Endlicheria melinonii Benoist
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Authority
Chanderbali, Andre S. 2004.
(Lauraceae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 91: 1-141. (Published by NYBG Press) -
Family
Lauraceae
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Scientific Name
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Type
Type. French Guiana. Cayenne, without date (fl [male]), Melinon s.n. (holotype: P; isotype: P).
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Description
Species Description - Trees to 30 m. Branchlets slender to stout, midway along flush 3-6 mm diam., terete, densely rusty tomentose, the surface barely visible to concealed by the indument cover, the hairs relatively short, to 0.3 mm, crooked, erect, matted; terminal buds plump, 3 × 2 mm, densely rusty tomentose. Leaves closely spiraled at tips of current flush; petioles robust, to 1 × 0.3 cm, semi-terete, the indument as on branchlets; laminae chartaceous to coriaceous, plane, obovate, 815 × 3-7 cm, the base acute, the apex obtuse, acuminate for up to 1 cm, the margins minutely recurved throughout; upper surface dark green to olive-brown, minutely punctulate, the midrib and secondaries prominulous, the higher-order venation immersed, inconspicuous against the lamina; lower surface densely rusty pubescent, the hairs ca. 0.5 mm long, erect, straight, uniformly distributed, all vein orders raised, their prominence decreasing with rank; secondary veins 5-8 per side, ± evenly spaced, slightly more distant around midlamina, patent, diverging at 70-85° (more obtuse around midlamina), arching after midcourse, distal pairs loop-connected; tertiaries oblique to midrib, between secondaries straight to forked. Staminate inflorescences distally clustered in the axils of cataphylls, to 11 cm long with 8 lateral branches, branch orders 2-3, the highest order condensed, the flowers clustered, the axes densely rusty villose, the hairs 0.7 mm long, crooked; bracts and bracteoles persistent at anthesis, ovate, the indument as on axes; pedicels wanting. Flowers campanulate, 2 mm diam., densely rusty villose outside, the hairs sparser on tepals; receptacle cyathiform, 1 × 0.4 mm, slightly constricted below tepals, sericeous inside. Tepals membranaceous, ovate, 1 × 0.6 mm (the inner whorl slightly broader), erect at anthesis, the inner surface glabrous, the margins minutely papillose. Stamens of whorls I and II stipitate, 0.6 mm tall, the anthers transversely oblong, 0.3 × 0.4 mm, glabrous, the apex truncate to emarginate, the connectives level with or reduced between the 2 locelli, these suborbicular, introrse, the filaments laminar, much narrower than anthers, sparsely grey-villose; whorl III stamens stipitate, 0.6 mm tall, the anthers equal to outer whorls, erect, locelli 2, extrorse-latrorse, the filaments narrower than anthers, laminar, sparsely grey-villose, the basal glands sessile, globose; whorl IV wanting; pistillode fusiform. Pistillate inflorescence with indument and color as in staminate plants, but shorter and with fewer lateral branches, the flowers similar in size and shape; stamens sterile, smaller; ovary glabrous, ovoid; style slender, distinct from ovary; stigma trilobed, 0.3 mm diam. Cupules hemispherical, sessile, to 8 × 5 mm, glabrous inside and outside, the margins undulate, drupes ellipsoid, to 1.5 × 1 cm.
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Discussion
Kostermans (1937) placed Endlicheria melinonii in synonymy under E. multiflora. The two share rusty tomentose indument and obovate leaves but E. melinonii is easily distinguished by its sessile flowers with erect tepals. Further, stiff straight ca. 0.5 mm long hairs on the lower leaf surface permit recognition on vegetative grounds alone. Sterile specimens thus assigned establish its presence in Suriname and reduce the severity of an otherwise striking disjunction between French Guiana -NE Brazil and NE Venezuela. Although the lack of material from intervening Guyana may be a collecting artifact, similar disjunctions between Suriname and Venezuela are found in the range of widespread E. bracteolata and E. canescens. As both have been found in Guyana only around the upper Cuyuni-Mazaruni Region that borders Venezuela, perhaps here too is where E. melinonii occurs in Guyana. Nevertheless, if real, the absence of these three species from relatively well-collected central Guyana is enigmatic.
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Common Names
laurel negro, pisie, harige pisie
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Distribution
Tall trees from flooded and nonflooded moist forests of NE South America at ca. 200-450 m. Flowering material collected in August, September, and January, and fruits in February and September.
Venezuela South America| Delta Amacuro Venezuela South America| French Guiana South America| Suriname South America| Brazil South America| Amapá Brazil South America|