Monographs Details:
Authority:
Mori, S. A. & Lepsch da Cunha, Nadia M. 1995. The Lecythidaceae of a central Amazonian moist forest. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 75: 1-55.
Mori, S. A. & Lepsch da Cunha, Nadia M. 1995. The Lecythidaceae of a central Amazonian moist forest. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 75: 1-55.
Family:
Lecythidaceae
Lecythidaceae
Description:
Latin Diagnosis - A ceteris generis speciebus cortice interna lutea cum striis rubris, foliis ellipticis, 9-16 x 4-7.5 cm, cum pagina abaxiali sine papillis, et fructibus parvis (2.5-3 cm diam.) indehiscentibus differt.
Species Description - Canopy trees, to 30 m tall, unbuttressed. Bark very shallowly fissured, the fissures sometimes appearing as vertically oriented lenticels, the outer bark 1-2 mm thick, the middle bark a thin, dark red layer, the inner bark 5-7 mm thick, yellow, often with conspicuous streaks of red extending from middle bark into inner bark. Twigs 2-3 mm diam. Leaves not deciduous; petioles 10-14 mm long; blades elliptic, 9-16 x 4-7.5 cm, glabrous, with 10-14 pairs of lateral veins; base acute to obtuse; apex acuminate; margins entire. Inflorescences terminal, racemose, unbranched or once-branched; pedicels <1 mm long below articulation, 2-15 mm long above articulation. Flowers diurnal, ca. 3 cm diam.; calyx-lobes 6-11 x 4-10 mm; petals 22-27 x 19-22 mm, cream-colored; androecial hood curved inward, yellow, the staminal ring with 135-265 stamens, the filaments bent inward at apex, clavate, of variable length, the ones near opening of androecium ca. 3.5 mm long; hypanthium very finely rugulose and sulcate; ovary 4-locular, the style geniculate or obliquely oriented, 5-7 mm long. Fruits indehiscent, falling to ground at maturity, turbinate to nearly globose, asymmetric at base, 2.5-3 (including operculum) x 2.5-3 cm, the calycine ring inserted above middle, the pericarp 1.5-2 mm thick. Seeds 1-2 per fruit, the veins salient.
Latin Diagnosis - A ceteris generis speciebus cortice interna lutea cum striis rubris, foliis ellipticis, 9-16 x 4-7.5 cm, cum pagina abaxiali sine papillis, et fructibus parvis (2.5-3 cm diam.) indehiscentibus differt.
Species Description - Canopy trees, to 30 m tall, unbuttressed. Bark very shallowly fissured, the fissures sometimes appearing as vertically oriented lenticels, the outer bark 1-2 mm thick, the middle bark a thin, dark red layer, the inner bark 5-7 mm thick, yellow, often with conspicuous streaks of red extending from middle bark into inner bark. Twigs 2-3 mm diam. Leaves not deciduous; petioles 10-14 mm long; blades elliptic, 9-16 x 4-7.5 cm, glabrous, with 10-14 pairs of lateral veins; base acute to obtuse; apex acuminate; margins entire. Inflorescences terminal, racemose, unbranched or once-branched; pedicels <1 mm long below articulation, 2-15 mm long above articulation. Flowers diurnal, ca. 3 cm diam.; calyx-lobes 6-11 x 4-10 mm; petals 22-27 x 19-22 mm, cream-colored; androecial hood curved inward, yellow, the staminal ring with 135-265 stamens, the filaments bent inward at apex, clavate, of variable length, the ones near opening of androecium ca. 3.5 mm long; hypanthium very finely rugulose and sulcate; ovary 4-locular, the style geniculate or obliquely oriented, 5-7 mm long. Fruits indehiscent, falling to ground at maturity, turbinate to nearly globose, asymmetric at base, 2.5-3 (including operculum) x 2.5-3 cm, the calycine ring inserted above middle, the pericarp 1.5-2 mm thick. Seeds 1-2 per fruit, the veins salient.
Discussion:
Type. Brazil. Amazonas: Distrito Agropecuário, Reserve 1501 (Km 41) of the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project, 2°24'26"-2°25'1"S, 59°43'40"-59°45'50"W, ca. 50-125 m alt., nonflooded moist forest, tree 1991, 9 Jan 1991 (fl), M. A. de Freitas et al. 577 (holotype, INPA; isotypes, K, NY). Phenology. Flowering in Feb and Mar. Common name. Jarana da folha miuda. Comments. Trees representing this species were originally determined as Lecythis poiteaui because of their bright yellow inner bark. However, the lack of papillae on the abaxial leaf surface, the smaller diurnal flowers, and the much smaller fruits, which fall to the ground with the seeds inside, distinguish Lecythis gracieana from L. poiteaui. This species belongs to a group of central Amazonian species referred to in the vernacular as jarana. In our area, Lecythis barnebyi, L. parvifructa, L. poiteaui, L. prancei, and L. retusa also belong to this informal group of species, which are characterized by an inwardly swept instead of flat androecial hood. In addition, many, but not all, species of the group have fruits that fall to the ground with the seeds inside at maturity. Lecythis gracieana is morphologically very similar to the more easterly distributed L. lurida (Miers) Mori, differing only in its apparently smaller fruits and nonpapillate abaxial leaf surface. Both species possess fruits that drop to the ground at maturity with the seeds inside. The fruits of Lecythis gracieana, L. parvifructa, and Lecythis sp. 05 appear to be morphologically identical. Moreover, the fruits of all three fall to the ground with the seeds inside at maturity. Fertile collections of this species vary in the glabrous to pubescent axes of the inflorescence, the length of the pedicel, the size of the lobes of the calyx, and the number of stamens. At one extreme is tree 2669, represented by Freitas et al. 594, with distinctly pubescent axes of the inflorescence, pedicels to 15 mm long above the articulation, calyx lobes 7-8 x 4-5 mm, and ca. 110-135 stamens. At the other extreme is tree 1992, represented by Freitas et al. 577 (the type) and 745, with nearly glabrous axes of the inflorescence, pedicels only several millimeters long above the articulation, calyx lobes 9-11 x 8-10 mm, and ca. 265 stamens. The fruits from tree 2669 (Freitas et al. 725) and tree 1992 (Freitas et al. 745) are nearly identical. A collection with short pedicels and pubescent axes of the inflorescences comes from tree 2022 represented by van Roosmalen L-82. I dedicate this species to Carol Gracie, constant field companion and wife. Carol’s keen eye for discovering interesting Lecythidaceae and her fine photographs of them have made important contributions toward my taxonomic understanding of the family.
Type. Brazil. Amazonas: Distrito Agropecuário, Reserve 1501 (Km 41) of the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project, 2°24'26"-2°25'1"S, 59°43'40"-59°45'50"W, ca. 50-125 m alt., nonflooded moist forest, tree 1991, 9 Jan 1991 (fl), M. A. de Freitas et al. 577 (holotype, INPA; isotypes, K, NY). Phenology. Flowering in Feb and Mar. Common name. Jarana da folha miuda. Comments. Trees representing this species were originally determined as Lecythis poiteaui because of their bright yellow inner bark. However, the lack of papillae on the abaxial leaf surface, the smaller diurnal flowers, and the much smaller fruits, which fall to the ground with the seeds inside, distinguish Lecythis gracieana from L. poiteaui. This species belongs to a group of central Amazonian species referred to in the vernacular as jarana. In our area, Lecythis barnebyi, L. parvifructa, L. poiteaui, L. prancei, and L. retusa also belong to this informal group of species, which are characterized by an inwardly swept instead of flat androecial hood. In addition, many, but not all, species of the group have fruits that fall to the ground with the seeds inside at maturity. Lecythis gracieana is morphologically very similar to the more easterly distributed L. lurida (Miers) Mori, differing only in its apparently smaller fruits and nonpapillate abaxial leaf surface. Both species possess fruits that drop to the ground at maturity with the seeds inside. The fruits of Lecythis gracieana, L. parvifructa, and Lecythis sp. 05 appear to be morphologically identical. Moreover, the fruits of all three fall to the ground with the seeds inside at maturity. Fertile collections of this species vary in the glabrous to pubescent axes of the inflorescence, the length of the pedicel, the size of the lobes of the calyx, and the number of stamens. At one extreme is tree 2669, represented by Freitas et al. 594, with distinctly pubescent axes of the inflorescence, pedicels to 15 mm long above the articulation, calyx lobes 7-8 x 4-5 mm, and ca. 110-135 stamens. At the other extreme is tree 1992, represented by Freitas et al. 577 (the type) and 745, with nearly glabrous axes of the inflorescence, pedicels only several millimeters long above the articulation, calyx lobes 9-11 x 8-10 mm, and ca. 265 stamens. The fruits from tree 2669 (Freitas et al. 725) and tree 1992 (Freitas et al. 745) are nearly identical. A collection with short pedicels and pubescent axes of the inflorescences comes from tree 2022 represented by van Roosmalen L-82. I dedicate this species to Carol Gracie, constant field companion and wife. Carol’s keen eye for discovering interesting Lecythidaceae and her fine photographs of them have made important contributions toward my taxonomic understanding of the family.
Distribution:
Brazil South America|
Brazil South America|