Lecythis retusa Spruce ex O.Berg

  • 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 retusa Spruce ex O.Berg

  • Type

    Type. Brazil. Amazonas: Vicinity of Barra (Manaus), prov. Rio Negro, Dec-Mar 1850-1851 (fl), Spruce 1166 (lectotype, BM, photo NY, here designated; isolectotypes, K, LE, n.v., M, NY).

  • Synonyms

    Chytroma retusa (Spruce ex O.Berg) Miers, Eschweilera retusa (Spruce ex O.Berg) Nied., Holopyxidium retusum (Spruce ex O.Berg) Ducke

  • Description

    Description - Trees to 30 m tall. Twigs rimose, glabrous, with vertically oriented lenticels. Bark grayish-brown, with shallow vertical fissures. Leaf blades elliptic to oblong, infrequently narrowly obovate, 10-22 x 6-11 cm, glabrous above, with white papillae below, coriaceous, with 14-18 pairs of lateral veins; apex short acuminate; base obtuse; margins entire; petiole 15-20 mm long, minutely puberulous. Inflorescences racemose, terminal, simple or once-branched, the branches paniculately arranged, the principal rachises 5-10 cm long, with 10-30 flowers, puberulous; pedicels jointed, 1-2 mm long below articulation, the bract and bracteoles caducous. Flowers ca. 6 cm diam.; calyx with six very widely ovate, carinate, green lobes, 5-9 x 5-8 mm, without ducts; petals six, subequal, often asymmetrical, widely oblong, widely elliptic, or widely obovate, 20-30 x 15-20 mm, pale yellow or cream; hood of androecium ca. 16 x 20 mm, yellow, curved inwards, the curved portion thick, the appendages fused, free only at apices, antherless; staminal ring with ca. 190 stamens, the filaments 4-5 mm long, dilated at apex, often geniculate towards apex, the anthers 0.5 mm long; hypanthium puberulous, cuneate at base; ovary (3-)4-locular, with seven ovules in each locule, these basally attached, the summit truncate, the style 4 mm long. Fruits examined immature, depressed globose, the supracalycine zone nearly vertical; operculum umbonate. Seeds five in single immature fruit examined, the longitudinal veins salient; aril short, lateral, covering micropylar half of seed.

  • Discussion

    Lecythis retusa has affinities with L. alutacea from which it differs in its minutely papillate abaxial leaf surface and by the absence of mucilage-bearing ducts in its sepals and ovary.

  • Common Names

    Castanha jarana, jarana, jarana-da-folha-grande

  • Distribution

    A canopy tree of non-flooded forests known only from central Brazilian Amazonia. It flowers from Nov to Feb.

    Brazil South America| Amazonas Brazil South America|