Guarea polymera Little

  • Authority

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

  • Family

    Meliaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Guarea polymera Little

  • Type

    Type. Little 6404, Ecuador, Esmeraldas, S of Playa de Oro, fl (holotype, US; isotypes, F, K, NY, U, Y).

  • Synonyms

    Guarea chalde Cuatrec.

  • Description

    Species Description - Young branches minutely and densely papillose becoming smooth, brown. Leaves pinnate with a terminal bud, to 55 cm long; petiole semiterete, rhachis terete, minutely papillose at first becoming glabrous; petiolule 3-8 mm long. Leaflets 3-7 pairs, oblong to narrowly oblanceolate, apex narrowly acuminate, attenuate, or obtusely cuspidate, base cuneate, subcoriaceous, 25-30[28.5] cm long, 7.5-8.8[8.2] cm wide, glabrous above, sparsely and minutely ± appressed puberulous below, obscurely glandular-striate; venation eucamptodromous, midrib flat; secondaries 14-20 on either side of midrib, ascending, arcuate, slightly convergent; intersecondaries short or absent; tertiaries oblique or reticulate. Inflorescence axillary, 10-12.5 cm long, a broad laxly-branched, laxly-flowered pyramidal panicle, lateral branches ascending to 3.5 cm long, minutely papillose, pedicel very broad and tapering, ca. 2.5 mm long. Flower buds broad, obtuse. Calyx broadly and shallowly cyathiform, 3-4 mm long, 6-7 mm broad, margin truncate to crenate or irregularly split into 3-4 lobes, minutely papillose. Petals 5-7, valvate, ca. 10.5 mm long, ca. 4 mm broad, lanceolate, apex acute, minutely and densely appressed puberulous outside, glabrous inside. Staminal tube strongly contracted at throat, ca. 8 mm long, 6-7 mm broad, margin undulate, glabrous; anthers 10-11, ca. 1.3 mm long. Nectary a stout stipe, expanded at apex to form an annulus below ovary, ca. 1.75 mm long, glabrous except top of annulus which is puberulous. Ovary longitudinally ribbed, 6-7-locular, loculi with 2 superposed ovules, minutely appressed puberulous; style appressed puberulous. Capsule globose, base slightly tapering, smooth, densely papillose, 3-3.5 cm diam., 6-7-valved, valves with 2 superposed seeds; pericarp 3-4 mm thick. Seed ca. 1.6 cm long, 0.9 cm broad, truncate at apex or base. Embryo with superposed cotyledons; radicle abaxial, extending to surface.

  • Discussion

    Field characters: A tree to 20 m high, with fragrant white flowers and reddish brown fruit. The type collection is recorded as having hollow twigs inhabited by ants. Flowering occurs in April and the fruit matures in May.

  • Common Names

    Chalde, Pialde Macho

  • Distribution

    Known only from the Pacific coastal forests of Colombia and Ecuador.

    Colombia South America| Valle Colombia South America| Ecuador South America| Esmeraldas Ecuador South America|