Monographs Details:
Authority:

Pennington, Terence D. 1981. Meliaceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 28: 1-359, 418-449, 459-470. (Published by NYBG Press)
Family:

Meliaceae
Description:

Species Description - Young branches not seen. Leaves pinnate with one leaflet of ultimate pair orientated to simulate a terminal leaflet, ca. 38 cm long; petiole narrowly winged at base, rhachis semiterete, glabrous; petiolule ca. 5 mm long. Leaflets subopposite to alternate, 12, oblong (lowest pair broadly elliptic), apex shortly narrowly attenuate, base narrowly cuneate (base of lowest leaflets rounded), coriaceous, ca. 30 cm long, 8 cm broad (lowest pair much smaller, ca. 4.3 cm long, 3.3 cm broad), glabrous, not glandular-punctate or -striate; venation eucamptodromous, midrib ± flat; secondaries ca. 20 on either side of midrib, arcuate-ascending, slightly convergent; intersecondaries small. Inflorescence ca. 43 cm long, a laxly-branched, broadly pyramidal panicle, sparsely puberulous; pedicel 0.5 mm long. Calyx patelliform, ca. 0.5 mm long, with a shallow irregularly-lobed margin, sparsely puberulous. Petals (4-)5, fused ca. 1/2 their length, valvate, slightly spreading, 1.75-2 mm long, 0.75 mm broad, ovate-lanceolate, apex acute, sparsely puberulous outside, glabrous inside. Staminal tube urceolate; filaments completely fused, ca. 1 mm long and broad, margin with 5 subulate lobes alternating with anthers and ca. 2/3 their length, glabrous; anthers 5, ca. 0.4 mm long, glabrous. Nectary absent. Ovary conical, 3-locular, loculi with 2 collateral ovules, minutely puberulous; style glabrous; style-head capitate, equalling anthers. Fruit unknown.

Discussion:

Relationships

Closely related to and doubtfully distinct from T. maynasiana. The differences are all quantitative: leaves ca. 38 cm long (7-12(-16) cm in T. maynasiana); leaflets 12, ca. 30 x 8 cm, secondary veins ca. 20 (leaflets 5-7(-10), 7.5-13.5(-16) cm long, (0.9-)2-4(-5.5) cm broad, secondary veins 10-13(-17) in T. maynasiana); corolla lobes (4-)5, (3-4 in T. maynasiana). It occurs in the same area as T. maynasiana and they flower at the same time of year.

Obs. 1. Tessmann 4687 from eastern Peru is similar to T. laxipaniculata and differs only in having flowers with 8 anthers.

Field Characters: Large tree. The whitish flowers are produced in December.

Distribution:

Ecuador South America| Peru South America| Amazonas Peru South America|