Lecythis alutacea (A.C.Sm.) S.A.Mori

  • Authority

    Prance, Ghillean T. & Mori, S. A. 1979. Lecythidaceae - Part I. The actinomorphic-flowered New World Lecythidaceae (Asteranthos, Gustavia, Grias, Allantoma & Cariniana). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 21: 1-270. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Lecythidaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Lecythis alutacea (A.C.Sm.) S.A.Mori

  • Type

    Type. Guyana. Essequibo River, nr. mouth of Onoro Creek, ca. 1°35'N, 17 Dec 1937 (fl), Smith 2690 (lectotype, NY, here designated; isolectotypes, F, G, K, MO, P, S, U).

  • Synonyms

    Eschweilera alutacea A.C.Sm., Eschweilera persaudii R.Knuth, Lecythis karuaiensis Steyerm.

  • Description

    Description - Trees, to 25 m tall. Bark reddish-brown, with longitudinal fissures, the outer bark 4 mm thick. Twigs glabrous, rimose, 4-6 mm thick below lowermost leaf. Leaf blades elliptic or narrowly ovate, 18-26 x 8-11.5 cm, glabrous, coriaceous, with 16-18 pairs of lateral veins; apex short acuminate to acuminate; base rounded; margins entire to crenulate; petiole 5-13 mm long, glabrous, canaliculate. Inflorescences terminal or axillary, of simple spikes or once-branched paniculate arrangements of spikes, the principal rachis 4-18 cm long, glabrous, angled, rimose, zigzagged, with 5-20 non-congested flowers; pedicels lacking. Flowers ca. 2-3 cm diam.; calyx with six very widely ovate, green lobes, 9-14 x 8-12 mm, strongly imbricate, with longitudinally oriented mucilage-bearing ducts; petals six, widely obovate, 23-31 x 15-20 mm, white or yellow flushed with pink; hood of androecium with appendages swept inwards, pale yellow, the appendages antherless or with vestigial anthers; staminal ring with ca. 237-300 stamens, the filaments 3-4.5 mm long, white, their bases surrounded by a flap of tissue ca. 1 mm high, the anthers 0.8 mm long, yellow; hypanthium glabrous, truncate at base; ovary 4-locular, with 826 ovules, these attached on lower part of septum, with conspicuous mucilage filled ducts as seen in cross section, the summit truncate, the style bent toward anterior end of flower, 5-6.5 mm long. Fruits incompletely known, turbinate, the calycine ring inserted near apex, the exocarp lenticellate. Seeds unknown.

  • Discussion

    The bark is used by Indians in Venezuela to make rope and head bands for carrying loads (Steyermark 60767).

    Lecythis alutacea, because of its 4-locular ovary with a truncate summit and lack of a complete androecial coil, belongs in Lecythis not Eschweilera. It has the same androecial hood as the group of species related to L. lurida.

    The mucilaginous ducts in the ovary sometimes become so well developed that they erupt and give the external ovarian surface a pustulate appearance (e.g., Pena 396).

    Lecythis alutacea is morphologically similar to Eschweilera potaroensis. However, E. pota-roensis has the fully developed androecial coil of Eschweilera and lacks mucilaginous ducts in the ovary. Moreover, the androecial hood of E. potaroensis is similar to those of Eschweilera congestiflora and E. simiorum.

  • Common Names

    comé-yek, kakarali, small monkey-pot

  • Distribution

    Lecythis alutacea is a riverine species found in eastern Venezuela, Guyana, Surinam, and northern Pará, Brazil. It flowers from May to Dec.

    Guyana South America| Suriname South America| Brazil South America| Pará Brazil South America|