Pradosia brevipes (Pierre) T.D.Penn.
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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
Ecclinusa brevipes Pierre, Chrysophyllum pumilum Chodat & Hassl., Chrysophyllum pumilum f. glabrescens Chodat & Hassl., Ecclinusa floribunda Pierre, Ecclinusa pumila (Chodat & Hassl.) Cronquist, Chrysophyllum soboliferum Rizzini
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Description
Species Description - Geoxylic subshrub; young shoots pubescent to tomentose, soon glabrous, greyish-brown, rough with densely clustered leaf scars, lenticellate or not. Leaves densely clustered, spirally arranged, 9.9-24 × 3.7-7.6 cm, narrowly to broadly oblanceolate, apex acute, obtuse or shortly and narrowly attenuate, base long-tapering, narrowly cuneate, thinly coriaceous, upper surface with pubescent or tomentose midrib, lamina usually glabrous, sometimes sparsely pubescent, lower surface crisped pubescent to subglabrous; venation eucamptodromous, marginal vein present, midrib sunken on the upper surface, secondary veins 17-22 pairs, parallel, straight or slightly arcuate, slightly impressed on the upper surface; intersecondaries absent; tertiaries numerous, close, oblique to horizontal; quaternaries areolate. Petiole 0.5-1.1 cm long, channelled, pubescent to tomentose; stipels absent. Fascicles 5-10-flowered, densely clustered, axillary and below the leaves. Pedicel 0.5-2.5 cm long, pubescent or tomentose. Sepals five, ca. 3 mm long, lanceolate, apex acute to rounded, crisped pubescent outside, the inner ones with a broad glabrous margin, glabrous inside. Corolla 5.5-6.5 mm long, tube 2-2.5 mm long, lobes (four)five, 3.5-4 mm long, elliptic or lanceolate, apex acute to rounded, sparsely strigose on the outside of the tube, glabrous inside. Stamens (four)five, fixed at the base of the corolla lobes, exserted; filaments 2.25-3 mm long, glabrous; anthers 1.5-2 mm long, lanceolate, glabrous. Ovary narrowly ovoid, five-locular, densely strigose; style 2-2.5 mm long after anthesis, glabrous; style-head simple. Fruit 2.7-4 cm long, broadly ellipsoid to subglobose, apex acute to rounded, base acute or tapered, smooth, shortly and densely crisped-pubescent. Seed one(-two), 1.4-1.8 cm long, broadly ellipsoid, laterally compressed, apex and base obtuse or rounded, testa smooth, shining, 0.20.3 mm thick; scar adaxial, full-length, 2-3 mm wide; embryo with plano-convex, free cotyledons, radicle extending to the surface or slightly exserted; endosperm absent. Field characters. A geoxylic subshrub, usually stemless or with stems a few centimeters long, rarely to 1 m. The above-ground part of the crown often forms dense mats several meters in diam. The stems contain milky white latex, and the flowers have a deep wine-red corolla with white stamens. The fruit matures dull orange (Riedel 518 is recorded as deep purple). Flowering mostly Sep to Feb, with a single record in Apr, fruit maturing Nov to Jun.
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Discussion
The fruit is edible.
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Common Names
Cajueiro de campo, curiola rasteria
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Objects
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Distribution
A plant of dry grassy campo and open shrub or low tree savanna, sometimes subjected to periodic fires, altitudinal range 300-1000 metres. Known from Goiás, Brazil, southwards to Parana and Paraguay.
Brazil South America| Distrito Federal Brazil South America| Goiás Brazil South America| Mato Grosso Brazil South America| Minas Gerais Brazil South America| Paraná Brazil South America| Rio de Janeiro Brazil South America| São Paulo Brazil South America| Paraguay South America|