Clavija macrophylla Miq.

  • Authority

    Ståhl, Bertil. 2010. Theophrastaceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 105: 1-160. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Theophrastaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Clavija macrophylla (Link ex Roem. & Schult.) Miq.

  • Type

    Type. Brazil. Pará, without locality, s.d., F. Sieber s.n. (lectotype, BR, designated by Stâhl, 1991, p. 65).

  • Synonyms

    Theophrasta macrophylla Link ex Roem. & Schult., Theophrasta tetramera Mart.

  • Description

    Species Description - Shrub to at least 2 m tall, young shoots glabrous or subglabrous. Leaf blade oblanceolate or sometimes narrowly obovate, 16-37 x 4-13 cm, coriaceous, 0.15-0.22 mm thick, glabrous, base narrowly attenuate or attenuate, apex acute or short-acuminate, margins spinose-serrate, with 15-35 teeth per side, lateral veins rather inconspicuous, surfaces between veinlets striate or sometimes smooth; extraxylary sclerenchyma abundant to sparse, adjacent to epidermis on both sides, arranged in bundles 4-15 cells thick; hypoderm lacking; petiole 0.5-3.5 cm long, 1.3-2.4 mm thick, glabrous. Racemes in male and bisexual plants to 14 cm long with 5-35 flowers, in female plants to ca. 3.5 cm long with up to ca. 15 flowers; rachis 0.5-1 mm thick, puberulous or subglabrous; pedicels 1-2 mm long; bracts 0.7-1 mm long, inserted at nodes. Flowers 5-merous; calyx lobes very broadly ovate, 1.5-2 x 1.8-2.2 mm long, glabrous; corolla orange, tube 2-2.2 mm long, lobes 3-4 x 3-4.2 mm. Stamen filaments glabrous, in male and bisexual flowers fused into a tube 0.5-1 mm long, in female flowers free, ca. 0.5 mm long. Pistil in male flowers sublinear, in bisexual flowers narrowly ovoid with 4-20 ovules, in pistillate flowers ovoid with 15-25 ovules. Fruits orange-yellow, 1-3 cm diam., pericarp 0.2-0.4 mm thick, surface smooth; seeds 1-9, 5.5-11 mm long.

    Distribution and Ecology - S Guyana and NE Brazil (Fig. 44) in seasonally dry, terra firme forest from near sea level to 600 m. Flowering Dec-May; mature fruits Jan and Nov, sometimes Mar, May, and Sep.

  • Discussion

    Clavija macrophylla is similar to C. spinosa in leaf shape, but differs in its tougher leaf blades and 5-merous, often bisexual flowers.

  • Common Names

    grao de galo

  • Distribution

    Guyana South America| Maranhão Brazil South America| Pará Brazil South America|