Pouteria

  • Authority

    Pennington, Terence D. 1990. Sapotaceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 52: 1-750. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Sapotaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Pouteria

  • Synonyms

    Lucuma, Labatia, Prozetia Neck., Sapota, Guapeba, Oxythece Miq., Vitellaria, Richardella, Richardella macrophylla (Lam.) Aubrév., Radlkoferella Pierre, Paralabatia, Franchetella Pierre, Gayella, Calospermum, Urbanella, Englerella, Pseudocladia, Krugella, Myrtiluma, Gomphiluma, Leioluma, Discoluma, Microluma, Podoluma Baill., Eremoluma, Dithecoluma Baill., Nemaluma, Calocarpum, Achradelpha O.F.Cook, Syzygiopsis, Barylucuma, Planchonella, Caramuri, Neoxythece, Eglerodendron, Pseudolabatia, Piresodendron, Ichthyophora, Gymnoluma, Rhamnoluma, Neolabatia, Pseudoxythece, Peteniodendron, Pouteria guianensis Aubl.

  • Description

    Genus Description - Trees or shrubs, rarely geoxylic subshrubs. Stipules absent (except in P. congestifolia). Leaves usually spirally arranged, rarely opposite. Venation eucamptodromous or brochidodromous, usually without a submarginal vein, never finely striate. Inflorescence axillary or ramiflorous, fasciculate, fascicles single or occasionally arranged along short leafless shoots. Flowers often unisexual. Calyx a single whorl of 4-6 free, imbricate or quincuncial sepals, or 6-11 in a closely imbricate spiral. Corolla cyathiform to tubular, rarely rotate, tube shorter than, equalling, or exceeding the lobes, lobes 4-6(-9), usually erect, rarely spreading, simple, sometimes fringed-ciliate or papillose. Stamens 4-6(-9), fixed in lower or upper half of corolla tube, or rarely at base of lobes, rarely free, usually included, rarely exserted; filaments generally short; anthers usually extrorse or laterally dehiscent, usually glabrous, rarely hairy. Staminodes usually same number as corolla lobes, less frequently partially or completely lacking, inserted in the corolla sinus or inside the tube, sometime fringed-ciliate or papillose. Disk rarely present. Ovary l-6(-15)-locular, placentation axile; style included or inserted. Fruit a one-several-seeded berry. Seed broadly ellipsoid, plano-convex, shaped like the segment of an orange or laterally compressed, testa smooth, wrinkled or pitted; scar adaxial, usually full-length, narrow, broad or sometimes covering almost all the seed surface; embryo vertical, usually with plano-convex cotyledons and included radicle, less frequently with thin foliaceous cotyledons and exserted radicle; endosperm usually absent, less frequently present.

  • Discussion

    Note. Species anomalous for characters used in the sectional key are enumerated after the sectional descriptions.

    Pollen (Figs. 168-180) (number of specimens examined: 65; number of spp.: 44). Grains oblate-spheroidal (rarely), prolate-spheroidal, subprolate or prolate. 3, 3 & 4, 4 or 4 & 5-colporate. Average polar length 16.0-92.2 µm. Colpi very reduced, short or long. Endoapertures narrowly or broadly lalongate, rarely more or less circular. Tectum sometimes protrudent. Total wall thickness usually 1-4 µm, rarely 5-6 µm. Interstitium very narrow and sparsely granular or approximately same thickness as tectum and densely granular or with short columellae. Endexine frequently occurs as a continuous thickened band in equatorial zone. Surface patterning of apocolpia more or less smooth, patterning of mesocolpia indistinctly or distinctly rugulate.