Swartzia recurva Poepp.

  • Authority

    Cowan, Richard S. 1967. Swartzia (Leguminosae, Caesalpinioideae Swartzieae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 1: 3-228. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Fabaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Swartzia recurva Poepp.

  • Type

    Type collection. E. Poeppig 2771 (holotype W; isotypes BM, G, GOET, KIEL, LE, NY, P) Lake Ega [Teffé], Amazon R., Nov. 1831.

  • Synonyms

    Tounatea recurva (Poepp.) Taub., Tunatea recurva (Poepp.) Kuntze, Swartzia bracteata Ducke, Swartzia aptera var. recurva (Poepp.) Ducke, Swartzia arenicola Ducke

  • Description

    Description - Shrub or tree 3-40 m tall, the trunk 15-30 cm diameter, the branchlets glabrous; stipules more or less foliaceous, rigid-coriaceous, usually caducous but sometimes deciduous, glabrous, 9-16(-25) mm long, 2.5-6.5(-12) mm wide, elliptic to ovate, acute or obtuse, sometimes mucronate and/or somewhat falcate; leaves glabrous, the petioles usually subterete but rarely narrowly alate-marginate, (8-) 12-20(-40) mm long, the rachis terete to slightly marginate, infrequently alate-marginate, 3-6(-11) cm long; leaflets 1- or 2-jugate, the petiolules (2-)4-5(-9) mm long, the blades nitid, (4-)9-12(-20) cm long, (1.5-)4-6(-8) cm wide, elliptic or less frequently ovate-elliptic or oblong-elliptic, the base usually cuneate to acute, infrequently subobtuse or rounded-obtuse, the apex bluntly acute to acuminate, the venation subobscure to prominulous, the costa salient, the veinlets forming a fine reticulum; inflorescences usually a panicle of racemes, or simply racemose, axillary, (6.5-)8-15(-20) cm long, the axes minutely strigulose, sometimes glabrescent, the bracts foliaceous, caducous, (3-)5-7 mm long, (1 -)3-5 mm wide, elliptic to lanceolate, often concave, apically acute to long-acuminate, minutely strigulose on both inner and outer surfaces, the bracteoles deciduous to caducous, arising in the upper half of the pedicel, (1.5-)4-6 mm long, 1-1.5 mm wide, narrowly elliptic or lanceolate, acute to acuminate, minutely strigulose on the inner and outer surfaces; pedicels flattened, (5-)7-10(-23) mm long, densely strigulose minutely, sometimes glabrescent, the buds globose, ovate or oval in outline, (5-)7-8 mm long, 4.5-6 mm diameter; calyx segments 4 or 5, deciduous, minutely strigulose externally, densely strigose on the inner surface; petal glabrous, yellow, the claw (3-) 4-6 mm long, the blade orbicular to oblate, 5-15 mm long, 7-17 mm wide; larger stamens 4-8, glabrous, the filaments 9-16 mm long, the anthers oblong, 1-1.5 mm long, 0.5-1 mm wide, the pollen globose, 26-28.5 y, diameter, the smaller stamens glabrous, the filaments 5-7 mm long, the anthers oval to oblate; gynoecium glabrous, the stigma punctiform, the style 1-2 mm long, the ovary elliptic to narrowly elliptic, arcuate, 4-6.5 mm long, 1.5-2.5 mm wide, the gynophore 7-18 mm long; fruit elliptic in cross-section, suborbicular to oval in outline, black, glaucous, 4.5-6 cm long, 3.5-4 cm wide, 2.5 cm thick, the stipe 10-15 mm long; seeds 1-3 per fruit, ca 3 cm diameter.

  • Discussion

    It is most unusual for Ducke to have erred so often as is indicated by the synonomy for this species; despite the lack of library and authentic specimens for comparison, he consistently produced superior taxonomic treatments in a great variety of families. However, in transferring Poeppig’s species to S. aptera as a variety, he misinterpreted (as have most taxonomists concerned with it) the latter species, which actually belongs to quite another section of the genus. His S. bracteata (first named S. bracteosa but changed in the errata of the same volume) has less pubescent bracts but little more to support it. The type collection of S. arenicola has more rigid leaflets which are rounded basally; the material is only fruiting and it is conceivable that flowering collections may reveal characters of subspecific or even specific importance.

    The densely pubescent inner surfaces of the calyx segments separates S. recurva from all its relatives, of which the closest are S. discocarpa, S. krukovii, and S. caudata. Another relative, S. racemosa, has unifoliolate leaves and glabrous calyx segments.

  • Common Names

    Muiragiboia, muira jiboia, pirauichy

  • Distribution

    (Fig. 20). Lower-half of the Amazon Basin in Brazil from upper Rio Negro and Teffé in the north and Territorio do Guaporé in the southwest to the mouth of the Amazon River and in the southeast to the upper Rio Xingu and Rio Tapajoz; usually in the high primary forest along the rivers on non-inundated soils but occasionally found in secondary forest, or on more or less inundated river banks, or in sandy openings in the forest.

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