Tabebuia dubia (C.Wright ex Sauvalle) Britton ex Seibert
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Authority
Gentry, Alwyn H. 1992. Bignoniaceae--part II (Tribe Tecomeae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 25: 1-370. (Published by NYBG Press)
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Family
Bignoniaceae
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Scientific Name
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Type
Type. Cuba. Oriente: Sin. loc., Wright 1479 (GH, photo MO).
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Synonyms
Tecoma dubia C.Wright ex Sauvalle, Tabebuia crassifolia Britton
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Description
Species Description - Tree 5-10 or more meters tall, dichotomously or irregularly trichotomously branched, the branchlets terete, usually conspicuously irregular from the raised leaf scars, densely lepidote, usually conspicuously lenticellate. Leaves simple, usually whorled or opposite, sometimes subaltemate, elliptic to elliptic-oblong or narrowly obovate, rounded to emarginate at apex (rarely subacute, e.g., Alain 3373), rounded to cuneate at base (2-)7-22 cm long, (1-)2-7.5(-10) cm wide, thick coriaceous, the margin more or less revolute, shiny and sparsely to densely lepidote above, duller and very densely lepidote below with overlapping scales, drying olive to brownish above, somewhat lighter and more or less grayish or grayish olive below, tertiary venation obscure, plane above and below, secondary venation plane above and barely prominulous below, evenly brochidodromous (the closed loops sometimes completely immersed and not apparent below); petioles l-3(-5) cm long, lepidote. Inflorescence a few terminal flowers, the pedicels 2-3.5 cm long, with inconspicuous caducous subulate bracteoles ca. 2 mm long in lower half, densely lepidote, subtended by subulate bracts ca. 3-4 mm long. Flowers with the calyx campanulate, bilabiate, 10-12 mm long, 6-9 mm wide, densly lepidote inside and outside, drying dark with a strong coppery sheen from the lepidote scales; corolla pinkish; tubular-infundibuliform, 4-4.5 cm long, 1-1.3 cm wide at mouth of tube, the tube 3-3.5 cm long, the lobes 1 cm long, tube more or less glabrous outside, at least toward base, usually with some rather large lepidote scales toward top of tube, inside scurfy puberulous with short stiff trichomes in throat, the lobes barely subciliate with a few inconspicuous short marginal trichomes; ovary oblong, tetragonal-angled, 3 mm long, 1.5 mm wide, very densely lepidote with large overlapping somewhat orangish white scales, these extending onto base of style; disc cupular, 1.5 mm long, 2 mm wide. Fruits (only 1 seen) 4.5 cm long, 1 cm wide, densely lepidote, the fusiform valve very thick and woody (possibly explosively dehiscent?), the calyx persistent; seeds thin, bialate, 5-6 mm long, ca. 3 cm wide, the clear hyaline wings sharply demarcated from the dark brown seed body.
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Discussion
This is one of the most sclerophyllous-leaved species of the genus. It is close to T. hypoleuca, from which it differs in the thicker leaves which are not conspicuously white below, and also lacks the conspicuous and contrasting tertiary venation of that species. The leaf margin is much more involute and the pedicels longer. One collection, Alain 3373, is somewhat intermediate, with a tendency toward a noticeable tertiary venation, paler leaf undersurface, and unusually acutish apices. The single fruit valve seen of T. dubia is very unusual in its woody texture and short fusiform shape; it is strongly longitudinally curved, suggesting that it may be elastically dehiscent.
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Common Names
roble macho
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Objects
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Distribution
Oriente Region of eastern Cuba, sea level to 1200 m, mostly on serpentine.
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