Trichilia rubra C.DC.

  • Authority

    Pennington, Terence D. 1981. Meliaceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 28: 1-359, 418-449, 459-470. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Meliaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Trichilia rubra C.DC.

  • Type

    Type. Riedel 1307, Brazil, Para, Barba, fl (holotype, LE; isotypes, LE, P, K).

  • Synonyms

    Trichilia barraensis C.DC., Trichilia guianensis Klotzsch ex C.DC., Trichilia guianensis var. parvifolia C.DC., Trichilia punctata A.C.Sm., Trichilia guianensis var. seorsa Klotzsch ex J.Macbr. & C.DC.

  • Description

    Species Description - Young branches appressed puberulous to sericeous soon becoming glabrous, rather rough, mid- to grey-brown, sometimes lenticellate. Bud scales absent. Leaves imparipinnate, (6-)9-22 cm long; petiole usually narrowly winged, rhachis semiterete, sparsely puberulous or glabrous; petiolule 1-3(-4) mm, terminal one sometimes much longer (to 2 cm). Leaflets opposite or subopposite, (5-)7-9, usually oblong or elliptic, less frequently oblanceolate or lanceolate, apex acuminate or attenuate, base usually attenuate or acute, less frequently cuneate or rounded, often long decurrent into petiolule, especially the terminal one, subcoriaceous, 9-20[12.7] cm long, 2-6[4.1] cm broad, upper surface nearly always glabrous rarely puberulous or short pubescent, lower surface usually glabrous occasionally sparsely pubescent, sometimes glandular-punctate and -striate; venation eucamptodromous, midrib flat or slightly prominent; secondaries (10-) 12-16(-17) on either side of midrib, ascending, usually arcuate and slightly convergent; intersecondaries rather long, venation of secondaries and intersecondaries generally faint. Flowers unisexual, plant dioecious; inflorescence axillary, often several clustered on a short axillary shoot, 1-6(-9) cm long, usually ± fasciculate, a short pyramidal panicle with spreading spikate branches, or flowers in small dense sessile clusters, puberulous; pedicel 0.5-1 mm long. Calyx rotate or patelliform, 0.5-1 mm long, with 5(-6) broadly ovate or triangular, acute to obtuse lobes usually about half the length of the calyx, or rarely lobed almost to base, margin ciliate, otherwise glabrous or rarely sparsely puberulous. Petals (4-)5, free, imbricate or rarely quincuncial, 3-4.5 mm long, 1-1.5(-2) mm broad, oblong, elliptic or lanceolate, apex acute to rounded, glabrous. Staminal tube cyathiform or urceolate, 1.5-3 mm long, (1-) 1.5-2 mm broad; filaments fused 1/3-2/3 their length, apex rounded or truncate or less frequently terminated by two short acute lobes, outside glabrous, inside glabrous below but barbate at throat; anthers (9-)10(-ll), (0.5-)0.6-0.8 mm long, nearly always densely hairy rarely subglabrous; antherodes slender, without pollen, not dehiscent. Nectary absent. Ovary ovoid, (2-)3-locular, loculi uniovulate, densely pubescent or strigose; style short, stout, densely pubescent; style-head broadened, discoid, equalling or exceeding anthers; pistillode very slender with smaller nonfunctional ovules, longer style and a smaller unexpanded capitate-apiculate style-head. Capsule ovoid, ellipsoid or obovoid, smooth, densely papillose mixed with appressed puberulous indumentum, (2-)2.5-4 cm long, (2-)3-valved, valves sometimes strongly reflexed; pericarp 0.5-1(1.5) mm thick, rather soft; endocarp thin-cartilaginous. Seed 1(-2) in each fruit, 1.4-2.2 cm long, 0.8-1.5 cm broad, completely surrounded by a thin fleshy tri-partite arillode; arillode free except for attachment from micropyle to raphe; seed coat membraneous. Embryo with plano-convex, collateral cotyledons; radicle apical, included. Endosperm absent.

  • Discussion

    Relationships

    Trichilia rubra shows considerable variation in leaflet size throughout its range, which is consistent with a plant that may flower as a treelet a few metres high or at the other extreme as a 25 m tree. The differences in leaflet size are, however, not correlated with other morphological differences.

    Floral structure is fairly uniform throughout the range, with only rare variations in the number of ovary loculi (Black & Schultes 46-186, Colombia), and in the pubescence of the anthers (Klug 993, Peru). On the other hand there is a marked difference in structure between male and female flowers. The type collection of T. guianensis (Schomburgk 794) is a male plant in which the pistillode is greatly reduced, with a longer style and unexpanded style-head. In contrast the type of T. punctata (Krukoff 1437) is female, and the flowers have an enlarged ovary, shorter style and broad discoid style-head.

    Trichilia rubra is closely related to the western Amazonian T. hispida, and their differences are discussed under the latter. It also has some affinity with T. micrantha with which it shares a similar flower size, staminal tube characters and fruit. It differs however in the absence of a nectary (thick, fleshy annulus in T. micrantha), and in its densely pubescent or strigose ovary (glabrous in T. micrantha). Otherwise it appears to be fairly isolated among those species in which the filaments are only partially united (sect. Trichilia). Trichilia pallida has a superficially similar floral structure but it is generally 4-merous (5-merous in T. rubra). It also differs in the annular or patelliform nectary (absent in T. rubra), biovulate loculi (uniovulate in T. rubra), and in the quite different seed and arillode structure.

    Field Characters: Tree to 25 m, but often flowering as a small treelet. Flowers cream or yellowish-green, the staminal tube white; Ducke (field data) says they are vanilla-scented. Fruit brown when mature, containing a seed surrounded by a pink watery arillode. Flowering October to November (Venezuela, Guyana); August to October (Amazonia), with another earlier flowering in February and March in central Amazonia and Amazonian Peru. Fruiting November to March (Venezuela, Guyana), September to January (Amazonia), April (one record from central Amazonia).

  • Common Names

    Karababalli, Mún chiajap, Sacha Requia, Biscochuelo negro

  • Distribution

    A widely distributed but rather sparsely collected species centred in Brazilian Amazonia, extending northwards to eastern Venezuela (delta of the Orinoco River) and Guyana, as far west as Amazonian Peru and southwards to Amazonian Bolivia (Department La Paz). A treelet or medium sized tree almost exclusively recorded from riverbanks on periodically or permanently flooded land.

    Colombia South America| Venezuela South America| Guyana South America| Peru South America| Brazil South America|