Taxon Details: Eschweilera macrocarpa Pittier
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Narratives:
Additional Resources:
Protologue of Eschweilera macrocarpa.
Protologue of Eschweilera macrocarpa.Family:
Lecythidaceae (Magnoliophyta)
Lecythidaceae (Magnoliophyta)
Scientific Name:
Eschweilera macrocarpa Pittier
Eschweilera macrocarpa Pittier
Primary Citation:
Bol. Soc. Venez. Ci. Nat. 4(30): 89. 1937
Bol. Soc. Venez. Ci. Nat. 4(30): 89. 1937
Accepted Name:
This name is currently accepted.
This name is currently accepted.
Description:
Author: Scott A. Mori & Nathan P. Smith
Type: Venezuela. Aragua: Selvas inferiores del Parque Nacional, Valle de Ocumare de la Costa, 400-800 m, 24 Apr 1937 (fr), Pittier 13971 (lectotype, VEN, here designated; isolectotype, F).
Description: Trees, to 50 m. Bark reddish, scaly. Leaves: petioles 8-10 mm long; blades elliptic to widely elliptic or widely oblong, 14-20 x 6-11.5 cm, glabrous, with reddish-brown punctae abaxially, the base obtuse to rounded, the margins entire to minutely crenulate, the apex acuminate; secondary veins in 10-13 pairs. Inflorescences terminal, unbranched, racemose, the rachis 3-7 cm long, the pedicels ca. 6 mm long, glabrous, lenticellate. Flowers ca. 5 cm diam.; calyx-lobes 6, widely ovate to ovate, 7-9 x 6 mm, ascending, imbricate for 3/4 to entire length, convex abaxially; petals 22-24 x 11-16 mm, pale yellow; androecium zygomorphic, the hood 22 mm wide; gynoecium with 2-locular ovary, the style erect, widened at base, obconical, 3 mm long. Fruits depressed globose, 9 x 11 cm. Seeds 1-3 per locule, 4.5-5 x 3-4.5
Common names: None known.
Distribution: Known only from north-central Venezuela.
Ecology: A large tree of non-flooded forests from 100 to 800 m.
Phenology: Flowers have been collected in Jun, Jul and Sep, and mature fruits in Apr.
Pollination: No reports of pollination have been recorded but the yellow petal color suggests bees as pollinators.
Dispersal: No reports of dispersal have been recorded.
Predation: No observations recorded.
Field characters: The broadly ovate, imbricate calyx-lobes rounded at the apex are diagnostic of this species.
Taxonomic notes: Knuth (1939) cited Pittier 8967 as a paratype of Eschweilera kalbreyeri (a synonym of E. bogotensis), with which it bears no geographical or morphological relationship. Pittier (1937) states that the fruits of E. macrocarpa fall from the tree at maturity and adds that this is unusual in the genus. He collected this species in flower and fruit but numbered both collections as Pittier 13971 even though the collections, apparently from the same tree, were gathered several years apart. We have only seen the leaves of this collection and therefore our description of the flowers and fruits come from the protologue. However, we have supplemented the floral description with flowers of Pittier 8967. Additional collections of this species are needed to complete its description and to clarify its relationship with other members of the genus.
Conservation: IUCN Red List: Not on list (Feb 2014).
Uses: None known.
Etymology: The name "macrocarpa" means large fruit.
Source: This species page is based on Mori in Mori & Prance, 1990.
Author: Scott A. Mori & Nathan P. Smith
Type: Venezuela. Aragua: Selvas inferiores del Parque Nacional, Valle de Ocumare de la Costa, 400-800 m, 24 Apr 1937 (fr), Pittier 13971 (lectotype, VEN, here designated; isolectotype, F).
Description: Trees, to 50 m. Bark reddish, scaly. Leaves: petioles 8-10 mm long; blades elliptic to widely elliptic or widely oblong, 14-20 x 6-11.5 cm, glabrous, with reddish-brown punctae abaxially, the base obtuse to rounded, the margins entire to minutely crenulate, the apex acuminate; secondary veins in 10-13 pairs. Inflorescences terminal, unbranched, racemose, the rachis 3-7 cm long, the pedicels ca. 6 mm long, glabrous, lenticellate. Flowers ca. 5 cm diam.; calyx-lobes 6, widely ovate to ovate, 7-9 x 6 mm, ascending, imbricate for 3/4 to entire length, convex abaxially; petals 22-24 x 11-16 mm, pale yellow; androecium zygomorphic, the hood 22 mm wide; gynoecium with 2-locular ovary, the style erect, widened at base, obconical, 3 mm long. Fruits depressed globose, 9 x 11 cm. Seeds 1-3 per locule, 4.5-5 x 3-4.5
Common names: None known.
Distribution: Known only from north-central Venezuela.
Ecology: A large tree of non-flooded forests from 100 to 800 m.
Phenology: Flowers have been collected in Jun, Jul and Sep, and mature fruits in Apr.
Pollination: No reports of pollination have been recorded but the yellow petal color suggests bees as pollinators.
Dispersal: No reports of dispersal have been recorded.
Predation: No observations recorded.
Field characters: The broadly ovate, imbricate calyx-lobes rounded at the apex are diagnostic of this species.
Taxonomic notes: Knuth (1939) cited Pittier 8967 as a paratype of Eschweilera kalbreyeri (a synonym of E. bogotensis), with which it bears no geographical or morphological relationship. Pittier (1937) states that the fruits of E. macrocarpa fall from the tree at maturity and adds that this is unusual in the genus. He collected this species in flower and fruit but numbered both collections as Pittier 13971 even though the collections, apparently from the same tree, were gathered several years apart. We have only seen the leaves of this collection and therefore our description of the flowers and fruits come from the protologue. However, we have supplemented the floral description with flowers of Pittier 8967. Additional collections of this species are needed to complete its description and to clarify its relationship with other members of the genus.
Conservation: IUCN Red List: Not on list (Feb 2014).
Uses: None known.
Etymology: The name "macrocarpa" means large fruit.
Source: This species page is based on Mori in Mori & Prance, 1990.
Flora and Monograph Treatment(s):
Eschweilera macrocarpa Pittier: [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.
Eschweilera macrocarpa Pittier: [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.