Jacaranda selleana Urb.

  • Authority

    Gentry, Alwyn H. 1992. Bignoniaceae--part II (Tribe Tecomeae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 25: 1-370. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Bignoniaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Jacaranda selleana Urb.

  • Type

    Type. Haiti. Massif de la Selle, Ekman H7606 (lectotype, S; isotype, MO).

  • Description

    Species Description - Small tree 3-4 m tall, the branchlets subtetragonal, minutely puberulous to almost glabrous, with whitish lenticels. Leaves bipinnate, with 18-44 pinnae, each pinna 1-9 cm long with more or less puberulous rachis and 11-43 sessile elliptic to oblong-elliptic leaflets, these (3-)5-11 mm long and (2-)3-5 mm wide, rounded at apex (except the sometimes acutish apical leaflet), truncate to subcordate at base, chartaceous, minutely and sparsely puberulous with appressed trichomes below at least along midvein and sometimes secondary veins. Inflorescences open terminal panicle, minutely puberulous, the bracts minute, 1-1.5 mm long. Flowers with the calyx reduced, broadly campanulate, 5-dentate, 1-2 mm long; corolla light blue, 4-5 cm long, ca. 1.5 cm wide at mouth of tube, the lobes 7-8 mm long, puberulous outside; stamens didynamous, the anthers monothecate, the second theca reduced to a minute appendage, the theca 2 mm long, the staminode 2.5-3 cm long, conspicuously glandular pilose at center and apex; ovary flattened-ovate; disk 1 mm long and wide. Fruit not seen.

  • Discussion

    This is a very dubious segregate from J. poitaei, differing from that species in more oblong, broad-based leaflets and a larger corolla. We very tentatively retain it on the counsel of T. Zanoni (pers. comm., 18 Dec 1987) who is convinced that these two forms are distinct in the Dominican Republic on the basis of the generally larger more oblong leaflets of J. selleana, despite some overlap in absolute leaf dimensions. These two taxa may be allopatric, as I have seen no collections of J. poitaei from the southwestern extreme of Hispaniola, but whether this argues for or against specific recognition of such a tenuously differentiated plant as J. selleana is not clear.

  • Distribution

    Endemic to western Hispaniola where known only from around 500 m alt. in central Haiti and southwesternmost Dominican Republic.

    Haiti South America| Dominican Republic South America| Pedernales Dominican Republic South America|