Ocotea duotincta C.K.Allen
-
Authority
Maguire, Bassett. 1965. The Botany of the Guayana Highland. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 12 (3): 1-285.
-
Family
Lauraceae
-
Scientific Name
-
Type
Type. Tree 15 m tall, leaves subcoriaceous-chartaceous, dark green above, silvery gray below, flowers creamy buff, rachis pale green-buff, young stem buffbrown, bosque alto hiimedo montanoso, entre la ladera principal escarpada de arenisca y el salto en el Rio Venamo, altura 900-1000 metres, Bolivar, Venezuela, 8 de Enero 1964, Julian A. Steyermark, G. C. K. d E. Dunsterville 92880 (holotype, [male] A - N Y ) .
-
Description
Latin Diagnosis - Arbor ad 20 m alta, gemmis ovoideis acuminatis dense ferrugineo-tomentellis (raro in sieco griseo-tomentellis), ramulis juventute item ferrugineo-tomentellis mox glabrescentibus sulcatis mox striatis. Folia alternata, petiolis satis erassis tomentellis canaliculatis striatisque ad 15 (-20) mm longis et ad 2 mm latis, laminis supra glabris costa ad basim excepta, subtus ferrugineo-pubescentibus praecipue costa nervisque, mox plus minusve glabrescentibus, utrinque sparse minute atro-punctata, subcoriaceis coriaceisve lanceolato-ellipticis, raro oblongis, (11-) 15-20(-22) cm longis et (2.5-)5-6 cm latis, ad basim plus minusve obtusis, ad apicem acuminatis vel attenuato-acuminatis, saepe margine recurvatis praecipue ad basim, penninerviis, costa flavescente supra leviter impressa, subtus prominenter pubescente elevata, nervis 6-8-paribus supra aliquantum impressis inconspicuis, subtus elevatis pubescentibus, ad angulo (70-)65-60° divergentibus, rete venularum supra saepe conspicuo, subtus hand conspicuo. Inflorescentia axillaris breve 8 cm vel minus longo, raro 10 cm, minute subferrugineo-tomentella, racemoso-paniculata, rhachidibus pallide viridescenti-fulvis, fide coll., pedunculo breve pubescente. Flores dioici, cf ad 2-4 mm longi, minute pubescentes, pedicello ad 1.5 mm longo, perianthio plus minusve cyathiformi, eburneo-fulvi, fide coll., lobis satis erassis ovato-ellipticis plus minusve papillosis, ad 2 mm longis quam tubo tertiam partem longioribus; staminibus ser I & II ad 10 mm longis, antheris late ovatis plus minusve truncatis quam filamentis duplo longioribus, ser III ad 10 mm longis, antheris plus minusve quadratis filamentis subaequantibus biglandulosis, glandulis ad 0.6 mm longis aliquantum clavatis crasse longeque stipitatis, ser IV 0; gynoecio abortive filamentoso, ad 1.4 mm longo, stigmate tenue expanse; 5 flores ignoti. Infructescentia immatura, subferrugineo-pubescentia, glabrescentia, debilia, ad 8 cm longa. Fruetus immaturus, flavo-viridescens, fide coll., cupula ut videtur subhemispherica, olivaceo-viridescente, fide coll., in sieco fulvo-verruculosa subtenta.
Distribution and Ecology - Distribution. Tree 10-15 m, the young branchlets and inflorescences densely ferruginous-tomentellous and the subcoriaceous to chartaceous leaves dark green above and silvery gray below, the flowers creamy buff, borne on pale green racheae. The taxon occurs in Bolivar in Venezuela, along the border of British Guiana in the sandstone area.
-
Discussion
The specimens cited here consistently show leaves less ovate-lanceolate or ovate-elliptic, than lanceolate, except for the number 92880 the leaves of which are oblong with less attenuate apices. The two Maguire numbers vary in leaf characters but not sufficiently to warrant exclusion from the taxon. Steyermark & Dunsterville's 92794 from the same locality as 92765 possibly m a y be affiliated with the species; the single fruit seemingly is abnormal; the leaves vary in shape, their bases being long-cuneate. The species is perhaps somewhat related to 0. lasseriana Allen, but the strictly axillary short inflorescences (not more than 10 and usually less than 8 cm long) distinguish it from the latter, as well as the consistently noted silvery under-leaf surface.