Virola divergens Ducke
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Authority
Smith, Albert C. & Wodehouse, R. P. 1938. The American species of Myristicaceae. Brittonia. 2: 393-527. f. 1-9.
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Family
Myristicaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Species Description - Tree up to 25 m. high, the trunk up to 1 m. in diameter; branchlets closely tomentose, the hairs irregularly branching, 0.5-1 mm. long, at length deciduous; petioles subterete, stout, 3-5 mm. in diameter, 9-15 mm. long, tomentose as the branchlets; leaf blades coriaceous, oblong, 18-45 cm. long, 6-15 cm. broad, deeply cordate to truncate at base, acuminate or cuspidate at apex, above glabrous or tomentellous on the costa, beneath uniformly densely tomentose with stalked irregularly branched hairs about 0.5 mm. long, the costa raised above, very prominent beneath, the secondary nerves 16-28 per side, ascending, arcuate near margins, slightly impressed or prominulous above, prominent beneath, those near the base often recurved, the veinlets prominulous or obsecire; staminate inflorescences broadly paniculate, freely branching, many-flowered, up to 25 cm. long and broad, the peduncle 5-8 cm. long, with the branchlets copiously tomentellous (hairs 0.2-0.5, rarely to 0.8, mm. long, irregularly branched, often with short lateral spurs); bracts inconspicuous, soon deciduous; flowers loosely arranged, ultimately in small clusters of 3-7, the pedicels slender, 1-2 mm. long, with the perianth densely tomentellous (hairs irregularly branched, 0.2-0.4 mm. long); perianth thin carnose, 2.3-3 mm. long, infundibuliform, puberulent within, 3- or 4-cleft about one-third its length, the lobes deltoid-oblong, obtuse; androecium 1.5-2 mm. long, the filament column carnose, swolleil at base, 0.4-0.5 mm. long, the anthers 3, 1.1-1.5 mm. long, divergent at apex and each terminated by a slender apiculum 0.1-0.15 mm. long; pistillate inflorescences 6-18 cm. long, tomentellous as the staminate inflorescences; flowers in ultimate clusters of 2-5, short pedicellate, the ovary subglobose, densely tomentose (hairs 1.5-2.5 mm. long, jointed, with numerous short lateral branches); fruiting inflorescences up to 9 cm. long or more, the fruits 4-8 per inflorescence, short pedicellate, subglobose, 15-30 mm. in diameter, densely and persistently tomentose (hairs as those of the ovary, 3-4.5 mm. long), the pericarp brittle, 0.3-0.7 mm. thick; aril laciniate nearly to base; seed subglobose or slightly ellipsoid, 10-12 mm. in diameter.
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Discussion
Type locality: Near Manaos, Amazonas, Brazil.
This species in many characters appears to be a connecting link between V. mollissinma and V. sebif era. In vegetative characters it more nearly resembles the latter, the leaf surfaces and inflorescence branches being closely tomentose. However, the fruit of V. divergens is very similar to that of V. mollissima and since this character appears to be very consistent the species is placed in the group Mollissimae. The fact that the anthers of V. divergens are separate distally does not seem of great importance, since many specimens of V. sebif era, especially those from southern Brazil, show a similar degree of divergence. In neither of these species is the divergence of anthers as pronounced as in V. Urbaniana. This character seems to have been developed here and there throughout the genus and in many cases cannot be considered even a specific character.
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Distribution
Amazonian Brazil. BRAZIL: Amazonas: Rio Negro, near Manaos, Ducke 24548 (B, K, 5, US, Utr), 24549 (B, K, P, 5, US, Utr), 24550 (type coll., B, K, P, 5, US, Utr); Ule 8845 (B); Rio Madeira, Porto Velho, Kuhlmann 24547 (B, K, US, Utr). Para: Rio Tapajoz, Boa Vista, Monteiro 60 (F, NY); upper Rio Cupary, plateau between Xingu and Tapajoz, Krukoff 1120 (B, K, Mich, NY, 5, Utr).
Brazil South America|