Trichilia triacantha Urb.

  • 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 triacantha Urb.

  • Type

    Type. Sintenis 3749. NW 1766, Puerto Rico, near Guanica, fl (lectotype, S, here designated; isolectotypes, BM, F, G, GH, K, M, MO, P).

  • Synonyms

    Acanthotrichilia triacantha (Urb.) O.F.Cook & G.N.Collins

  • Description

    Species Description - Young branches appressed puberulous soon glabrous, greyish-white, without lenticels. Bud scales absent. Leaves digitate, petiole 5-7 mm long, semiterete, puberulous; petiolule 0-1 mm long. Leaflets (3-)5-7, obovate or oblanceolate with a broadly truncated apex produced into 3 acute spinous lobes (spines 1.5-2.5 mm long), base acute or narrowly cuneate, coriaceous, 2-2.6 cm long, 1-1.3 cm broad, glabrous, not glandular-punctate or -striate; venation craspedodromous with a prominent marginal vein, midrib flat; secondaries ca. 10 on either side of midrib, ascending, straight and parallel; intersecondaries and tertiary reticulum moderately prominent on both surfaces. Inflorescence axillary, ca. 1.5 cm long, few-flowered, sparsely appressed puberulous; pedicel ca. 0.5 mm long. Calyx shallowly cyathiform, ca. 0.75 mm long, with 5 shallow, obtuse to acute lobes ca. 1/3 length of calyx, appressed puberulous. Petals 5, free, valvate, ca. 3 mm long, 1 mm broad, lanceolate, apex acute, hooded, appressed puberulous with dibrachiate or medifixed hairs outside, glabrous inside. Staminal tube cyathiform, ca. 2 mm long, ca. 1.5 mm broad; filaments completely fused, margin with 10 short acute lobes alternating with anthers and ca. 1/4 their length, glabrous outside, sparsely hairy inside; anthers 10, ca. 0.8 mm long, glabrous. Nectary absent. Ovary conical, 3-locular, loculi with 2 collateral ovules, short strigose; style strigose; style-head capitate, equalling base of anthers. Fruit unknown.

  • Discussion

    Relationships These are discussed under T. aquifolia.

    Field Characters: A small tree to 10 m high.

  • Common Names

    Bariaco, guayabacón

  • Distribution

    Known only from the type in Puerto Rico where it occurs on limestone.

    Puerto Rico South America|