribution: Eschweilera congestiflora is known only from northern Surinam and northern French Guiana.

Ecology: An understory tree of nonflooded, wet forest.

Phenology: Flowers have been collected in Jan, Feb, Jun, and Sep and fruits with nearly ripe seeds have been collected in August at the Nouragues Nature Park.

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

Dispersal: The basal arils may be eaten by bats as has been documented by at least one other species of Lecythidaceae (Greenhall, 1965).

Predation: Capuchin monkeys were observed in the vicinity of Mori et al. 25815 which had many immature fruits on the ground. It is not known if the monkeys ate the seed or the aril and, thus, are predators. Even predators, however, may disperse a few seeds by accident.

Field characters: Eschweilera congestiflora is characterized by its small to medium stature (understory to canopy trees); trunk with no buttresses; large leaves with abaxial papillae; congested flowers; large sepals with mucilage-bearing ducts; fruits with persistent, unthickened sepals; and seeds with basal arils.

Taxonomic notes: The 4-locular ovary, sepals with mucilage-bearing ducts, and seeds with a basal aril are features of Lecythis and not of Eschweilera. In addition, the androecial hood does not possess a full coil terminated by vestigial stamen nectaries and this is also consistent with placing this species in Lecythis as circumscribed by Mori and Prance (1990). Recognition of this species in Lecythis is also consistent with the most recent molecular publications (Mori et al., 2007; Huang et al., in review). Eschweilera congesiflora is morphologically similar to E. simiorum from which it differs in its more coriaceous leaves with a papillate lower leaf surface. Recent studies, however, indicate that these two species, along with others, may have to be recoginized as a separate genus (Huang, 2010; Huang et al., in review).

Conservation: This species has not been assessed by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species vers. 2012.1. Although this species has a limited distribution in Suriname and French Guiana, it grows in areas that are still covered by forest. The Google Map of 11 Nov 2009 still shows considerable forest in the vicinity of the type locality around the small village of Charvein in French Guiana. The biggest threat to this species is the harvesting of timber.

Uses: None recorded.

Etymology: The specific epithet alludes to the tightly congested flowers.

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

Flora and Monograph Treatment(s):

Eschweilera congestiflora (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.