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Additional Resources:

Family:

Lecythidaceae (Magnoliophyta)

Primary Citation:

Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 21(2): 237. 1990

Accepted Name:

This name is currently accepted.

Type Specimens:

Specimen 1: Isotype -- O. Huber
Specimen 2: Isotype -- O. Huber

Description:

Author: Scott A. Mori & Nathan P. Smith

Type: Type. Venezuela. Amazonas: Dept. Atabapo, N section of Sierra Parima, 3°59'N, 64°41'W, 10001500 malt., 10 Nov 1983 (fl, empty fr), O. Huber & Colchester 8424 (holotype, VEN; isotypes, INPA, NY, MO, K).

Description: Canopy trees, to 30 m tall. Bark brown, with longitudinal fissures, the inner bark red to reddish-brown. Leaves: petioles 8-20 mm long; blades elliptic to oblong, 12-21.5 x 6-11 cm, glabrous, with abaxial reddish-brown punctae, chartaceous, with 12-16 pairs of lateral veins; the base obtuse to rounded, the margins entire, the apex acute to short acuminate Inflorescences terminal, simple or weakly once-branched, racemose, with yellowish pubescence, the principal rachis 9-12 cm long, the pedicel 5-7 mm long. Flowers 4-5 cm diam.; hypanthium abruptly constricted into well-defined pedicel, yellowish pubescent; calyx-lobes 6, very widely to widely oblong or very widely to widely ovate, 11-13 x 9-10 mm, ascending, imbricate to 1/2 length, thin, slightly gibbous at base, flat to slightly convex abaxially, flat to slightly concave adaxially; petals 6, white, irregularly widely to narrowly obovate, 27-39 x 17-22 mm; androecium zygomorphic, the staminal ring asymmetric, with ca. 215 stamens, the filaments 1.5-2 mm long, not markedly clavate, the anthers 0.8 mm long, the hood ca. 20 x 20 mm, with 2 coils, pale yellow, with a poorly developed, external marginal groove between appendages and hood proper; ovary 2-locular, the ovules 8-16 per locule, in 1-2 rows, inserted on locule floor, the style obconical, often oblique, 2.5-3 mm long. Fruits broadly turbinate, the calycine ring inserted at or above middle, the supracalycine zone erect, the infracalycine zone rounded to cuneate, 4-5 x 6-7.5 cm (excluding pedicel and operculum), the pedicel persistent, asymmetrically attached, the operculum flat to slightly convex, with slight umbo, the pericarp to 10 mm thick, the exocarp light brown, rough. Seeds unknown.

Common names: None known.

Distribution: Known only from the Serra Parima of Roraima, Brazil, and Amazonas, Venezuela (Huber et al., 1984).

Ecology: A canopy tree from submontane forest and submontane cloud forest from ca. 700 to 1500 m alt.

Phenology: The single flowering collection was gathered in Nov and nearly mature fruits have been collected in Feb.

Pollination: No reports of pollination have been recorded.

Dispersal: No reports of dispersal have been recorded.

Predation: No observations recorded.

Field characters: See taxonomic notes.

Taxonomic notes: The fruits of E. roraimensis resemble those of E. coriacea. Nevertheless, the yellowish pubescence of the inflorescence, hypanthium, and calyx; the relatively large and thin calyx-lobes; and the very slight, external marginal groove between the hood appendages and the hood proper distinguish this species from this and other species of the genus. Eschweilera ovalifolia, a riverine species of the upper Amazon and Solimões rivers, has a similar but more pronounced marginal groove. Eschweilera roraimensis differs from E. ovalifolia in many aspects, including larger leaves, nearly sessile flowers, much smaller and differently shaped calyx-lobes, and depressed globose fruits. Most Amazonian species of Eschweilera are confined to the lowlands. Although some 14 species of the genus are known to occur at altitudes over 1000 m, most of these are species of the Andes (Prance & Mori, 1979). Consequently, the occurrence of E. roraimensis in submontane forest and submontane cloud forest (Prance in Huber et aI., 1984) is rare among the Amazonian members of the genus. Huber et al. (1984) point out that, even though the Serra Parima has only been superficially botanized, a limited number of species appear to be endemic to this mountain range. Eschweilera roraimensis adds to the number of endemic species from this region.

Conservation: IUCN Red List: Vulnerable D2 ver 2.3 (Pires O'Brien, J. 1998. Eschweilera roraimensis. In: IUCN 2013. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 07 February 2014.).

Uses: None known.

Etymology: The name refers to Roraima, Brazil, one of the only areas where this species occurs.

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

Flora and Monograph Treatment(s):

Eschweilera roraimensis S.A.Mori: [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.