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Additional Resources:

Family:

Lecythidaceae (Magnoliophyta)

Primary Citation:

Trans. Linn. Soc. London 30: 267. 1874

Accepted Name:

This name is currently accepted.

Description:

Author: Scott A. Mori & Nathan P. Smith

Type: Brazil. Pará: in vicinibus Santarem, Mar 1850 (fl), R. Spruce 82 (lectotype, NY).

Description: Trees to 38 m tall. Leaves: petiole 5-6 mm long, puberulous; blades elliptic, 9-13 x 3.5-6 cm, glabrous, without punctae, chartaceous, the base acute to obtuse, the margins entire, the apex acuminate; venation with 9-12 pairs of lateral veins. Inflorescences terminal, sometimes in axils of uppermost leaves, infrequently from young branches, mostly unbranched, 1.5-6 cm long, puberulous, the pedicel 2-3 mm long, not well-defined from hypanthium, pubescent. Flowers ca. 2.5-3 cm diam.; hypanthium pubescent, tapered; calyx-lobes 6, widely ovate to very widely ovate, 3-3.5 x 2.5-3.5 mm, ascending, slightly imbricate at base to imbricate for 1/2 length, nearly flat to slightly convex abaxially but not carinate; petals 6, widely obovate, 12-20 x 11-14 mm, white; androecium zygomorphic, the staminal ring asymmetric, with 100-160 stamens, the filaments ca. 1 mm long, tapered at apex, the anthers 0.5 mm long, the hood yellow, with weak double coil, the innermost appendages highly modified, subulate, to 4 mm long; ovary 2-locular. Fruits poorly known, cup-shaped, ca. 2-3 x 2.5-3.5 cm, the exocarp smooth, 2-3 mm thick.

Common names: None known.

Distribution: Eastern Brazilian Amazon.

Ecology: A canopy tree of non-flooded forests. This species may flower as a shrub or small tree, especially when found in secondary vegetation or at the border of savannas.

Phenology: Flowers have been collected in Jan, Feb, Mar, May, Jun, Oct, and Nov. Fruits have been collected in May, Jul, Oct, and Nov.

Pollination: No reports of pollination have been recorded but flower morphology suggests bees as pollinators.

Dispersal: No reports of dispersal have been recorded.

Predation: Parrots have beened reported to eat the fruits (W. L. Balée 920).

Field characters: Eschweilera obversa is distinguished by its small flowers subtended by a poorly defined, short pedicel, and its small, cup-shaped fruits with a smooth exocarp. Its androecial hood is unique in its slightly developed double coil with long, subulate appendages at its apex.

Taxonomic notes: -

Conservation: IUCN Red List: Lower Risk/conservation dependent ver 2.3 (Pires O'Brien, J. 1998. Eschweilera obversa. In: IUCN 2013. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 05 February 2014.).

Uses: None known.

Etymology: -

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

Flora and Monograph Treatment(s):

Eschweilera obversa (O.Berg) Miers: [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.