Rinorea falcata (Mart. ex Eichler) Kuntze

  • 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 falcata (Mart. ex Eichler) Kuntze

  • Type

    Type. Brazil. Amazonas: Río Japurá, s.d. (fr), Martius s.n. (lectotypus novus, M [97]; isotypes, M [98, 99, 101] these numbers are written on small labels attached to the specimens).

  • Synonyms

    Alsodeia falcata Mart. ex Eichler, Alsodeia guianensis var. parviflora Eichler, Rinorea surinamensis Melch.

  • Description

    Species Description - Tree or treelet, 1.5-10 mm tall. Branchlets golden hirtellous when young, glabrescent when older. Leaves apparently opposite, occasionally ternate; petioles 4-10 mm long, golden hirtellous above, glabrescent beneath; stipules deciduous, narrowly deltoid, subacute, 1-1.25 x ca. 1 mm, herbaceous, golden strigillose, golden ciliolate; lamina (narrowly) elliptic to (ob)ovate, acuminate to cuspidate, 4.5-18.5 x 1.5-8 cm, papery, glabrous on both sides; costa golden pilosulous above when young, glabrescent when older, sparsely golden strigose to glabrescent beneath; domatia wanting; lateral veins 9-11 pairs (acumen excluded), glabrous on both sides; tertiary venation reticulate; base rounded to cuneate, often slightly asymmetric and oblique as well as slightly obtuse to subcordate at the petiole; margin subcrenate to subentire; obscurely mucronulate; acumen 1.5-2 cm long, erect to falcate, apex subobtuse to subacute, mucronulate. Inflorescences axillary, lateral and subterminal, solitary, racemose, 8-12.5 cm long; central axis golden hispidulous; ‘pedicels’ 3-4 mm long, articulate near the middle, golden pilosulous; bracts and bractlets ovate, herbaceous, golden strig(ill)ose, ciliolate, subobtuse; bracts 1-1.25 x ca. 1 mm; bractlets subopposite, 0.75-1 x ca. 0.75 mm. Flower buds ovoid to tolpoid, obtuse. Flowers pendulous, greenish, yellow or yellowish-white. Sepals unequal, ovate 1.25-2.5 x 1-1.5 mm, herbaceous, appressed golden pilosulous along the median part, with 5-9(-11) veins, margin scarious and golden ciliolate, apex obtuse. Petals narrowly ovate, 4-5 x 1.75-2.25 mm, herbaceous, glabrous or nearly so, margin sometimes golden ciliolate, apex obtuse. Stamens 2.75-3.5 mm long; filaments free, 0.75-1 x ca. 0.25 mm, glabrous or nearly so; dorsal glands free, adnate to the filaments, sometimes one of them wanting, (narrowly) ovoid to ellipsoid, 0.5-0.75 x 0.30.4 mm, glabrous, apex free, (sub)obtuse; anthers ovoid, (0.6-) 1-1.5 x 0.4-0.8 mm, glabrous, apex of thecae obtuse, sometimes appendaged by 12 set(ul)ae or 1-2 cusps, up to 1 x 0.1-0.2 mm; connective outside narrowly ovate, obtuse, ca. 0.75 x 0.25-0.5 mm, glabrous; connective scales lateral as well as apical, ovate, 2-2.5 x 0.6-0.9 mm, scarious, orange-brown, margin (sub)erose, apex obtuse. Ovary subglobose, ca. 1 x ca. 0.75 mm, yellowish-white, golden or ferruginous strigose; ovules two per placenta. Style filiform, erect, 2.25-2.75 x ca. 0.2 mm, exceeding the stamens by (0-)0.25-0.5 mm, completely glabrous, rarely sparsely pilosulous near the base; stigma truncate or subclavate. Capsule more or less symmetric, ovoid, acuminate, coriaceous to subligneous, greenish-yellow when young, appressed olive to golden pilosulous, usually orange-brown to purplish when dried, veined; valves three, subequal, 1.5-2 x 0.4-0.8 cm. Seeds two per valve, globose, 4-5 mm in diam., glabrous.

  • Discussion

    Uses: The local Creole name in Surinam means that branchlets and twigs can be used for making a sieve.

    This species belongs to the complex of three closely related species, Rinorea flavescens, R. falcata and R. camptoneura. The sepals are more unequal than in any other species of neotropical Rinorea; their seeds are glabrous, a character shared with R. brevipes and R. pubiflora var. and fo. grandifolia. Their habit, their inflorescences and their flowers are so similar that these species can easily be confused with each other. In R. flavescens the branchlets, petioles, leaves, petals, stamens, ovary, style, capsules and seeds are completely glabrous (or nearly so), whereas R. camptoneura is more hairy in its habit. Rinorea falcata is intermediate in this respect. The differences between these species can be circumscribed as follows: (1) domatia present only in R. camptoneura; (2) leaf base symmetric in R. flavescens and slightly oblique in R. camptoneura; in R. falcata just in between; (3) sepals of R. flavescens and R. camptoneura more unequal than in R. falcata; (4) sepals of R. flavescens scarious and those of R. camptoneura herbaceous; sepals of R. falcata are herbaceous with the margin scarious; (5) sepals of R. flavescens glabrous or nearly so, but in R. camptoneura and R. falcata appressed pilosulous; (6) sepals of R. falcata and R. flavescens have respectively 5-9 and 5-7 veins, whereas those of R. camptoneura have only 3-5; (7) petals of R. flavescens are glabrous, those of R. camptoneura sparsely pilose(ulous); petals of R. falcata are just in between; (8) ovary in R. flavescens glabrous or nearly so, versus densely strigose in R. falcata and densely villose in R. camptoneura; (9) style completely glabrous in R. flavescens versus pilosulous at the base in R. camptoneura; R. falcata is just in between; and, finally, (10) capsule of R. flavescens glabrous or nearly so; in R. falcata and R. camptoneura sparsely but distinctly hairy.

    Rinorea falcata seems to be intermediate between R. flavescens and R. camptoneura except for the number of the veins in the sepals. By the differences in the latter feature it is not certain whether to consider R. falcata as a hybrid between the two other ones or not. Dried leaves of R. flavescens and R. falcata are more shining than those of R. camptoneura, which are distinctly dull. The indument in these species is predominantly golden, sometimes different. The ovary of R. falcata is often ferruginous strigose, that of R. camptoneura usually whitish, sometimes also golden or ferruginous.

    Rinorea falcata has been listed in the two editions of a revision of Peruvian Violaceae by Baehni and Weibel (1941 a, 1941 b), based on the single specimen Killip & Smith 29147, which is taxonomically not R. falcata, but R. viridifolia. The poor description does not provide a sharp distinction between the two species and may, therefore, refer to both species. Rinorea falcata has also been collected recently from Peru. For Alsodeia (=Rinorea) falcata var. grandifolia see under R. pubiflora var. grandifolia fo. grandifolia.

    A specimen, Glaziou 6069, cited by Glaziou as Alsodeia (=Rinorea) falcata and collected in SE Brazil (Corcovado, Rio de Janeiro), does not belong to that species, but to R. laevigata.

    Alsodeia guianensis (Aublet) Eichler var. parviflora Eichler in Martius, 1871a, does not belong to the same taxon as Rinorea parviflora Blake ex Pittier, Man. pl. usual. Venez. 445. 1926. The former is a synonym of R. falcata, the latter a synonym of R. lindeniana.

    Distribution and Ecology: Rinorea falcata is widespread over Amazonia (Brazil, N Peru), Upper Orinoco area and the Guianas (except Guyana, although to be expected there). The species is also disjunct in the forest refuge Apure just on the southern slopes of the Cordilleras of W Venezuela. It is common in the understory of primary and secondary tropical rain forests, where it has been collected on slopes of hills and mountains, from 75 to 475 m, in gullies and along rapids, creeks, streams and rivers. Along rivers in lowlands the species inhabits uninundated as well as periodically inundated areas, on granitic, rocky or clayish soils. Probably flowering and fruiting throughout the year.

  • Common Names

    Manari-tiki, Canilla de Vieja, Takit

  • Distribution

    Colombia South America| Amazonas Colombia South America| Venezuela South America| Amazonas Venezuela South America| Táchira Venezuela South America| Suriname South America| French Guiana South America| Peru South America| Amazonas Peru South America| Loreto Peru South America| Brazil South America| Amapá Brazil South America| Amazonas Brazil South America| Pará Brazil South America| Rondônia Brazil South America|