Caryocar glabrum subsp. album Prance

  • Authority

    Prance, Ghillean T. & Frietas Da Silva, Marlene. 1973. Caryocaraceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 12: 1-75. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Caryocaraceae

  • Scientific Name

    Caryocar glabrum subsp. album Prance

  • Type

    TYPE. Maguire & Fanshawe 32326, Guyana, Upper Mazaruni River, Kamarang Station, fl (holotype, NY; isotype, INPA).

  • Description

    Latin Diagnosis - Ab subsp glabrum differt costis secundariis foliorum in axillis barbatis; rachi inflorescentiae 6.0-7.0 cm longo; filamentis albis.

    Description - Tree to 50.0 m tall, the young branches glabrous or sparsely puberulous-glabrescent. Leaves trifoliolate; petioles 3.0-10.0 cm long, glabrous or sparsely puberulous-glabrescent, terete; leaflets shortly petiolulate, the terminal petiole 3.0-10.0 mm long, the lateral petiolules equal or slightly shorter than the terminal one, the petiolules sparsely puberulous, glabrescent, usually shallowly canaliculate; the laminas elliptic, oblong-elliptic or ovate-elliptic, slightly asymmetrical, acuminate at apex, the acumen 5.0-10.0 mm long, rounded to subcuneate and unequal at base, entire to slightly crenate at margins, glabrous above, glabrous beneath or with few hairs on midrib and an hirsute mass at junction of midrib with primary veins; the terminal lamina 7.5-15.0(-18.0) cm long, 3.5-7.0(-9.0) cm broad, the lateral laminas about equal to the terminal one; primary veins 8-10 pairs, more or less plane above, prominent beneath; venation plane to prominulous beneath; stipels minute, caducous, or rarely larger and persistent. Peduncles 2.0-8.5 cm long, glabrous or sparsely puberulous-glabrescent, terete, lenticellate. Inflorescences of clustered racemes, 10-30 flowered, the rachis 1.5-6.5 cm long, glabrous or sparsely puberulous, lenticellate; flowering pedicels 1.0-2.6 cm long, glabrous or sparsely puberulous, ebracteolate. Calyx broadly cupuliform, 7.0-12.0 mm long, glabrescent on exterior, the lobes 5, rounded, the margins shortly ciliolate. Corolla 1.7-2.5 cm long, the lobes 5, slightly unequal, oblong, yellow, sometimes tinted orange. Stamens numerous, ca 280, the filaments shortly united at base into a caducous unit, but not into groups, the outer ones 3.0-6.0 cm long, red to bright purple, rarely yellow or white, the apical portion tuberculate, the inner filaments much shorter, 1.0-1.5 cm long, tuberculate entire length, the anthers small. Ovary glabose, 4 locular, glabrous on exterior. Styles 4, 4.0-5.0 cm long, glabrous, filamentous. Fruit ellipsoid-globose, 1-or 2-locular, 5.0-6.0 cm long, 5.0-8.0 cm broad; exocarp glabrous, crustaceous; pericarp thick, fleshy, remaining attached to mesocarp; mesocarp fleshy, enveloping endocarp spines but detaching from them easily; endocarp of numerous fine spines 5.0-15.0 mm long and a hard woody interior ca 2.0 mm thick, glabrous within. Germination hypogeal.

  • Distribution

    Known only from the type collected in flower in October. This subspecies is quite distinct from subsp glabrum and subsp parviflorum in the elongate inflorescence rachis, it also differs from subsp parviflorum in the barbate axils of the primary leaf nerves.

    Guyana South America|