Parkia pendula (Willd.) Benth. ex Walp.

  • Authority

    Hopkins, Helen C. F. 1986. Parkia (Leguminosae: Mimosoideae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 43: 1-124. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Mimosaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Parkia pendula (Willd.) Benth. ex Walp.

  • Type

    Type. Brazil. Pará. Sieber [Com. de Hoffmannsegg] s.n. (HT: B-WILLD)

  • Synonyms

    Inga pendula Willd., Mimosa pendula (Willd.) Poir.

  • Description

    Species Description - Tree to 40(-50) m high. Leaves alternate or in whorls at ends of somewhat thickened gnarled twigs ca. 1 cm diam. bearing prominent lenticels, to 40(-77) cm long. Petiole bearing a small circular or elliptical gland on upper side half way between base and first pair of pinnae. Pinnae (12-)15-27 pairs, opposite or alternate. Leaflets 45-96(-112) pairs, opposite, linear, sometimes curved, 3-6(-11) x 0.5-1(-1.5) mm. Compound inflorescence axis usually proximal to leaves, pendent or ± horizontal beneath foliage, rarely branched, to ca. 50(-70) cm long. Peduncles to 15(-20) per inflorescence but 1-4 bearing mature capitula and the rest aborted, alternate, pendent, very flexible, (15-)30-115 cm long. Capitula 3.8-4.9 cm diam. x 3-3.4 cm long. Hermaphrodite flowers: calyx 8-10.5 mm long (including pseudopedicel of 1-1.5 mm), the lobes to 2 mm long; corolla 9.5-12 mm long, the lobes 5-8 mm long; filaments exserted to 4.5-7 mm beyond calyx and irregularly united for ca. 8 mm above base. Nectar-secreting flowers: calyx 8.5-10 mm long; corolla 0.5 mm longer than calyx, the lobes 4-5 mm long; style exserted to 5 mm beyond calyx. Pods strap-shaped, sometimes curved, 15-30 (including stipe of 1-6 cm) x 1.9-3 cm, the adaxial suture much thickened and secreting large quantities of sticky amber-colored gum into which the seeds are released, the subligneous, glabrous, uncorrugated valves dehiscent only along adaxial suture; the cavity without gum. Seeds 17-25(30) per pod, in one or partially in two series, ca. 7-11 x 4-6 x 2.5-3 mm; testa dark with paler blotches. Field characters. Frequently a large to very large tree, the bole to 1 m dbh. Bark in large rectangular flakes, gray or reddish especially when fresh. Buttresses to 1 m high in large trees, or absent. Crown very distinctive, broad, flattened, layered, or umbrella shaped, the main branches more or less horizontal and sections of crown not overlapping so that it is more or less a single layer of leaves when seen from below; briefly deciduous. Foliage dark green. Compound inflorescences hang down like strings. Buds green-brown. Capitula at anthesis bright red, dusted with yellow pollen, the corolla lobes pink, with yellow pubescence on outer surface, the filaments, anthers, and style purplish. Capitula purplish the day after opening. Pods green when young, and black with a bluish bloom when mature. The gum is eventually washed away, and thus absent from old pods. After the seeds have gone, the pods fall, usually still attached to the receptacle and peduncle.

  • Discussion

    Local names and uses. Costa Rica: Ardillo. Colombia: Rayo. Venezuela: Warada-kuma-taré (various spellings) (Arekuna), caro, zarcillo, cascarón, deyi or day’e’mön (Piaroa), divi dive. Guyana: Ipannai (Arawak), hipanai. Surinam: Ipana, kwatakama (various spellings), koejali itapatje, lialiadan tataroe, liliadan koeleroe, apa kanilan, apa akamiran, reejoeloelan, saandoe. French Guiana: Kouatakama (Paramaka), mâle bois macaque, acacia mâle (Creole), grignon, grignon fou. Peru: Pashoco colorada. Brazil: Visgueiro, faveira, faveirão, faveira de chorão, faveira de berloque, fava (de) bolota, cordão de São Francisco, juruúba, pau de arara, arara-tucupí, joerana, joerana branca, jueirana (and other spellings), macaqueira, mafua, muirarema (various spellings), paricá, procaxi, sabiu, pau de sándalo, boloteria, rabo de arara, arara-petiú. Bolivia: toco paragua.

    The gum is used for catching birds.

    Variation and relationships. Parkia pendula is remarkably uniform for such a widespread species. There is some variation in leaf length and the number of pairs of pinnae, and specimens with large leaves are found mostly but not exclusively in eastern Amazonia. Bondar 1993, Mattos & Rizzini 458, and Lewis & de Carvalho 1043 from Bahia have exceptionally large leaflets, similar to those of P. paraensis. The three species in section Platyparkia are all closely allied and the major differences between them are in compound inflorescence architecture and pod morphology. Do Almeida Pinto (1873) described a tree called “visgueiro” to which he gave the name Mimosa melliflua (J. H. Kirkbride, pers. comm. to R. C. Barneby). He said that there were two species that were generally confused and described a large, elegant, forest tree with a domed crown, horizontal branches, and small flowers in a ball on a long peduncle. However, two characters are inconsistent with P. pendula: the capitula are described as yellow and 5 cm in circumference, and the pods as 48 cm long, undulating, and containing rounded seeds. The only species of Parkia with such pods is P. gigantocarpa, but its seeds are elliptical in outline, and although its capitula are yellow, they are much larger. It appears therefore that the description of Mimosa melliflua is composite and based partially on Parkia pendula and either on another Parkia species, or some other legume. Do Almeida Pinto also referred to the flowers and not the pods as exuding a viscous juice which falls to the ground and is capable of trapping birds. The repetition of this mistake and of the pod characters by Braga (1960) suggests that his description is based at least in part on that of do Almeida Pinto.

    Distribution and Ecology: The most widely distributed of the neotropical species, occurring in lowland terra firme rain forest from Honduras southwards (though not yet known from Nicaragua or Panama) to Colombia, Venezuela and the Guianas, Amazonian Peru, Brazil and Bolivia, and southeast coastal Brazil up to 500 m altitude. Rare on the Solimões and the upper Rio Negro (Ducke, 1949). In coastal Brazil it occurs in three discrete areas which correspond to isolated patches of seasonal rain forest according to the vegetation map of Joly (1970): the first includes parts of Paraíba, Alagoas, and Pernambuco, where it is common in the remnants of primary forest on high ground around Recife (Ducke, 1953); the second is in southeast Bahia in the tropical wet forest of Mori and Silva (1979); the third is in Espírito Santo. In Central America and Colombia fruits have been collected in March and April, and flowers in November to February in Colombia and Zulia, Venezuela. In western Venezuela flowering is also in November to January but fruiting records are from almost throughout the year. In the Guianas, flowering is recorded in September [July to August (Bena, 1960)], and the fruits in September to November (December to January, fide Bena). In northeastern Amazonian Brazil flowering is in July to September and fruiting in August to December. Near Manaus, de Araujo (1970) records flowering from May to July. In southwestern Amazonia, flowering is in August-November. In coastal Brazil flowering has been recorded in May-June and October-November.

  • Common Names

    ardillo, rayo, warada-kuma-taré, caro, zarcillo, cascarón, deyi, day’e’mön, divi dive, Ipannai, hipanai, Ipana, kwatakama, koejali itapatje, lialiadan tataroe, liliadan koeleroe, apa kanilan, apa akamiran, reejoeloelan, saandoe, Kouatakama, mâle bois macaque, acacia mâle, grignon, grignon fou, Pashoco colorada, visgueiro, Faveira, faveirão, faveira de chorão, faveira de berloque, fava (de) bolota, cordão de São Francisco, juruúba, pau de arara, arara-tucupi, joerana, joerana branca, jueirana, macaqueira, mafua, muirarema, paricá, procaxi, sabiu, pau de sándalo, boloteria, rabo de arara, arara-petiú, toco paragua

  • Distribution

    Bolivia South America| Brazil South America| Colombia South America| Costa Rica South America| French Guiana South America| Guyana South America| Honduras Central America| Peru South America| Suriname South America| Venezuela South America|