Monographs Details:
Authority:
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. (Published by NYBG Press)
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. (Published by NYBG Press)
Family:
Lecythidaceae
Lecythidaceae
Synonyms:
Lecythis tenax Moritz ex O.Berg, Eschweilera fendleriana Miers, Lecythis fendleriana (Miers) R.Knuth, Eschweilera monosperma Pittier, Eschweilera trinitensis A.C.Sm. & Beard
Lecythis tenax Moritz ex O.Berg, Eschweilera fendleriana Miers, Lecythis fendleriana (Miers) R.Knuth, Eschweilera monosperma Pittier, Eschweilera trinitensis A.C.Sm. & Beard
Description:
Description - Trees, to 25 m, sometimes buttressed. Bark with irregular depressions, these lighter in color than rest of bark. Leaf blades elliptic to widely elliptic, 5-16 x 3-9 cm, glabrous, punctate abaxially, with 7-13 pairs of lateral veins; apex short acuminate; base acute to rounded; margins entire to minutely crenulate; petiole 5-12 mm long. Inflorescences terminal or axillary, simple or once-branched, the ultimate axes racemose, the principal rachis 2-17 cm long, glabrous, the pedicels 10-30 mm long, glabrous or puberulous. Flowers 2.5-6 cm diam.; calyx with six lobes, the lobes very widely to widely ovate, 4-8 x 3.5-10 mm, erect, slightly imbricate to imbricate, convex to slightly carinate abaxially, sometimes slightly gibbous at base, plane to concave adaxially; petals six, widely obovate, 17-30 x 11-24 mm, yellow or infrequently white; hood of androecium 15-22 x 15-22 mm, forming double coil, yellow; staminal ring with ca. 140 stamens, the filaments clavate, 1.5-2 mm long, sometimes geniculate towards apex, the anthers 0.7-1 mm long; hypanthium cuneate, glabrous to puberulous; ovary 2-locular, with 7-8 ovules attached to basal placenta, the summit obconical, 2.5-3 mm, the style undifferentiated. Fruits depressed globose to globose, 3-6 x 5-8 cm, the pericarp 3-5 mm thick, the pedicel persistent as woody knob, the supracalycine zone erect, the infracalycine zone tapered to stalk, the operculum convex, slightly umbonate, especially when young. Seeds 1-5 per fruit, 2.5-5 x 2-5 cm, without aril.
Description - Trees, to 25 m, sometimes buttressed. Bark with irregular depressions, these lighter in color than rest of bark. Leaf blades elliptic to widely elliptic, 5-16 x 3-9 cm, glabrous, punctate abaxially, with 7-13 pairs of lateral veins; apex short acuminate; base acute to rounded; margins entire to minutely crenulate; petiole 5-12 mm long. Inflorescences terminal or axillary, simple or once-branched, the ultimate axes racemose, the principal rachis 2-17 cm long, glabrous, the pedicels 10-30 mm long, glabrous or puberulous. Flowers 2.5-6 cm diam.; calyx with six lobes, the lobes very widely to widely ovate, 4-8 x 3.5-10 mm, erect, slightly imbricate to imbricate, convex to slightly carinate abaxially, sometimes slightly gibbous at base, plane to concave adaxially; petals six, widely obovate, 17-30 x 11-24 mm, yellow or infrequently white; hood of androecium 15-22 x 15-22 mm, forming double coil, yellow; staminal ring with ca. 140 stamens, the filaments clavate, 1.5-2 mm long, sometimes geniculate towards apex, the anthers 0.7-1 mm long; hypanthium cuneate, glabrous to puberulous; ovary 2-locular, with 7-8 ovules attached to basal placenta, the summit obconical, 2.5-3 mm, the style undifferentiated. Fruits depressed globose to globose, 3-6 x 5-8 cm, the pericarp 3-5 mm thick, the pedicel persistent as woody knob, the supracalycine zone erect, the infracalycine zone tapered to stalk, the operculum convex, slightly umbonate, especially when young. Seeds 1-5 per fruit, 2.5-5 x 2-5 cm, without aril.
Discussion:
Steyermark (94955) states that the wood is the hardest of all the species growing in the cloud forest of Cerro Humo and that it is used for posts in the local construction of houses.The collections from Yaracuy possess bigger leaves and flowers than those centered around Colonia Tovar. Similarly, the leaves of the Trinidadian population are larger. However, floral and fruit structures are similar and therefore we have chosen to consider all of these populations as belonging to the same species.Pittier (1937) separated E. monosperma from E. tenax by the single-seeded fruits and the more numerous lateral veins (8 vs. 10) of the leaves of the former. However, seed number may vary from one to five and such a slight difference in pairs of lateral veins is to be expected as part of normal intraspecific variation.Further field work is needed in order to determine if the considerable variation shown by E. tenax merits taxonomic recognition.
Steyermark (94955) states that the wood is the hardest of all the species growing in the cloud forest of Cerro Humo and that it is used for posts in the local construction of houses.The collections from Yaracuy possess bigger leaves and flowers than those centered around Colonia Tovar. Similarly, the leaves of the Trinidadian population are larger. However, floral and fruit structures are similar and therefore we have chosen to consider all of these populations as belonging to the same species.Pittier (1937) separated E. monosperma from E. tenax by the single-seeded fruits and the more numerous lateral veins (8 vs. 10) of the leaves of the former. However, seed number may vary from one to five and such a slight difference in pairs of lateral veins is to be expected as part of normal intraspecific variation.Further field work is needed in order to determine if the considerable variation shown by E. tenax merits taxonomic recognition.
Distribution:
Venezuela South America| Anzoátegui Venezuela South America| Aragua Venezuela South America| Distrito Federal Venezuela South America| Falcón Venezuela South America| Lara Venezuela South America| Monagas Venezuela South America| Sucre Venezuela South America| Trujillo Venezuela South America| Yaracuy Venezuela South America| Trinidad and Tobago South America|
Venezuela South America| Anzoátegui Venezuela South America| Aragua Venezuela South America| Distrito Federal Venezuela South America| Falcón Venezuela South America| Lara Venezuela South America| Monagas Venezuela South America| Sucre Venezuela South America| Trujillo Venezuela South America| Yaracuy Venezuela South America| Trinidad and Tobago South America|
Common Names:
cajeton, curtidor montañero, ollita
cajeton, curtidor montañero, ollita