Micropholis

  • Authority

    Pennington, Terence D. 1990. Sapotaceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 52: 1-770. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Sapotaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Micropholis

  • Type

    Type. Micropholis rugosa (Swartz) Pierre (Chrysophyllum rugosum Swartz).

  • Synonyms

    Micropholis rugosa (Sw.) Pierre, Crepinodendron, Crepinodendron crotonoides Pierre, Sprucella, Sprucella cyrtobotrya (Mart. ex Miq.) Pierre, Sideroxylon cyrtobotryum Mart., Meioluma, Meioluma guianensis Baill., Stephanoluma, Stephanoluma rugosa Baill., Sideroxylon rugosum Roem. & Schult., Platyluma, Platyluma calophylloides (Pierre) Baill., Micropholis calophylloides Pierre, Paramicropholis, Paramicropholis acutangula (Ducke) Aubrév. & Pellegr., Sideroxylon acutangulum Ducke, Chrysophyllum rugosum Sw.

  • Description

    Genus Description - Trees or shrubs. Stipules absent. Leaves spaced, alternate and distichous or spirally arranged. Venation brochidodromous with a submarginal vein, or craspedodromous, secondary veins closely parallel, often not differentiated from the higher order venation, and then the leaf appearing finely striate. Inflorescence axillary, ramiflorous or cauliflorous, fasciculate, sometimes developing into short scaly persistent shoots. Flowers often unisexual. Calyx a single whorl of (4-)5 free, imbricate or quincuncial sepals. Corolla campanulate to short- or long-cylindrical, the tube nearly always longer than the lobes, rarely equalling them, lobes (four-)five, erect to reflexed, simple. Stamens (four-)five, fixed near the top of the corolla tube, included or exserted; filaments short and straight or long and geniculate (at least in bud); anthers extrorse in bud, glabrous. Staminodes (four-)five, in the corolla lobe sinuses, alternating with the stamens, usually lanceolate or subulate, rarely petaloid. Disk present or absent. Ovary (four-)five-locular, placentation axile; style included or exserted. Fruit one-several-seeded. Seed laterally compressed, testa smooth or often minutely transversely wrinkled, shining or dull; scar adaxial, extending the length of the seed, usually narrow. Embryo vertical, with thin foliaceous cotyledons and exserted radicle, surrounded by thick endosperm. Pollen (Figs. 163, 164) (number of specimens examined: 10; number of spp.: 10). Grains prolate, occasionally sub-prolate. 3-colporate. Average polar length 27.0-44.3 \im. Colpi very reduced or short. Endoapertures narrowly or broadly lalongate. Tectum protrudent. Intersti-tium densely granular. Endexine very thickened with a continuous band in equatorial zone. Tectum, in some species, perforate at poles. Surface patterning and its distribution very similar to that found in Pouteria, particularly in sections Franchetella and Aneulucuma.

  • Distribution

    38 species in Central and South America and the West Indies.

    Central America| South America| West Indies|