Guarea casimiriana 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

    Guarea casimiriana Harms

  • Type

    Type. Poeppig 2261, SW 0576, Peru, Loreto, Yurimaguas, fl (holotype, W; isotypes, F, NY, OXF).

  • Synonyms

    Carapa cauliflora, Guarea poeppigii C.DC.

  • Description

    Species Description - Leaves pinnate with a terminal bud, ca. 65 cm long; rhachis semiterete, densely hispid, with yellow erect stiff hairs; petiolule 1-2 mm long. Leaflets narrowly oblong or oblanceolate, apex ± rounded but terminated by a short acumen, base obtuse to rounded, chartaceous, 37-39 cm long, 10-10.5 cm broad, upper midrib pubescent, lower surface with densely hispid midrib and secondary veins and scattered stiff erect hairs on lamina, not glandular-punctate or -striate; venation brochidodromous, midrib sunken; secondaries ca. 38 on either side of midrib, ascending, straight, parallel; intersecondaries absent; tertiaries oblique, parallel. Inflorescence cauliflorous, solitary or paired on woody excrescences on trunk, a slender, laxly-flowered spike to 13 cm long, golden stiff pubescent; flowers sessile. Calyx short cylindrical, 5-6 mm long, irregularly split into 3 ovate, acute or obtuse lobes 2-3 mm long, densely stiff pubescent. Petals 4, slightly imbricate, ca. 16 mm long, ca. 3 mm broad, strap-shaped, apex acute, densely long golden-strigose outside, glabrous inside. Staminal tube 12-13 mm long, 2-3 mm broad, margin undulate, glabrous; anthers 9-10, ca. 2 mm long. Nectary a stipe expanded at apex to form an annulus below ovary, ca. 2.5 mm long, glabrous. Ovary 6-locular, loculi with 2 superposed ovules, densely strigose; style glabrous in upper half. Fruit unknown.

  • Discussion

    Relationships

    Guarea casimiriana probably belongs to that group of species containing G. carinata and G. macropetala, species which have a similar floral structure and indumentum. It is however immediately distinguished by the very large leaflets with brochidodromous venation, numerous parallel secondary veins (ca. 38), the golden hispid indumentum, and the slender spicate inflorescence borne on the trunk.

    Field Characters: to Poeppig (1843) it is a small little-branched tree with rough brown bark. It flowers in February.

  • Distribution

    Known only from the type collection in Amazonian Peru.

    Loreto Peru South America| Peru South America|