Trichilia adolfi Harms

  • 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 adolfi Harms

  • Type

    Type. Tonduz 13360, Costa Rica, Prov. Cartago, Tucurrique, fl (lectotype, K, here designated; isolectotypes, GH, M, NY, US, W).

  • Description

    Species Description - Young branches puberulous with many appressed medifixed hairs becoming glabrous, greyish-white, lenticellate. Bud scales absent. Leaves imparipinnate or pinnate with one leaflet of the ultimate pair orientated to simulate a terminal leaflet, 7-17 cm long; petiole and rhachis semiterete, at first with an indumentum of medifixed and short erect basifixed hairs soon glabrous; petiolule 2-3 mm long. Leaflets subopposite to alternate, 7-9 (including 2 caducous lower leaflets, structure unknown), oblanceolate, elliptic or lanceolate, apex short attenuate to narrow acuminate, base cuneate, acute or rounded, coriaceous, 11-21[16] cm long, 4-6.6[5.4] cm broad, lower midrib sometimes with indumentum of minute basifixed puberulous hairs, lamina with sparse evanescent medifixed indumentum, obscurely glandular-punctate and -striate; venation eucamptodromous, midrib slightly sunken; secondaries 12-13 on either side of midrib, steeply arcuate-ascending, slightly convergent; intersecondaries mostly short; tertiary reticulum prominent on both surfaces. Inflorescence axillary or several clustered on a short axillary shoot, ca. 10 cm long, a narrowly pyramidal, densely-flowered thyrse with steeply ascending lateral branches, puberulous; pedicel 2-3 mm long. Calyx cyathiform, 2-2.5 mm long, 3-3.5 mm broad, with 4-5 broadly triangular lobes ca. 1/2 length of calyx, densely puberulous on outer surface. Petals 4-5, free, imbricate, spreading, ca. 5 mm long, ca. 2 mm broad, lanceolate, apex acute, appressed puberulous on outer surface. Staminal tube urceolate; filaments completely fused, ca. 3 mm long, ca. 2.5 mm broad, margin with 8-10 subulate lobes alternating with anthers and ca. 3/4 their length, sparsely puberulous outside, pubescent in throat; anthers 8 or 10, ca. 1 mm long, glabrous. Nectary absent. Ovary conical to broadly ovoid, 3-locular, loculi with 2 collateral ovules, shortly pubescent; style subglabrous; style-head broadly conical with 3 stigmatic lobes, equalling base of anthers. Capsule broadly ellipsoid, minutely rugulose, puberulous, ca. 4 cm long, ca. 2.5 cm broad, 3-valved, valves reflexing; pericarp 1-1.5 mm thick; endocarp cartilaginous. Seed solitary ca. 2.3 cm long, 1.6 cm diam., broadest above middle and tapering to base, completely surrounded by thick fleshy 3-partite arillode; arillode free except attached at apex of seed and along raphe; seed coat thin, membraneous. Embryo with plano-convex, collateral cotyledons; radicle apical, included. Endosperm absent.

  • Discussion

    Relationships

    Trichilia adolfi is distinguished among the species of Trichilia with imbricate corolla and completely fused filaments by its indumentum of appressed medifixed hairs, the coriaceous leaflets with prominent tertiary vein reticulum, and the Very large ellipsoid capsule.

    Field Characters: Tree to 20 m. Bole round or slightly fluted at the base. Bark grey, scaling in thin irregular patches. Branches ascending, forming on oblong dense crown. The yellowish flowers are produced in May and the capsule ripens at the end of the year. According to Holdridge and Poveda (1975), the fleshy orange arillode is edible and has an agreeable taste.

  • Distribution

    Confined to wet evergreen forest, between 600-1000 m altitude, on the Caribbean slopes of Costa Rica.

    Costa Rica South America| Cartago Costa Rica Central America|