Virola sebifera Aubl.

  • 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 sebifera Aubl.

  • Description

    Species Description - Tree up to 40 m. high, often buttressed, the trunk above buttresses up to 1.3 m. in diameter; branches conspicuously whorled and spreading; branchlets often rugose, at first densely tomentose (hairs stellate from base or irregularly branched, about 0.2 mm. long), at length puberulent or glabrescent; petioles shallowly canaliculate, 2-5 mm. in diameter, 10-25 mm. long, tomentose as the branchlets; leaf blades coriaceous, often shining above, oblong, ovate, or elliptic or deltoid oblong, or narrowly oblong, 15-47 cm. long, 6-15 cm. broad (leaves occasionally smaller on flowering branchlets), cordate, rounded, truncate, or broadly obtuse at base (often subacute toward periphery of geographic range), acuminate, acute, or cuspidate at apex, glabrous above, uniformly tomentose beneath (hairs stalked, stellate, or irregularly stellate, 3-6-branched, 0.2-0.3 mm. long, the stalk sometimes obscurely jointed), often somewhat glabrescent with age, the costa prominent on both surfaces, very strong beneath, the secondary nerves 10-28 per side, straight or arcuate, slightly impressed or raised above, prominent beneath, the veinlets plane or slightly impressed above and prominulous beneath; staminate inflorescences broadly paniculate, freely branching, many-flowered, 8-23 cm. long and broad, the peduncle 1.5-7 cm. long, with the branchlets and flowers closely tomentellous (hairs stellate or irregularly branched, 0.1-0.2 mm. long), often glabrescent; bracts inconspicuous or none; flowers loosely arranged in ultimate clusters of 3-10, subsessile or with slender pedicels up to 3 mm. long; perianth thin carnose, infundibuliform, glabrous within, 1.8-2.5 mm. long (rarely 1.3 or 3 mm. long), 3 (occasionally 4 or 5)-lobed about one-third its length, the lobes obtuse; androecium 0.9-2 mm. long, the filament column carnose, usually swollen at base, 0.2-0.6 mm. long, the anthers usually 3 (sometimes 4 or 5), 0.7-1.5 mm. long, connate to apex or more or less divergent distally but rarely conspicuously so, apiculate at apex, the apiculum single or divided, 0.1-0.2 mm. long; pistillate inflorescences 3-7 cm. long, nearly as broad, tomentellous as the staminate inflorescences, the peduncle 0.5-4 cm. long; flowers single or in small clusters of 2-5, the pedicels stout, 1-2 mm. long, the ovary subglobose, often somewhat acute at apex, densely tomentose (hairs 0.2-0.3 mm. long, with numerous short crowded lateral spurs), the stigma small, sessile; fruiting inflorescences often larger than the flowering, the branches sometimes flattened, the mature fruits usually 10-30 per inflorescence, pedicellate (pedicels slender, 1-4 mm. long), ellipsoid or subglobose, smooth or faintly carinate, 10-19 mm. long (rarely to 21 mm.), 7-14 mm. broad (rarely to 17 mm.), densely tomentose at maturity (hairs 0.2-0.8, rarely to 1, mm. long, with numerous short crowded lateral spurs), at length glabreseent, the pericarp 0.5-1 mm. thick (rarely to 2 mm.), the aril laciniate at least one-half to the base and usually more deeply.

  • Discussion

    Myristica sebifera Sw. Prodr. 96. 1788.

    Myristica Virola Raeusch. Nom. ed. 3: 292. 1797.

    Myristica sebifera var. cordifolia A. DC. in DC. Prodr. 14: 195. 1856.

    Myristica cordifolia Mart.; A. DC. in DC. Prodr. 14: 195, as synonym. 1856.

    Myristica sebifera var. curvinervia A. DC. in DC. Prodr. 14: 195. 1856.

    Myristica mocoa A. DC. in DC. Prodr. 14: 195. 1856.

    Myristica panamensis Hemsl. Biol. Centr. Am. Bot. 3: 67. 1882.

    Myristica fulva Richard; Warb. Nova Acta Acad. Leop.-Carol. 68: 169, as synonym. 1897.

    Virola sebifera var. curvinervia Warb. Nova Acta Acad. Leop.-Carol. 68: 174. 1897.

    Virola venezuelensis Warb. Nova Acta Acad. Leop.-Carol. 68: 182. 1897.

    Virola mocoa Warb. Nova Acta Acad. Leop.-Carol. 68: 183. 1897.

    Virola boliviensis Warb. Nova Acta Acad. Leop.-Carol. 68: 184. 1897.

    Virola panamensis Warb. Nova Acta Acad. Leop.-Carol. 68: 185. 1897.

    Virola peruviana var. tomentosa Warb. Nova Acta Acad. Leop.-Carol. 68: 189. 1897.

    Virola Mycetis Pulle, Rec. Trav. Bot. N6erI. 4: 125, in part. 1907.

    Virola Warburgii Pittier, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 18: 143. 1916.

    Type locality: French Guiana. Type collected by Aublet

    FRENCH GUIANA: Richard (P); Sagot 1057 (K, P, 5, W) ; Poitean (B, NY); Le Prieur (F, K, NY; P, US); Meli- non (B, K); Broadway 414 (G, NY, US). ECUADOR: Eggers 14380 (F); Prenss 1926 (B), 1950 (B). PERU: Rutiz & Pavon (type coll. of V. pertuvitna tomentosa, B, F) ; Poep pig (B, P) , 2390 (type coll. of M. mocoa, B, US, W); Spruce 4878 (B, G, K, W); Knhlmann 23688 (B, K, US), 24546 (B, K, US); Kitllip & Smith 27935 (B, F, NY, US); Klg 3645 (F, M, NY, US); Williams 6615 (F, NY), 6953 (F, NY), 7634 (B, F, 8, US). BRAZIL: without State: Burchell 5383 (G, I), 6265 (K), 6704 (K, W), 6962 (G, K), 6991 (K, P), 9441 (K), 9477 (K); Riedel (US, W); Pohl 1534 (W). Amazonas: Poeppig 2553B (W) ; Martius (B, W); Jobert 806 (P); Dncke 24464 (S, US); Kthil- mann 3558 (B, US, Utr), 16378 (B, US). Acre: Dncke 24551 (B); Krnkoff 5314 (B, M, NY, 5, US, Utr). Para: Martins 27 (B), 29 (B); Sprutce (B, G, K, NY, P, W), 705 (K, P); Mexia 5920 (B, G, M, NY, 5, US); Baker 464 (Utr, W); Krnkoff 1008 (B, K, M, Mich, NY, 5, Utr) ; Knhlmann 23686 (B), 23687 (B) ; Killip & Smith 30253 (NY, US); Dahlgren & Sella 247 (F, G, US), 363 (F), 6.90 (F, US); Caputcho 595 (F). Maranhao: Froes 27 (US), 1752 (B, K, M, NY, 5, US, Utr). Matto Grosso: Manso & Lhotzky 57 (type coll. of M. sebifeera cnrvinervita, B, M, W); Riedel (B, S); Robert 424b (K); Malme (S), 1472 (S). Goyaz: Gardner 3566 (type coll. of M. sebif era cordifolia, B, K, NY, P, W); Glaziou 460 (P), 10030 (NY, P), 22037 (B, G, K, NY, P, S). Minas Geraes: Clamtssen (K, P), 275 (B), 368 (NY, P); Regnell III 1030 (S), III 1030b (S). Rio de Janeiro: Glazion (P). Sao Paulo: Mosen 1581 (S) ; Regnell III 1030 (S, US); Hoehne 28334 (NY); Hemmendorff 99 (S). BOLIVIA: Pearce (K); Rnsby 1216 (B, type of V. boliviensis, F, G, K, M, NY, P, US, W), 1217 (NY); Bang 1678 (B, F, G, K, M, Mich, NY, US, W); Williams 512 (K, NY, US); Buchtien 1684 (B, F, K, M, NY, US), 2092 (NY. US); Steinbach 3020 (B), 3309 (B, F, K, M), 7488 (B, F, G, K, M, NY, 5, Utr).

    Native names: Nicaragua: Banak, Sangredrago. Venezuela: Camaticaro, Camaticaro rojo, Camaticaro blanco. Surinam: Baboen- hout. Ecuador: Cacao del monte. Brazil: Ucuhnba vermelha (ex Capucho), Ucncutrana vermelha (ex Froes), Bicniba ocn (ex Claussen). The reduction of several names to V. sebif era, as here proposed, has been undertaken only after the examination of type material and the extensive series cited. The actual type of V. sebifera has not been examined, but there is no doubt that Aublet's plate illustrates the com- mon Guiana form of the species.

    The type of V. mnocoa and several other Peruvian and Brazilian specimens have the leaves rounded at base and the secondary nerves comparatively few. Ducke (6: 256) maintains this as distinct from V. sebif era, but I fail to see how it can be maintained in view of numerous connecting forms.

    The cotypes of V. panamensis and the type of V. Warburgii have obtuse or rounded leaf bases. The numerous Central American specimens which may be referred to this group have fruits slightly larger than average for V. sebifera, perianths slightly smaller than average, and leaves with a tendency toward eventual glabrescence. But among the cited specimens one may find every variation, and I am unable to draw a definite line between these Central American specimens and typical V. sebifera. Hayes 618, a cotype of V. panarnensis, appears to be a mixture, with foliage of typical Central American V. sebifera and a few detached fruits which probably represent V. Koschnyi. The name V. panamensis is here construed to belong to the foliage of this specimen and the other cotype.

    The type of V. venezuelensis bears fruits a trifle larger than average and has the leaf base truncate.

    The type of V. boliviensis has the leaves narrow and acute at base and with unusually long petioles. This type of leaf is found in several other Bolivian and Peruvian collections (ineluding the type of V. perutviana tomentosa). But some specimens (e.g., Buchtien 1684) have leaves of the narrow acute type and also leaves which are broad and obviously cordate at base. Since both leaf forms are found on the same plant it is obvious that the character cannot be used to distinguish species or even varieties

    V. Mycetis, based on van Hall 8, appears to be a mixture. The type specimen in the herbarium bears branehlets and foliage, while staminate inflorescences are preserved in alcohol. The leaves are essentially identical with those of many specimens of V. sebifera. The inflorescences are either of V. surmnamensis or V. Melinoni (probably the former, but these two species cannot be readily distinguished from inflorescences alone). This reduction is not made without carefully considering the possibility of the type collection being authentically a unit. It must be noted that this type of leaf (large, broad, with spaced secondaries, pilose beneath with stalked stellate hairs) in all known species is associated with staminate flowers which have the anthers distinctly exceeding the filament columnn. Therefore, if V. Mycetis is really a single species, it is unique in this combination. No other specimens can be referred to this species, while the other three species ineintiolied above are known to be common in Surinam. In view of these facts, and lacking evidence that the leaves and infloreseences of van Hall 8 actually came from the same tree, it seems best to reduce the species.

    In summing up the species V. sebifera, we find that it has the broadest range of any American myristicaceous plant. In the center of its distribution, Guiana and northern Brazil, it is fairly constant in leaf form, the leaves being cordate at base, large in size, and persistently tomentose. The fruits are of average size for the species taken as a whole. In southern Brazil we see a tendency for the leaves to be even nore broadly cordate at base and with clearly recurved basal nerves. Toward the other peripheries of its range, the species demonstrates leaves varying at the base to rounded and definitely acute. In Bolivia and Peru there is a tendenicy toward longer petioles. In Venezuela and Central America there is a tendency toward large fruits and early leaf glabrescence.

    None of these characters seem sufficiently pronounced or constant to make subspecies, varieties, or even forms worthy of nomenclatural distinction. The typical Guiana form is likely to be met with throughout the range of the species

  • Distribution

    Continental tropical America, from Nicaragua to Peru, Bolivia, and southern Brazil (Matto Grosso and Sao Paulo), usually at low elevations but reported in the Andes up to 1500 m. Ducke (6: 255) reports that the species prefers secondary forest and rather dry woods of the "campos" regions in Brazil. It is fairly common in most parts of its range, and therefore detailed localities are not given in the following citations. NICARAGUA: Braggman's Bluff, Englesing 101 (B, F, K, US, Y). COSTA RICA:

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