Mouriri trunciflora Ducke
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Authority
Morley, Thomas. 1976. Melastomataceae tribe Memecyleae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 15: 1-295. (Published by NYBG Press)
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Family
Melastomataceae
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Scientific Name
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Type
Type. A. Ducke sn, MG 16937, RB 10839 (holotype, MG; isotypes, BM, G, P, RB, US). Brazil: Pará: near Obidos, in non-flooded forest. In flower, 25 Jan. 1918.
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Description
Description - Glabrous tree 7-15 m high; young twigs gray, terete or sometimes with 1 or 2 narrow rounded ridges. Petioles 2.0-7.0 mm long; blades thin, submembranous but elastic, dull or somewhat dull green on both sides, 4.6-9.7 cm long, 2.2-5.0 cm wide, ovate to elliptic or sometimes slightly oblong, acuminate or short-acuminate or abruptly acuminate at the apex, acute to rounded and abruptly attenuate at base; midrib grooved above, rounded below; lateral nerves not visible or only obscurely so when dry. Stomatal crypts none; hypodermis none; mucilaginous walls none; free stone cells present along the midrib to the leaf tip; terminal sclereids stellate, the central body ca 1.5-3(-4) times as long as wide, often branching, the arms few to several, rather sharp, medium to long. Inflorescences 1-many at leafless nodes, mostly on the trunk and larger branches but sometimes on twigs as small as 2.5 mm thick; flowers 1-7 per peduncle; inflorescences 2.4-10.5 mm long to base of farthest pedicel measured along the axes and with 1-4 internodes in that length; bracts ca 0.6-0.8 mm long, ovate, rounded to acute, deciduous before anthesis. True pedicels 3.0-12.0 mm long; calyx including inferior ovary light green, 9.5-13.0 mm long, elongate-campanulate to obconic; free hypanthium ca 2.3-3.0 mm long; calyx lobes before anthesis broadly rounded and apiculate, 0.8-1.7 mm long, 2.6-3.9 mm wide, 3.0-5.0 mm long when measured from stamen attachment, the calyx splitting between the lobes at anthesis for a distance of 1.8-5.2 mm. Petals yellow to white, 14.0-20.0 mm long, 6.2-10.0 mm wide, lanceolate-oblong, ovate-elliptic, elliptic-oblong, or slightly obovate-oblong, the apex acute or short-acuminate, the base with a claw 1.0-2.5 mm long. Filaments 7-10mm long; anthers yellow, 4.4-6.6 mm long; sporangia 4.1-6.4 mm long, dehiscing by apical slits; gland 0.6-1.1 mm long, 2.1-3.3 mm from apex of anther when measured from center of gland; cauda short and blunt, scarcely recognizable, 0.2-0.8 mm long. Ovary 3-5-locular; ovules axile, 40-80 in all; style 15-23 mm long. Fruit green with a glaucous waxy covering or sometimes covered with a sticky substance, elongate, sometimes with a few calyx lobes remaining, 5.0-10.0 cm long, 4.3-6.0 cm wide, the pulp juicy, sweet, and of a pleasant flavor but viscous. Seeds (2-)5-12, 11.8-17.0 mm high, 15.0-16.0 mm wide, 6.0-7.3 mm thick, the polished outer face 11.8-14.9 mm high, 7.0-10.3 mm wide, bordered by an unpolished slightly grooved rim on sides and top.
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Discussion
The calyx lobe length as measured from the stamen attachment, and the splitting distance between calyx lobes, are somewhat less in the collection from Rondonia than in plants from Pará and Maranhão. Only further collecting will reveal if the difference is consistent. Probably the species will eventually be collected in Amazonas in the Madeira drainage, to join the isolated Rondonia locality with the main range.
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Common Names
Miraúba, goiabeira
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Distribution
Brazil: Pará and western Maranhão, and extreme northwest Rondonia, below 200 m elevation. Moist forests above flood level, the forest apparently primary and from tall to low and open. One report gives the habitat as a palm forest. Silica-clay soil is noted once.
Pará Brazil South America| Maranhão Brazil South America| Rondônia Brazil South America|