Authority:

Pennington, Terence D. 1990. Sapotaceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 52: 1-750. (Published by NYBG Press)

Family:

Sapotaceae

Synonyms:

Lucuma glabrescens Mart. & Eichler, Vitellaria glabrescens (Mart. & Eichler ex Miq.) Radlk., Gymnoluma glabrescens Baill., Pouteria glabrescens (Mart. & Eichler) Baehni, Oxythece ferreirii Cronquist, Oxythece glabrescens (Mart. ex Miq.) Monach.

Description:

Species Description - Tree; young shoots sparsely appressed puberulous to glabrous, pale greyish-white or pale brown, often scaling in thin papery scales, usually with large lenticels. Leaves spaced or loosely clustered, spirally arranged, 8-19.5 × 3-7.6 cm, narrowly elliptic to oblong, rarely oblanceolate, apex narrowly attenuate to acute, less frequently obtuse or rounded, base narrowly attenuate or cuneate, margin often slightly revolute, chartaceous to coriaceous, glabrous, lower surface minutely punctate; venation eucamptodromous to brochidodromous, midrib flat or slightly raised on the upper surface, secondary veins (6-)9-12(-14) pairs, sometimes impressed on the upper surface, slightly convergent and arcuate; intersecondaries well-developed; tertiaries obscure, forming an open reticulum. Petiole 0.5-2 cm long, not channelled, often broad and flattened, glabrous. Fascicles 3-2 5-flowered, axillary and below the leaves. Pedicel 0.3-1.2 cm long, glabrous. Flowers unisexual (plant dioecious). Sepals five, (male) 3-4 mm long, (female) ca. 2.5 mm long, ovate or elliptic, apex acute to rounded, glabrous or with scattered appressed hairs outside, margin sometimes ciliate. Corolla (male) subrotate, 4.5-5 mm long, tube ca. 1 mm long, lobes five(six), 3.5-4 mm long, ovate to lanceolate, apex acute to rounded, glabrous; (female) cyathiform, ca. 2.5mm long, tube about equalling the lobes, lobes five, suborbicular, rounded, glabrous. Stamens five(six), fixed at the top of the corolla tube and exserted; filaments 1.5-3 mm long, glabrous; anthers 1.25-2 mm long, broadly lanceolate or ovate, glabrous; stamens absent in female. Staminodes absent or sometimes present as a few small vestiges. Disk absent. Ovary ovoid or conical, trilocular, sparsely hairy at the base; style 1-1.5 mm long after anthesis, glabrous; style-head simple or minutely lobed. Fruit 2-3 cm long, broadly ellipsoid, rounded at both ends, soft skinned, smooth (shrinking when dry), glabrous. Seed solitary, 1.3-1.6 cm long, plano-convex, rounded at both ends, not or scarcely laterally compressed, testa smooth, shining, forming an irregular projecting fringe around the edge of the scar, 0.5-1 mm thick; scar adaxial, full-length, 1-1.1 cm wide, verrucose; embryo with planoconvex, free cotyledons, radicle exserted, ca. 1.5 mm long; thin sheath of endosperm present. Field characters. Tree to 25(-38) m high and 60 cm diam., with copious sticky white latex; bark light brown, smooth, with reddish slash and pink wood. Flowers pale greenish-white, fruit ripening through reddish to purple or black. Flowering Sep-Dee, fruit maturing Feb-Jul.

Discussion:

The fruit is edible and sweet.

Distribution:

Venezuela South America| Bolívar Venezuela South America| Distrito Federal Venezuela South America| Peru South America| Loreto Peru South America| Brazil South America| Amazonas Brazil South America| Goiás Brazil South America| Mato Grosso Brazil South America| Pará Brazil South America| Roraima Brazil South America|

Common Names:

Abiurana, boya de mono, lombrigueira, mangue, pau de rato, yuquito banero