Caraipa grandifolia Mart. subsp. grandifolia

  • Authority

    Maguire, Bassett. 1978. The botany of the Guayana Highland--part X. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 29: 1-288.

  • Family

    Clusiaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Caraipa grandifolia Mart. subsp. grandifolia

  • Description

    Subspecies Description - Small tree to 10, rarely 15 m in height, branchlets laxly pubescent, glabrescent, covered with small lenticels mostly vanishing later. Leaves distichous, coriaceous, lustrous and glabrous above, dull, with scattered minute sessile stellate hairs and a bullate epidermis (also the guard cells protruding) beneath, lanceolate-ovate or lanceolate, widest at the middle or below the middle, 2.4-4.2 times longer than wide, 16-28(-40) cm long, 5.5-9(-13) cm wide, the base subcordate, rounded, or obtuse, the top acute or obtuse, sometimes shortly (0.5-1.5 cm) acuminate, the midrib slightly impressed above and prominent below, nerves 20-35 pairs, the margin slightly revolute, translucent dots not visible; petiole puberulous, later glabrescent and often covered with fissured periderm, 0.7-1.2 cm long. Inflorescences terminal on main and lateral branches, 15-25(-40)-flowered panicles 5-15 cm in length, their lateral branches often remote (1-)3(-5)-flowered glomerules, the branches and pedicels brownish stellate-tomentose, bracts and bracteoles stout, lanceolate, dorsally keeled, 3-4 mm long, the bracteoles inserted below the middle of the pedicels, pedicels stout, 3-5 mm long. Flower buds before anthesis globose to slightly ellipsoid, 8-10 mm long, sepals coriaceous, rounded at the top, outside densely, inside laxly stellate-pubescent, free lobes 3-4 mm long and 3 mm wide at the base, petals oblong, outside tomentellous, 1.5-2 cm long, ovary ferrugineous-tomentellous. Capsule trigonous, pyramid-shaped, symmetrical or slightly curved only at the apex, 3-4.2 cm long and 1.3-1.6 cm wide at the base, the surface smooth or minutely sulcate, tomentellous, exocarp separable from endocarp, seeds compressed, ovate, tapering at the top, not winged, 3-3.5 cm long.

  • Discussion

    15a. Caraipa grandifolia subsp grandifolia Fig 61a. Synonyms and citations as above. Vernacular name, "tamaquare"; "tamaquare do igapo." Note. The following collections possess leaves which in shape and structure of the lower leaf epidermis agree well with C. grandifolia but which on the lower leaf surface bear stalked stellate or ramified hairs characteristic of C. costata (see Fig 58d): BRAZIL. Amazonas: Rio Negro, Sta. Izabel, Ducke RB 25053 (RB); Manaus, Ens&adsigrande, Rodrigues & Lima 2321 = INPA 8732 (INPA, M); Frontier between Amazonas and Roraima; upper Alalau River, Boyan 264 = INPA 21082 (INPA, M). The color of the indument to the two latter collections is rusty. These 3 specimens obviously combine characters of C. grandifolia and C. costata, and a hybrid origin for them might be taken into consideration.

  • Distribution

    Distribution. Fig 66. PERU. Loreto: Mishuyacu, near Iquitos, Klug 624 (US). VENEZUELA. Amazonas: Base of Cerro Yacapana, Maguire et al 30500 (M, NY); Bolivar: Cerro Guaiquinina, Rio Szczerbaneri, Steyermark et al 113232 (VEN). BRAZIL. Amazonas: Rio Negro, Içana, Froes 22229 (U); Rio Negro, Sao Felipe, Baldwin 3582 (US); Froes 22188 (NY), 22189 (U); Rio Negro, mouth of Rio Uaupes, Ducke R B 24073 (K, RB, US); Ibid, Ilha das Flores, Baldwin 3707a (US); Pires 402 (IAN); Rio Negro, below mouth of R

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