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Additional Resources:

Family:

Lecythidaceae (Magnoliophyta)

Primary Citation:

Brittonia 33: 363. 1981

Accepted Name:

This name is currently accepted.

Description:

Author: Scott A. Mori & Nathan P. Smith

Type: Guyana. Kartabo Rd. nr. confluence of Cuyuni and Mazaruni Rivers, 7 Feb 1931 (fl), Davis D17 (=Forest Dept. British Guiana 1019) (lectotype, K, designated Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 21(II). 1990); isolectotypes, FDG, K).

Description: Trees to 35 m tall, trunk cylindrical, not buttressed, often basally swollen. Bark poorly known, shallowly fissured, the slash red. Stems glabrous. Leaves: petioles 3–10 mm long, glabrous, canaliculate; blades usually elliptic, oblong or obovate, 4.4-9(16) x 2.0-5.5(9) cm, chartaceous to slightly coriaceous, glabrous, the base obtuse, cuneate or attenuate, narrowly decurrent onto petiole, the margins entire to inconspicuously crenulate, with reddish-brown scars left by caducous hairs, the apex short acuminate; venation eucamptodromous to brochidodromous, the midrib prominent adaxially, salient and often square (in cross section) abaxially, glabrous (in specimens from French Guiana and NY810361 and NY810358 from Guyana) or puberulent abaxially (NY810359 and NY810360 from Guyana), the secondary veins in 7-10 pairs, often decurrent, the intersecondary veins not well-developed, usually 1-3 between each pair of secondaries, the tertiary venation reticulate. Inflorescences terminal or in axils of uppermost leaves, usually spikes, often tightly congested, the rachis 2-5 cm long, often angular in cross section, glabrous or less often pubescent; pedicel/hypanthium 0.5-1.0 mm long below articulation, 3–6 mm long above articulation, bract and bracteoles inserted at the same level, the bract 3.5 x 3 mm, caducous, glabrous, the bracteoles 3.5 x 3 mm, caducous, glabrous. Flowers when leaves present, 2-3.5 cm diam.; hypanthium truncate, usually glabrous, often sulcate (e.g., in specimens with chartaceous leaves from French Guiana) or sometimes finely wrinkled (at least when dry, see specimens with coriaceous leaves from French Guiana, e.g., Prévost 3003 - NY810364), longitudinally oriented mucilage-bearing ducts absent (e.g., specimens with chartaceous leaves from FG) or present; calyx-lobes 6, widely oblong, 6-9 x 7-11 mm, imbricate, green; petals 6, widely obovate, 17-32 x 12-19 mm, creamy white; androecium zygomorphic, a staminal lip present, the staminal ring with 160-175 stamens, the filaments dimorphic, color not known (probably white), the outermost 2.5-5 mm long, bent inward, clavate, the innermost progressively shorter, less clavate, the anthers less than 1 mm long, orange, the hood curved, 1.4-1.8 x 1.3-2.2 cm, outer surface texture not known, pale yellow to yellow, with numerous vestigial stamens, the vestigial stamens swept inward proximally, shorter and projecting outward distally, length and color not known, anterior and posterior hood extensions usually present but inconspicuous, staminodes rarely present (known only from barcode NY810358 from Guyana); ovary 4(-5)-locular, the ovary summit truncate (in rehydrated material), radial thickenings present (Pires-O'Brien et al. 675), the ovules 5-10 per locule, inserted on lower septum, oblique, the style tapering to apex, oblique, 3.5 mm long, stylar collar absent. Fruits broadly obovate, 4-7 x 4.5-7(9.5) cm (excluding operculum), the calyx lobes persistent, woody, not reflexed, the infracalycine zone 2–6 cm long, truncate to pedicel, the supracalycine zone 0.5–4 cm long, the pericarp 6-8(13) mm thick, smooth to rough, sometimes sulcate, reddish-brown externally, the operculum convex. Seeds elliptic-oblong, hemispherical or trigonous in cross section, 1.8–4 x 0.8–2.3 cm, number per fruit not known, the testa reddish brown, thickness not known, the veins salient, raphe splitting into 3-5 vascular bundles at chalazal end, these run length of seed and reunite at micropylar end; aril present, basal (Sabatier 2229), aril size not known.

Common names: Brazil: matamatá amarelo. Guyana: haudan (Arawak language), wadara.

Distribution: Distributed in Guyana, French Guiana, and the Guayanan part of Amapá, Brazil.

Ecology: A canopy tree of non-flooded forest.

Phenology: Lecythis holcogyne flowers most profusely from Sep to Dec but flowering collections have also been gathered in Jan, Feb, Mar, and JuI. Fruits with mature seeds have been collected in Mar and Apr.

Pollination: No observations recorded, but other species with similar flower structure are known to be pollinated by bees. The pollinator reward is most likely nectar but that has not been confirmed.

Dispersal: No observations recorded but this species most likely has a basal aril and the seeds are most likely dispersed by bats.

Predation: No observations recorded.

Field characters: This species is characterized by a bole which is swollen at the base; rough but not markedly fissuered bark; white to pale cream-colored petals and a more-or-less yellow androecial hood, especially at the entrance into the flower; appendages of the androecial hood of the Bertholletia type; a sulcate ovary; and medium-sized fruits which are more-or-less truncate at the base; and a basal aril.

Taxonomic notes: Lecythis holcogyne is morphologically similar to L. chartacea O. Berg from which it differs in its fewer pairs of lateral nerves (7-10 vs. 9-14); more robust, sessile flowers; outermost filaments of staminal ring bent and expanded at apex (vs. straight and not expanded); larger fruits (6-7 x 5-7 vs. 4-5 x 4 cm) which are truncate instead of tapered at the base; and seeds with areas between longitudinally oriented vascular bundles covered with a raised reticulum (vs. without raised reticulum). The placement of Eschweilera praeclara Sandwith in synonymy here needs further confirmation. Although the common name for both L. holcogyne and E. praeclara is haudan (Arawak), Sandwith claims that two species are represented (Sandwith, 1935). The population represented by E. praeclara has flowers and fruits intermediate in size between L. holcogyne and L. chartacea. Its fruits have the truncate base typical of L. holcogyne but they are narrower and smaller than normally found in this species. Several collections from widely separated localities (Forest Dept. British Guiana 2199, 4243, and Mori et al. 15701) represent this variation. Consequently, if this combination of features is the result of hybridization, it has happened several times.

Conservation: IUCN Red List: Not on list.

Uses: None recorded

Etymology: The epithet refers to the sulcate ovary.

Source: This species page is based on Mori in Mori & Prance (1990) and a recent review (2012) of specimens at NY.

Acknowledgements: We are grateful to B. Angell for allowing us to use the botanical illustration of the androecium of this species.

Flora and Monograph Treatment(s):

Lecythis holcogyne (Sandwith) S.A.Mori: [Article] Prance, Ghillean T. & Mori, S. A. 1979. Lecythidaceae - Part I. The actinomorphic-flowered New World Lecythidaceae (Asteranthos, Gustavia, Grias, Allantoma & Cariniana). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 21: 1-270.