Tabebuia trachycarpa (Griseb.) K.Schum.
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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 3039 (holotype, GOET; isotypes, BM, G, GH, HAC, K, MO, NY fragm.).
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Synonyms
Tecoma trachycarpa Griseb., Tabebuia cowellii Britton, Tabebuia savannarum Britton
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Description
Species Description - Shrub or small tree to 5 m tall, densely trichotomously branched, the branchlets more or less terete, usually with numerous whorls of three short shoots along a central axis. Leaves simple, mostly in whorls of three, usually clustered at tips of short shoots, oblong-oblanceolate to almost orbicular, emarginate, not apiculate, cuneate to rounded at base, 0.5-4.5(-5) cm long, 0.4-1.4(-2) cm wide, coriaceous, conspicuously but not densely lepidote below, inconspicuously lepidote glandular above, more or less concolorous, olive to grayish above and below, the margin entire, often revolute, petioles 0-3 mm long. Inflorescence one to several terminal flowers from the short-shoot apices, the pedicels 0.5-1 cm long. Flowers with the calyx infundibuliform, irregularly bilabiate to 3-labiate, 6-11 mm long, 3-8 mm wide, conspicuously lepidote but drying blackish, also somewhat lepidote inside; corolla pink, tubular-infundibuliform, 3-4.5 cm long, 1-1.5 cm wide at mouth of tube, the tube 2.5-3.5 cm long, the lobes ca. 1 cm long, glabrous outside, the lobes sparsely ciliate, puberulous on inside of lobes and in throat; pistil 20-23 mm long, the ovary oblong, densely tannish lepidote, 3 mm long, 1 mm wide; disk cupular-pulvinate, 1 mm long, 1.5 mm wide. Fruit narrowly cylindrical, 5-13 cm long, 0.5-0.7 cm wide, lepidote, drying blackish to brownish, not ridged, macroscopically somewhat rough-surfaced, the calyx caducous; seeds bialate, 4-5 mm long, 17-24 mm wide, the hyaline-membranaceous wings sharply differentiated from the body.
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Discussion
The combination of small simple leaves and trichotomous branching distinguishes this species. The narrowest-leaved extremes (T. cowellii) occur only in the Oriente region but there are too many intermediates to accord them taxonomic recognition. The Sancti Spiritus populations have many non-emarginate leaves and are very similar to forms of T. myrtifolia var. petrophila. Some leaves of this population (León 4103) can reach 5x2 cm. The AAU sheet of Ekman 19195 has a few 3-foliolate leaves and may represent introgression from T. lepidota.
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Objects
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Distribution
Eastern and central Cuba in coastal thickets and on limestone and serpentine; mostly below 100 m elevation.
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