Micropholis venulosa (Mart. & Eichler) Pierre
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Authority
Pennington, Terence D. 1990. Sapotaceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 52: 1-750. (Published by NYBG Press)
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Family
Sapotaceae
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Scientific Name
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Synonyms
Sideroxylon venulosum Mart. & Eichler, Lucuma venulosa Spruce ex Miq., Micropholis calophylloides Pierre, Platyluma calophylloides (Pierre) Baill., Meioluma guianensis Baill., Sideroxylon calophylloides Lundell, Micropholis mucronata Pierre, Micropholis rigida Pierre, Pouteria polyneura Baehni, Pouteria venulosa (Mart. & Eichler ex Miq.) Baehni, Pouteria rivularis Baehni, Pouteria flava Baehni, Pouteria cataractae Baehni, Xantolis venulosa (Mart. & Eichler ex Miq.) Baehni
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Description
Species Description - Tree; young shoots puberulous or shortly pubescent with golden brown to ferruginous hairs, soon glabrous, grey to whitish-grey, finely cracked, lenticellate or not. Leaves spaced, usually alternate and distichous, less frequently spirally arranged, 3.8-9.3 × 1-3.4 cm, elliptic, lanceolate or rarely oblong, apex caudate or narrowly attenuate, base narrowly attenuate to rounded, chartaceous to thinly coriaceous, glabrous, venation craspedodromous or brochidodromous, marginal vein strong, submarginal vein present, very close to or fusing with the marginal vein, midrib flat or slightly raised on the upper surface, secondary and tertiary venation appearing uniformly finely striate to the naked eye, but with a lens the parallel intersecondaries and tertiaries can usually be distinguished from the slightly stronger secondaries. Petiole (1.5-)2-5 mm long, channelled, pubescent to glabrous. Fascicles axillary, 3-15-flowered. Pedicel 1.5-5 mm long, shortly pubescent. Flowers unisexual (always?) (plant monoecious). Sepals 4-5, (1-)1.5-2(-3) mm long, ovate, apex obtuse to rounded, shortly pubescent outside, appressed puberulous to glabrous inside. Corolla 1.25-3 mm long, shortly tubular to campanulate, tube 1-2.25 mm long (exuding or sometimes equalling the lobes), lobes 4-5, 0.75-1.5 mm long, ovate, apex obtuse or rounded, glabrous. Stamens 4-5, included, fixed near the top of the corolla tube, but with long traces visible to near the base of the tube; filaments 0.2-0.75 mm long, glabrous; anthers 0.30.6 mm long, lanceolate or ovate, glabrous, stamens vestigial or absent in female flowers. Staminodes 4-5, 0.3-0.75 mm long, ovate or lanceolate, glabrous. Disk absent. Ovary ovoid, 4-5-locular, densely stiff-pubescent; style 0.5-1.5 mm long after anthesis, included, glabrous; style-head 4-5-lobed or simple. Fruit 1.2-3.2 cm long, subglobose to broadly ellipsoid, apex and base acute to rounded, smooth, glabrous. Seed solitary, 1-1.5 cm long, laterally compressed, testa finely transversely wrinkled, shining, 0.5-1 mm thick; scar adaxial and sometimes extending around the base of the seed, 1.5-2.5 mm wide. Field characters. Tree to 40 m high and 100 cm diam.; exceptional specimens may be as much as 70 m high and 150 cm diam, above the buttresses. The tree has long steep buttresses to 3 m high, with a cylindrical or fluted bole. Bark greyish-brown, finely fissured or more commonly scaling with small dapple marks or finely grid-cracked, with reddish-brown slash exuding plentiful milky white latex. Flowers pale green to cream-coloured, fruit maturing yellow or sometimes tinged red. Throughout its range most flowering is recorded between May and Jan, with mature fruit present throughout the year. There are many records of the fruit being dispersed by birds.
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Discussion
The sweet fruit is edible, and the bark is reputed to have medicinal properties. In San Martín, Peru, an infusion is used for the treatment of dysentary and stomach ulcers (Schunke 6528).
Distribution and Ecology: S Panama to the Guianas, Amazonian and coastal Brazil (Bahía), W South America to Ecuador and Peru. Micropholis venulosa is found under a wider range of ecological conditions than any other species of the genus. Throughout most of its range from Panama to the Guianas and through western South America it is frequent in non-flooded lowland forest from sea level to about 700 m in altitude. It is also commonly found in periodically flooded (varzea) forest and in permanently flooded (igapó) forest in Amazonian Brazil, also in dwarf Campina forest on white sand (Pará and Amazonas, Brazil). In S Venezuela it is recorded at 900 m in wet montane forest. In the southernmost part of its Brazilian range (Goiás, Minas Gerais and Bahía) it inhabits gallery forest and dry cerrado, here reaching 1200 m altitude.
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Common Names
Abiu, akayas, bagassa, caimitillo negro, caimito, capurillo, fogel kop, kiudibushi, kudibushi, manigowae, mimisa yek, moraballi, mulungu, palo de Chamanare, palo peruano, palo sangre, piramiry, purquillo, purguillo felix, rosada, rosadinha, rozada verde, sachapua, shaska-shakyas, tapooka mapa, timuiri, uvinha, vogel kop, waitawa, yuquito, zolive grand bois
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Objects
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Distribution
Panama Central America| Darién Panamá Central America| Chocó Colombia South America| Valle del Cauca Colombia South America| Vaupés Colombia South America| Venezuela South America| Bolívar Venezuela South America| Distrito Federal Venezuela South America| Guyana South America| Suriname South America| French Guiana South America| Ecuador South America| Morona-Santiago Ecuador South America| Napo Ecuador South America| Amazonas Peru South America| Peru South America| Huánuco Peru South America| Loreto Peru South America| Madre de Dios Peru South America| Pasco Peru South America| San Martín Peru South America| Acre Brazil South America| Amapá Brazil South America| Amazonas Brazil South America| Bahia Brazil South America| Distrito Federal Brazil South America| Goiás Brazil South America| Maranhão Brazil South America| Mato Grosso Brazil South America| Minas Gerais Brazil South America| Pará Brazil South America| Rondônia Brazil South America|