Trigonia villosa Aubl. var. villosa

  • Authority

    Lleras, Eduardo. 1978. Trigoniaceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 19: 1-73. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Trigoniaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Trigonia villosa Aubl. var. villosa

  • Type

    Type. Aublet sn, French Guiana,  Cayenne 1775, fl, fr (lectotype BM).

  • Description

    Description - Leaves with petioles 5.0-10.0 mm long. Fruit 4.5-7.5 cm long; exocarp usually reddish-brown; endocarp densely velutinous-tomentose pubescent.

  • Discussion

    This variety includes all of the material formerly known as Trigonia mollis and T. cepo, as well as the three varieties recognized by de Candolle.

    De Candolle’s varieties based on leaf characters are untenable, as it is possible to assign varietal epithets to portions of the same collection following his usage. Trigonia cepo has long been known to be a synonym for T. mollis. Although there is a very significant range disjunction between those elements formerly referred to as T. mollis (Rio de Janeiro), and T. villosa (the Guianas and northern Brazil), I find no taxonomically significant distinction.

    After careful evaluation of the material, I can find no justification for maintaining so many varieties within the species, or for splitting this taxon into several species, as it has been done in the past.

    I have designated the material deposited at the British Museum as the lectotype, as there is no collection of Trigonia villosa in Aublet’s herbarium, nor, to my knowledge, in the general collection of Paris. Two specimens, one from the Poiret Herbarium, and the other from the Moquin-Tandon Herbarium, are annotated in pencil as “Fragments d’Aublet.” although they match the lectotype fairly well, I hesitate to designate them as isotypes.

  • Objects

    Specimen - 371855, R. de Lemos Fróes 20368, Trigonia villosa Aubl. var. villosa, Trigoniaceae (168.0), Magnoliophyta; South America, Brazil, Pará

  • Distribution

    Known from coastal areas in Guyana, French Guiana, the states of Amapa and Para, Brazil, and as a significant range disjunction, from the vicinity of Rio de Janeiro.

    Guyana South America| French Guiana South America| Brazil South America| Amapá Brazil South America| Pará Brazil South America|