Vismia martiana Reichardt
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Authority
Ewan, Joseph A. 1962. Synopsis of the South American species of Vismia (Guttiferae). Contr. U. S. Natl. Herb. 35: 293-377. pls. 1-5.
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Family
Clusiaceae
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Scientific Name
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Type
Type: "Ad urbem Mariana," Prov. Minas Gerais, Brazil, Martius (cf. Martius, Observ. 890). The sheet in the Munich Herb, bears a number "576" and an annotation in Reichardt's hand (Photo FM 19549). It agrees well with the plate but lacks the flowers illustrated there.
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Description
Description - [No description provided.]
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Discussion
Vismia martiana has a small congested panicle overtopped by the uppermost leaves which are little reduced and are augmented by leaf-like bracts. The principal leaves are ovate, thick, dull above and felty-tomentose beneath, the punctate dots fainter than suggested by Martius's Plate 37, fig. 15, and the veinlets of the interspaces between the secondaries more obscure. From V. magnoliifolia this species differs in its rounded, not acute, leaf-bases, its shorter petioles, 8-12 mm. long rather than 15-20 mm. long, and less ferruginous-tomentose rachises of the panicles. The persistent stigmas of the fruits are conspicuous in both species, and in both the fruiting sepals are spreading. Reichardt contrasted the few-powered panicle of V. magnoliifolia with the many-flowered panicle of V. martiana, and the vittate sepals of the former with the evittate sepals of the latter. Neither of these characters, however, are very useful. Only the exceptional specimen of V. martiana (for example, Peckolt s. n.) shows a many-flowered panicle and Sello 1366 (Field Museum photo 9165), cited by Reichardt as V. magnoliifolia, displays as many flowers as average specimens of V. martiana. The vittate character of the sepals of V. magnoliifolia is hardly convincing and at least occasional specimens of V. martiana (for example, Peckolt s. n.) show dark raised lines on the inner face of the sepals. In short, the two species are indeed closely related and more study of a larger series of collections than I have seen may show that only a single species exists. Nothing is known to me of the ecology of the two Vismias in Brazil. Reichardt describes V. martiana as becoming a tree whereas V. magnoliifolia is a shrub, suggesting from other instances among Andean species that there may be habitat preferences.