Casearia ulmifolia Vahl ex Vent.

  • Authority

    Sleumer, Hermann O. 1980. Flacourtiaceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 22: 1-499. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Salicaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Casearia ulmifolia Vahl ex Vent.

  • Type

    Type. Ryan  20 anno 1778, Trinidad, fl defl (holotype, C, phot F 21325; isotypes, B-Willd 8351, BM, BR, G-DC, G-Ventenat, P-Juss 16215).

  • Synonyms

    Casearia celtidifolia Kunth, Casearia petraea Benth., Casearia blanchetiana Miq., Casearia serrulata Sw., Casearia celtidifolia Kunth, Casearia cambessedesii Eichler, Guidonia ulmifolia (Vahl ex Vent.) Baill., Casearia cotticensis Uittien, Casearia reginae J.F.Macbr. ex Ll.Williams, Casearia tremifolia J.F.Macbr.

  • Description

    Species Description - Treelet or tree 3.0-10.0, rarely up to 20.0 m high; trunk up to 35.0 cm diam, sometimes provided with small buttresses; bark pale gray to purplish-brown. Branchlets slender, tips puberulous, early glabrescent, or glabrous from the beginning, often purplish-blackish in dry specimens, lenticels rather sparse in general. Leaves oblong, sometimes ovate- or elliptic-oblong, apex caudate-acuminate for 1.5-2.5 cm, tip acute with a minute gland or bluntish, base usually distinctly inequilateral, rather abruptly contracted or attenuate to the petiole, or one side acute, the other one roundish, chartaceous, rarely subcoriaceous, darker and a little shining above, paler and dull beneath, laxly pellucid-punctate and -striate, sometimes almost impunctate, glabrous above except the pubescent midrib, pubescent to various density mostly only on midrib, lateral nerves and veins beneath, rarely so over the whole undersurface and soft to the touch then, glabrescent, not rarely practically glabrous from the beginning, subappressedly and rather sharply serrate (0.2-1.0 mm), 8.0-14.0 cm long, 3.0-5.5 cm broad, lateral nerves 5-8 (sometimes -10) pairs maybe slightly impressed above, always prominent beneath, reticulation of veins and veinlets dense, a little raised beneath, or often rather inconspicuous on both faces; petiole puberulous or glabrous, 5.0-8.0 mm long; stipules subulate-linear, pubescent, 3.0-5.0 mm long, caducous. Inflorescence usually many-flowered, in multibracteate axillary fascicles or usually in glomerules, these subsessile or pedunculate up to 3.0 mm; bracts ovate, membranous, pubescent dorsally, 1.0-1.5(-2.0) mm long; pedicels articulate about halfway, (1.0-1.5-2.0 mm long at anthesis, 2.0-4.0 mm in fruit. Sepals 5, ovate-oblong to suborbicular, obtuse, whitish, subsericeous dorsally, subglabrous internally, 1.5-2.0(-2.5) mm long. Stamens 10, alternately slightly inequilong; filaments glabrous, 1.5 mm long; anthers minutely gland-apiculate, sometimes barbate. Disk-lobes broad, obtuse, tomentose, hardly 1.0 mm long. Ovary subglobose, contracted distally into a short style, glabrous though generally laxly pubescent at base of the style; stigma capitate. Fruit oblongoid-ellipsoid, 6-gonous, covered for the lower 2/3 part by the erect sepals, 3.0-4.0 mm long; seeds few; testa foveolate; aril membranaceous, fimbriate-lacerate.

    Distribution and Ecology - Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad, the Guayanas, E Peru, Brazil (southwards to Mato Grosso and Minas Gerais); in lowland forest on terra firme, wooded savannahs, also in secondary forest.

  • Discussion

    Casearia ulmifolia is conceived here in a broad sense to include a number of forms different in density of tomentum and size of leaves; these apparently local variations are kept together by the constancy of flower characters.

    Casearia ulmifolia was described by Ventenat under Vahl’s name in a short and occasional manner (“folia margine acute serrata”) which however leaves no doubt as to its identity, the reason why this name is accepted here.

    Glabrous forms of C. ulmifolia are sometimes difficult to distinguish from such of C. arborea.

  • Distribution

    Colombia South America| Antioquia Colombia South America| Boyacá Colombia South America| Meta Colombia South America| Venezuela South America| Zulia Venezuela South America| Anzoátegui Venezuela South America| Sucre Venezuela South America| Monagas Venezuela South America| Bolívar Venezuela South America| Amazonas Venezuela South America| Trinidad and Tobago South America| Guyana South America| Suriname South America| French Guiana South America| Peru South America| Loreto Peru South America| Huánuco Peru South America| Brazil South America| Amazonas Brazil South America| Roraima Brazil South America| Pará Brazil South America| Maranhão Brazil South America| Acre Brazil South America| Rondônia Brazil South America| Mato Grosso Brazil South America| Bahia Brazil South America| Minas Gerais Brazil South America|