Virola urbaniana Warb.

  • Authority

    Smith, Albert C. & Wodehouse, R. P. 1938. The American species of Myristicaceae. Brittonia. 2: 393-527. f. 1-9.

  • Family

    Myristicaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Virola urbaniana Warb.

  • Description

    Species Description - Large tree, the branchlets robust, densely and persistently tomentose, the hairs ferruginous, branching from base or irregularly, 0.5-1 mm. long; petioles canaliculate, stout, 3-4 mm. in diameter, 5-8 mm. long, tomentose as the branchlets; leaf blades thin coriaceous, oblong, 14-18 cm. long, 4.5-7 cm. broad, subcordate at base, subacute or cuspidate at apex, glabrous above except on the tomentellous costa, beneath densely tomentose (hairs stalked, irregularly branched, about 0.5 mm. long), the costa plane or slightly depressed above, prominent beneath, the secondary nerves 25-30 per side, straight, slightly impressed above, raised beneath, those near the base very short and slightly recurved, the veinlets reticulate, nearly plane and obscure; 'staminate inflorescences broadly paniculate, freely branching, many-flowered, up to 15 cm. long and broad, the peduncle 3-5 cm. long, with the branchlets densely tomentose with hairs similar to those of the foliage branchlets; flowers densely aggregated on short ultimate peduncles, probably about 15-30 per cluster, associated with membranous puberulent orbicular somewhat persistent bracts 5-7 mm. long and broad; pedicels very short or none; perianth submembranous, 1.7-1.9 mm. long, densely tomentelous without (hairs branched from base, about 0.2 mm. long), 3-lobed nearly to base, the lobes oblong, obtuse; androecium 1.2-1.6 mm. long, the filament column slender, 0.4-0.6 mm. long, the anthers 3, 0.8-1 mm. long, free and conspieuously divergent in the apical one-half or two- thirds, oblong, obtuse or minutely apieulate at apex; pistillate inflorescences and fruits not known.

  • Discussion

    Type locality: Between Goyaz and Rio Uruhu, Goyaz, Brazil

  • Distribution

    Known only from the type collection. BRAZIL: Goyaz: Glaziom, 22036 (B, type, K, P, S). This species is very distinct on the basis of the large bracts, divergent anthers, and close secondary leaf nerves. Its alliance on the basis of most superficial characters is probably with V. sebifera, but collection of the fruit may remove the species from the group Sebiferae. Because of the deeply cleft perianth, the species has also been keyed in the group Rugulosae.

    Brazil South America|