Couratari gloriosa Sandwith
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Authority
Mori, S. A. & Prance, Ghillean T. 1990. Lecythidaceae - Part II: The zygomorphic-flowered New World genera (Couroupita, Corythophora, Bertholletia, Couratari, Eschweilera, & Lecythis). With a study of secondary xylem of Neotropical Lecythidaceae by Carl de Zeeuw. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 21: 1-376. (Published by NYBG Press)
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Family
Lecythidaceae
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Scientific Name
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Type
Type. Guyana. Porterima, Essequibo River, 9 Mar 1952 (fl), Persaud 143 {Forest Dept. British Guiana 6900) (holotype, K; Isotypes, G, IAN, NY, P, S, U, US).
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Description
Description - Trees, to 30 m tall, the trunk not buttressed or with low buttresses, the young branches puberulous-tomentellous, soon becoming glabrous. Leaf blades thickly coriaceous, 14-27 x 7.5-16 cm, elliptic or obovate-elliptic, sparsely stellate pubescent mainly on venation above, stellate pubescent on surface and venation beneath; midrib slightly impressed above, prominent beneath; secondary veins 19-28 pairs, plane or impressed above, extremely prominent beneath; apex retuse, rounded or bluntly cuspidate-acuminate; base subcordate or subcuneate; margins entire; petiole 1.5-2 cm long, stellate-tomentellous, slightly canaliculate, not winged. Inflorescences of terminal and axillary racemes ca. 20 cm long, the rachis densely dark-brown to black tomentose; pedicels 2.5-4.5 cm long, densely blackish puberulous. Flowers with hypanthium ca. 5 mm long; calyx lobes triangular-ovate, 6-9 mm long, blackish tomentellous on both surfaces, the margins ciliate; petals oblong to oblong-spathulate, ca. 3.5 cm long, dark-brown tomentellous on exterior, glabrous within, purple; androecium glabrous, ca. 4 cm long, the staminal ring ca. 17 mm in diam., the exterior of hood without sterile appendages, the stamens 50-65, inserted around staminal ring in several rows. Fruits cylindrical-campanulate, triangular or quadrangular in cross section, 3-3.8 cm broad, broadest at middle, 89 cm long, with long, thin stipe 5-8 cm long, smooth and not crustaceous on exterior, the pericarp ca. 2 mm thick, hard and woody, the calycine ring a continuous rim 3 mm wide, inserted 1 cm below apex, with no trace of calyx lobe scars; operculum radially grooved, centrally concave, the columella markedly triangular, longitudinally striate. Seeds oblong-lanceolate, 5-5.5 x 1.5-2 cm. Seedling with cotyledons opposite, ovate, 4.5-5.5 x 3-4 cm, the first leaves alternate, elliptic.
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Discussion
Couratari gloriosa is close to C. guianensis but differs in the larger flowers with many more stamens; the longer, thicker pedicels; the dark pubescence of the inflorescence and flowers; the scattered indumentum of stellate hairs on the leaves; the broader leaves with more impressed adaxial venation; and the smaller fruit. In addition, it has much lower and broader buttresses and usually grows in riverine or swamp forests whereas C. guianensis grows in forest on non-flooded ground.
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Common Names
wadara, grootst bladige ingipipa
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Distribution
Collected from forest beside rivers and swamp forests in Guyana and French Guiana, and upland forest in Surinam. Known only from the lower Mazaruni-Essequibo-Demerara river area in Guyana, Surinam, and French Guiana. Collected in flower from Feb to Mar.
Guyana South America| Suriname South America| French Guiana South America|