Virola elongata (Benth.) 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 elongata (Benth.) Warb.

  • Description

    Species Description - Shrub or slender tree, occasionally up to 25 mm. high, the trunk up to 30 cm. in diameter; branchlets closely brown tomentellous (hairs sessile- stellate, 0.1-0.2 mm. in diameter, or irregularly branched and up to 0.3 mm. long), glabrescent; petioles canaliculate or subterete, 1-2.5 mm. in diameter, 5-16 mm. long, tomentellous as the branchlets; leaf blades papyraceous or subllembranous, often glandular-punctate, narrowly oblong to oblong-elliptic, 12-32 cm. long, 4-11 cm. broad (occasionally as small as 7 by 1.5 cm.), obtuse to subcordate at base (occasionally acute or attenuate), long acumunate or acute at apex, glabrous and sometimes shining above, puberulent beneath (hairs sessile-stellate, about 0.1 mmli. in diameter, often sparse), glabrescent, the costa plane or slightly raised above, prominent beneath, the secondary nerves 9-20 per side, usually ascending and arcuate, slightly impressed or raised above, raised beneath, the veinlets prominulous or obscure; staminate inflorescences paniculate, usually many-flowered, 4-18 cm. long, 3-15 cm. broad, the peduncle 1-5 cm. long, with the often flattened brachlets and flowers closely tomentellous, glabrescent; bracts oblong, 2-3 mm. long, iniconspicuous and soon deciduous; flowers loosely arranged, single or in clusters of 2-8, the pedicel up to 3 mm. long; perianth thin carnose, often toinentellous or puberulent within, infundibuliform, 1.8-3 mm. long (occasionally 1.5 mm. long), 3- or 4-lobed about one- third its length, the lobes obtuse; androecium 1-2 mm. long, the filament column carnose, 0.25-0.6 mm. long, the anthers usually 3 (frequently 4 or 5, occasionally 6), 0.6-1.6 mm-. long, connate to apex or incon- spicuously divergent in the distal one-half, usually apiculate, the apiculum usually cleft, 0.1-0.2 mm. long; pistillate inflorescences up to 7 cm. long, tomentellous as the staminate inflorescences, soon glabrous; flowers single or in clusters of 2 or 3, the pedicel stout, 1-2 mm. long, the ovary subglobose, densely tomentellous (hairs about 0.2 mm. long, with numerous short lateral spurs); fruiting inflorescenees up to 12 cm. long, the branchlets soon glabrous, the mature fruits 5-20 per inflorescence, pedicellate (pedicels 2-5 mm. long), ellipsoid or subglobose, smooth or faintly earinate, 11-16 mm. long, 8-12 mm. broad, obtuse or minutely apiculate at apex, at first densely tomentose as the ovary, sooln glabrescent, the pericarp 0.3-1.3 mm. thick, the aril laciniate more than one-half the total length.

  • Discussion

    Myristica elongata Benth. Jour. Bot. & Kew Misc. 5: 5. 1853.

    Myristica punctata Benth. Jour. Bot. & Kew Misc. 5: 6. 1853.

    Myristica iheiodora Benth. Jour. Bot. & Kew Misc. 5: 6. 1853.

    Myristica cuspidata var. rufula A. DC. in DC. Prodr. 14: 696. 1857.

    Myristica rufula Mart.; A. DC. in DC. Prodr. 14: 696, as synonym. 1857.

    Firola elongata var. punctata Warb. Nova Acta Acad. Leop.-Carol. 68: 179. 1897.

    Virola elongata var. longicuspis Warb. Nova Acta Acad. Leop-Carol. 68: 179. 1897.

    Myristica longicuspis Spruce; Warb. Nova Acta Acad. Leop.-Carol. 68: 179, as synonym. 1897.

    Virola elongata var. s"tbcordata Warb. Nova Acta Acad. Leop.-Carol. 68: 180. 1897.

    Virola rufula Warb. Nova Acta Acad. Leop.-Carol. 68: 181. 1897.

    Virola theiodora Warb. Nova Acta Acad. Leop.-Carol. 68: 187. 1897.

    Type locality: Borba, Rio Madeira, Amazonas, Brazil.

    Native names: Peru: Ucufe-ey (ex Klug, Rio Putumayo), Cumala caspi (ex Williams, Rio Huallaga), Cumala blanca (ex Tessmann). Brazil: Ucuuba branca (ex Krukoff, Rio Machado).

    As in V. cuspidata, a series of leaf forms is found in V. elongata. The type has narrow somewhat papyraceous leaves; the types of V. theiodora and V. rufula, both of which are maintained by Ducke (6: 256), have thicker leaves with comparatively prominent secondary nerves. V. theiodora in addition has the leaf base rounded or subcordate. There is an unbroken series as regards the form of the leaf base, from lightly cordate to acute or attenuate. Leaf size also appears of little consequence among the plants above cited. V. elongata var. subcordata is comparatively distinct, with smaller and subglabrous flowers, and perhaps should be retained as a variety. The other synonyms cited are based upon specimens with insignificant differences.

  • Distribution

    Amazonian Brazil and adjacent Venezuela, Colombia, and Peru; doubtless to be expected from Ecuador. VENEZUELA: Amazonas: Rio Cassiquiare region, Spruce 3172 (type coll. of V. elongata subcordata, B, G, K, NY, P, W), 3363 (type coll. of V. elongata longicuspis, K, P. W). COLOMBIA-PERU BOUNDARY: Rio Putumayo, Klug 1602 (B, F, G, K, M, Mich, NY, US). PERU: Ruiz & Pavon (B, F, P). Loreto: Rio Putumayo, Klig 2166 (B, F, G, K, M, NY, US); Rio Maranon, Tessmann 4852 (B); basin of Rio Huallaga, Killip &

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