Rinorea pubiflora (Benth.) Sprague & Sandwith

  • Authority

    Hekking, W. H. A. 1988. violaceae Part l—Rinorea and Rinoreocarpus. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 46: i-ii, 1-208. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Violaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Rinorea pubiflora (Benth.) Sprague & Sandwith

  • Type

    HT: R.H. Schomburgk 573; 1838; Guyana (HT: K; IT: BM, G, HH, NY, OXF, P)

  • Description

    Species Description - Tree or treelet, 0.25-20 m tall. Branchlets ferruginous hispid in combination with ferruginous puberulous, older ones glabrescent. Leaves apparently opposite, sometimes ternate or quaternate; petioles (2-)4-15(-20) mm long, puberulous above, sparsely ferruginous strigose beneath, older ones glabrescent; stipules deciduous, narrowly deltoid, 2-4 x 0.75-1.2 mm, herbaceous, ferruginous strigulose along the median part, margin ciliolate; lamina elliptic, ovate or obovate, acuminate to cuspidate, (3.5-)5-20 x 1.58 cm, papery to subcoriaceous, glabrous on both sides; costa erect puberulous near the base above, sparsely ferruginous strigose beneath; domatia present, brownish; lateral veins glabrous or nearly so, (6-)8-11(-13) pairs (acumen excluded); tertiary venation reticulate; base rounded to cuneate; margin subserrate, subcrenate or subentire; acumen 0.5-3.5 cm long, apex subobtuse to subacute, mucronulate. Inflorescences axillary, lateral or subterminal, solitary, racemose, (l-)2-7.5(-11.5) cm long; central axis, puberulous or hispidulous; ‘pedicels’ 2-6 mm long, 1(-2)x articulate near the middle, greenish when fresh, indument ferruginous puberulous or hispidulous; bract and bractlets (widely) deltoid or ovate, herbaceous, 3-5 striate, strongly 3-5 ribbed when dried, greenish when fresh, ferruginous strigillose or hispidulous, ciliolate, apex subacute, sometimes mucronulate; bracts 1.25-2 x 1-1.75 mm; bractlets subopposite, 1.25-1.75 x 1-1.25 mm. Flower buds ovoid, (sub)obtuse; flowers drooping, usually greenish, whitish or creamy, sometimes yellow or pinkish-white, fragrant. Sepals subequal, widely deltoid, ovate or orbicular, 1.5-2.25 x 1.75-3 mm, herbaceous, greenish when fresh, ferruginous hispid to hispidulous, 7-11 striate, becoming strongly ribbed when dried, margin orange-brown cili(ol)ate, apex subobtuse to subacute, mucronulate. Petals (narrowly) elliptic to ovate, 3.25-5.5(-6.5) x (1.25-)1.5-2(-2.75) mm, herbaceous, ferruginous strigose along the costa, sometimes partly ciliolate, apex subobtuse. Stamens 2.75-4 mm long; filaments free 0.5-1.5 x 0.1-0.5 mm, glabrous, dorsal glands not fused with each other, equaling or slightly longer than the filaments, adnate, free near the apex, conical, ellipsoid or (ob)ovoid, 0-1.25 x 0-0.6 mm, carnose, apex (sub)obtuse; anthers, if present, ovoid, 0-1.75 x 0-1 mm; glabrous, obtuse, sometimes appendaged by set(ul)ae or cusps; connective outside narrowly deltoid, 0-1.2 x 0-0.3 mm, usually golden-brownish to ferruginous, pilosulous; connective scales lateral as well as apical, ovate, 1.75-2.25(-3.25) x 0.25-1.25 mm, scarious, orange-brown, subentire to erose, obtuse. Ovary subglobose, 0.5-1.25 mm long and wide, ferruginous strigose; ovules usually two to three, occasionally one or four per placenta. Style filiform, erect, 2-3.25 x ca. 0.2 mm, equaling or slightly exceeding the stamens, glabrous, rarely pilosulous near the base; stigma truncate. Capsule symmetric, (narrowly) ovoid to ellipsoid, coriaceous to subligneous, green when fresh, puberulous in combination with sparsely erect pilose, indument brownish to ferruginous; valves three, subequal, 1.5-3.5 x 0.5-1 cm. Seeds usually two to three, occasionally one or four, per valve, globose, 48 mm in diam., brownish puberulous to pilosulous, sometimes completely glabrous.

  • Discussion

    Uses: The Surinam names “Dreeritiki” and “Drilstokje” indicate the use of branchlets for stirring drinks. Lateral branchlets clustered at the apex of a central branchlet are cut off resulting in a “spider-head.” The local Creole name in Surinam “Manari-tiki” indicates that branchlets and twigs can be used for making sieves (information from J. C. Lindeman).

    Rinorea pubiflora differs from other members of this subgroup by the combination of the following characters: (1) branchlets densely ferruginous hispidulous and less densely hispid (callose lenticels are usually wanting); (2) the upperside of the costa erect puberulous (as in R. brevipes); (3) the underside of the costa strigose (as in R. brevipes); (4) domatia present beneath (as in R. brevipes and R. camptoneura)\ (5) its sepals multivenose, becoming strongly ribbed when dried (as in R. brevipes, but less strongly ribbed when dried); (6) its petals densely ferruginous strigose along the costa (in R. amapensis golden to brownish pilosulous along the median part); (7) the number of ovules two to four (versus one to two in the other species); and (8) its seeds usually hairy (as in R. amapensis and R. riana, versus glabrous in all other species and in its own forma grandifolia). For differences in the colors of the indument, see under R. brevipes.

    Rinorea pubiflora is a very variable species with many local races. In the western part of its area-Venezuela, Colombia and W Brazil-it has smaller and more ovate to orbicular fruits. In the eastern parts of its area the fruits are more narrowly elliptic to narrowly ovate. In Venezuela and Colombia most of the specimens have more rigid and more crenate leaves than elsewhere. In southern Amazonian populations the indument of the leaves is scarcely developed. Such specimens can be recognized by characteristic features of branchlets, inflorescences, pedicels, bract(let)s, flowers and fruits. In Florschiitz & Maas 2483, collected in Surinam, the inflorescences are pseudoracemose with lateral cymules containing three flowers arranged at the base of the central axis just as in R. lindeniana. Such a floral arrangement is exceptional in R. pubiflora.

    Distribution and Ecology: The ecological amplitude is wide. It is a common undergrowth tree(let) in primary, secondary and disturbed tropical forests, and in SE Venezuela it is also recorded from mesophytic forests. It occurs on lateritic, clayish or sandy soil; sometimes also on granitic, schistic or sandstone rocks. Flowering and fruiting throughout the year. Rinorea pubiflora is the most common and widely spread neotropical species of Rinorea. Its main area of distribution is over Amazonia (E Colombia, SE Venezuela, Peru, Brazil and N Bolivia) and the Guianas, which includes many forest refugia (see under the varieties and formae). This species also occurs disjunctly in forest refuges of the Andean region on both sides of the Cordilleras and in adjacent Central America, from 0 to 1300 m, but is wanting in SE Brazil.

  • Common Names

    molinillo, Pata-grulla, Pata-pauji, Baridi-kutchi, Barudi-kutchi, Mamusaré, Shipiye, Shero, Boem(ki)kidia, Dreeritiki, Drilstokje, Kiki, Lèle, Lèle-tiki, Maniritiki, Boumbiki(ki)dia, Passoura/Passoure, Tâyu, Lluichovaran-dilla, Canella de Jacamin, Jurac barilla , Burangica, Canel(h)a de Jacamin