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Additional Resources:

Family:

Lecythidaceae (Magnoliophyta)

Primary Citation:

Bot. Voy. Sulphur 99. 1844

Accepted Name:

This name is currently accepted.

Description:

Author: Scott A. Mori & X. Cornejo

Type: Ecuador. Without date (fl), Sinclair s.n. (lectotype, K, designated by Mori in Prance & Mori, 1979).

Description: Small pachycaul, unbranched to sparsely-branched trees to 8 m tall. Bark gray, rough, somewhat fissured longitudinally. Stems 5-15 mm diam. below lowermost leaves, the leaves tightly grouped in 2-3 clusters at ends of stems. Leaves present at anthesis; petioles absent to 30 mm long, 3-6 mm thick, semi-circular in cross section; blades narrowly oblong to narrowly oblanceolate, 26-41 x 7-9.5 cm, coriaceous, velutinous throughout abaxially, the apex acute to short acuminate, the margins entire or serrulate to serrate especially toward apex, the base attenuate to petiole, then obtuse; secondary venation brochidodromous throughout, in 25-32 pairs, the tertiary veins percurrent but less markedly so toward apex. Inflorescences suprafoliar, racemose, with 4-20 flowers, the rachis 20-60 mm long, buff to rusty tomentose; pedicels 35-100 mm long, subtended by a single caducous bract and bearing at or above the middle 2 ovate to lanceolate, cucullate bracteoles 2.5-6 x 2-4 mm. Flowers 10-14.5 cm diam; hypanthium narrowly 4-costate, densely ferruginous pubescent, the costae extending downward from between calyx lobes; calyx-lobes 4, 3-5 x 9-12 mm, broadly ovate to broadly triangular, the apex obtuse to rounded, denseley pubescent abaxially; petals usually 8, narrowly elliptic to oblong, 50-65 x 20-25 mm, densely gray to white pubescent in bud when dry, puberulous at maturity, white adaxially, sometimes rose-red abaxially especially in bud; androecium with staminal tube white abaxially, yellow adaxially, 10-15 mm high, the outermost stamens 18 mm long with filaments white or rose-red to various degrees, the innermost stamens progressively shorter with filaments white, the anthers 3-4 mm long, yellow; ovary 4-locular, the summit truncate, entirely white-tomentose to merely puberulous in lines, the style 1-2 mm long, the stigma obconical, with 4 stigmatic lines. Fruits depressed globose, the base rounded, the summit truncate to convex, obscurely to strongly 4-costate, the calyx-lobes often persisting, the pericarp 1.5 mm thick, the fleshy placentae and septa yellow, the operculum nearly as wide as fruit diam. Seeds ca. 6 per fruit, 2.5-3 x 2-2.5 cm, more-or-less triangular in cross section, with two sides flat and the other rounded, pale yellow when immature, turning brown at maturity, the seed coat very thin and fragile; funicle short, ca. 5 mm long, white, the aril tubular, not contorted, surrounding funicle.

Common names: Ecuador. Membrillo (Cornejo 13390, Dodson 1134), membrillo de montaña (Ruíz & Pavón s.n.), membrillo de monte (Rimbach 52), .

Distribution: This species is endemic to the Pacific slopes of central and northwestern Ecuador where it has been collected in the provinces of Esmeraldas, Guayas, Los Rios, Manabí, and Pinchincha. Patino 16 collected from San Francisco de Raposo area, Valle, Colombia and cited by Mori (Prance & Mori, 1979) as this species is based on a dubious determination.

Ecology: A common small tree of the dry seasonally deciduous forests of the Pacific slopes of central and northwestern Ecuador. This species appears to be resistent to fire. After a fire, X. Cornejo observed plants with brown, dead leaves and other plants sprouting new leaves.

Phenology: Flowering collections have been collected in the months of Jan, Feb, Mar, May, Jul, Sep, and Oct; fruits have been gathered in Jan, Mar, and Nov.

Pollination: Jette Knudsen and Bertil Ståhl (pers. comm. to S. A. Mori, 2009) report that the flowers of this species have a strong rosy or perfumed scent and are visited by small bees (0.5 to 0.8 cm long) that stay in the flower at least for one minute and presumably forage for pollen. These bees, most likely trigonids, may not be the most efficient pollinators. For example, trigonids were described as inefficient pollinators of Gustavia augusta by Mori and Boeke (1987) even though they were the most common visitor. Butterflies have been reported as visitors to the flowers of this species but it is not known why they visit them and if they are pollinators (Castillo, 2001). It is highly unlikely that either trigonid bees or butterflies play an important role in the pollination of Gustavia angusifolia.

Dispersal: Mammals may disperse the seeds of this species as they are known to do with the seeds of Gustavia superba but this has not been documented for G. angustifolia..

Predation: The Guayaquil squirrel (Sciurus stramineus), a mammal restricted to the dry forests and savannas along the coast of Ecuador to NW Peru, eats the pulp of the fruits of Gustavia angustifolia (X. Cornejo, pers. obs. 2012). However, it t is not known if it predates or disperses the seeds of this species. Cornejo (pers. comm., 2013) has documented ants tending aphids preying upon a bud of this species (see attached image) and honeybees removing pollen from the anthers. The bees collect pollen from many anthers, fill their pollen baskets, and then most likely return to their nest; thus, they are predators and probably not pollinators of this species. Moreover, if they do pollinate they probably not the pollinator with which this species co-evolved because the bees were introduced into the Neotropics by humans.

Field characters: Small pachycaulous, sparsely-branched trees; abaxially pubscent leaf blades; terminal inflorescences; long pedicels; hypanthium densely pubescent, slightly alate, the wings running downward from between calyx lobes; calyx lobes 4, broadly ovate to broadly triangular; seeds with a fragile seed coat; and aril yellow, not contorted, surrounding white funicle.

Taxonomic notes: Ruíz and Pavón were the first to recognize this species, providing it with two illegitimate names. The first, G. corymbosa, appears on their collection label and the second, G. angusta is an upbulished manuscript name not to be confused with G. augusta L. Gustavia ruiziana O. Berg was published in 1856 based on the Ruíz and Pavón but G. angustifolia Benth., published in 1844, has priority. This species is densely pubescent on the rachis of the infloresence, the hypanthiuim, and the summit of the ovary. The trichomes are simple but sepate with the septae being difficult to see. Plants that grow in dry forests where this species is usually found have more coriaceous leaves than do those of wetter forests. The flowers vary in color. Some individuals have nearly all white flowers (except for the yellow anthers) while others have various degrees of pink on their abaxial petal surfaces and their filaments. There appears to some variation in petal number with some individuals having 6 and others having 8 petals.

Conservation status: Gustavia angustifolia has been classified as an endangered species (EN B1ab(iii)) in The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is endemic to dry forests along the Pacific coast of Ecuador where forests have been or are being replaced by human development projects.

Uses: None documented.

Etymology: The specific epithet refers to the relatively narrow leaves found on some individuals of this species.

Source: Based on Mori in Prance & Mori (1979).

Flora and Monograph Treatment(s):

Gustavia angustifolia Benth.: [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.