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Additional Resources:

Family:

Lecythidaceae (Magnoliophyta)

Primary Citation:

Amer. J. Bot. 26: 411. 1939

Accepted Name:

This name is currently accepted.

Type Specimens:

Specimen 1: Holotype -- L. Weiss
Specimen 2: Isotype -- L. Weiss

Description:

Author: Ghillean T. Prance

Type: Brazil. Amazonas: Upper Rio Negro, 1907-1908 (fl), Weiss & Schmidt 1 (holotype, NY; isotype, NY).

Description: Trees, to 30 m tall, the trunk without buttresses, the young branches glabrous or sparsely puberulous glabrescent. Leaf blades oblong to oblong-Ianceolate, 4.5-11 x 1.6-4.3 cm, chartaceous, glabrous on both surfaces; midrib prominulous above, prominent and entirely glabrous beneath; secondary veins 9-11 pairs, prominulous, the tertiary venation distinctly prominulous; apex acuminate, the acumen 3-12 mm long; base cuneate to subcuneate; margins entire, slightly undulate; petiole 5-11 mm long, glabrous, slightly canaliculate, not winged. Inflorescences terminal or axillary, racemose, the rachis puberulous; bracts oblong, ca. 7 mm long, membranous, caducous, glabrous except for ciliate margins; pedicels 1.5-3 cm long, puberulous. Flowers often when leafless; hypanthium campanulate, ca. 5 mm long; calyx lobes rounded, puberulous on exterior, with ciliate margins; petals oblong-spathulate, 2.5-3.8 cm long, sparsely puberulous on exterior, glabrous within, intermittently ciliate on margins, rose-pink; androecium ca. 3.5 cm long, the staminal ring ca. 9 mm diam., the exterior of hood glabrous, rugulose, the stamens 45-50, inserted in more than one row around staminal ring and extending well up interior of ligule. Fruits broadly campanulate, 3-4.5 (excluding stipe) x 3.5-4.5 cm, with thin stipe 1.8-2.5 cm long, longitudinally striate on exterior of pericarp, smooth not crustaceous on exterior, thin coriaceous, ca. 0.5-1 mm thick, the calycine ring 4-8 mm below the apex, plane, not ridged; operculum convex, radially grooved, the columella markedly triangular. Seeds oblong, symmetrical, 3-3.5 x 1.3-1.6 cm.

Common names: Brazil: tauary (from protologue).

Distribution: In Guyana and Amazonia.

Ecology: Grows on high river banks, usually above the flood level.

Phenology: Collected in flower from Aug to Jan in Amazonia, Mar to Jun in Guyana.

Pollination: No reports of pollination have been recorded.

Dispersal: The seeds are wind dispersed.

Predation: No observations recorded.

Field characters: In addition to the habitat C. oligantha occurs in (high river banks, usually above the flood level) and its large size, this species can be defined by the following: leaves with oblong or oblong-lanceolate, chartaceous blades, and petioles 5-11 mm long; flowers with rose-pink petals and a non-echinate hood with an external pocket; fruits 3-4.5 x 3.5-4.5 cm; and circumferentially winged seeds.

Taxonomic notes: See notes under sect. Microcarpa in Mori & Prance (1990) for the relationships of this species.

Conservation: IUCN Red List: Not on list.

Uses: None known.

Etymology: The name "oligantha" means few flowers.

Source: This species page is based on Prance in Mori & Prance, 1990.

Flora and Monograph Treatment(s):

Couratari oligantha A.C.Sm.: [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.