Pennington, Terence D. 1981. Meliaceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 28: 1-359, 418-449, 459-470. (Published by NYBG Press)
Meliaceae
Cedrela montana var. mexicana C.DC., Cedrela saxatilis C.DC. & Rose
Species Description - Branchlets thick, brown, lenticellate, puberulous, with small whitish patches on bark. Leaves paripinnate, (15-)20-30(-35) cm long; petiole pubescent. Leaflets sessile or petiolules 2-4 mm long, 5-7(-8) pairs, ovate or sometimes ovate-oblong, apex acute or short acuminate, base broadly truncate or rounded, (6-)7-10(-12) cm long, (3-)4-5.5 cm broad, lower surface pilose or villous, sparsely pubescent above. Inflorescence terminal, glabrous, much-branched, 20-30(-35) cm long, as long as or longer than leaves, bracts very short and deciduous. Flowers unisexual; pedicels stout, ca. 1-1.5 mm long, glabrous. Calyx cupulate, irregularly 5-dentate; teeth obtuse, 2-3 mm long, sometimes with a single split on one side, puberulous. Petals 5, free, imbricate, oblong or ovate-oblong, adnate to gynophore in lower 1/3 their length, 6-8(-9) mm long, 2-3 mm broad, densely pubescent, fleshy. Stamens 5, free; filaments glabrous, adnate at base to slender gynophore; anthers in <5 flowers large yellow, antherodes in [female] flowers very small, brown and shrivelled. Ovary in [female] flowers 5-locular, globose to ovoid, glabrous, each loculus with (8-) 9-10 ovules; style very short, ca. 1.5 mm long; style-head glandular, discoid. Pistillode in [male] flowers very slender but with well-developed loculi and very small vestigial ovules; style very slender, 1.5-2.0 mm long; style-head discoid, thin. Capsule oblong-cylindroid to obovoid, erect, often solitary on a slender peduncle ca. 5-10 mm long, 5-valved, valves very thinly woody, 0.5-1.0 mm thick, outer surfaces lenticellate, (2.5-)3.5-4.5(-5.0) cm long. Columella concavo-convex. Seeds dark brown 1.5-2.5 cm long including the wing.
More detailed notes on the biology of C. oaxacensis and others in this upland group of species are given by German and Styles in Turrialba (1979).
Field Characters: A small, much branched deciduous tree 8-10 m tall with smooth, reddish bark; branchlets bearing many prominent leaf scars. It is the only species of Cedrela known to have erect capsules which also persist on the tree for a long time after dehiscence. The flowers are pinkish and have an unpleasant scent.
Distribution and Ecology: An endemic species confined to the basin of the Rio Balsas and its tributaries in the Oaxaca Valley in Mexico. Restricted to the States of Morelos, Guerrero and Oaxaca, where it grows on dry hillsides often in mixture with Pinus spp. and various oaks (Quercus spp.). Sometimes in secondary vegetation. Always on soils of volcanic origin, from 1400-2000 m alt. It flowers in July and August and sometimes as late as September. The fruits take about 8-10 months to reach maturity. The tree is too small and bushy to be of any economic importance, even locally.
Mexico North America| Oaxaca Mexico North America| Guerrero Mexico North America| Morelos Mexico North America|
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