Albizia polycephala

Title

Albizia polycephala

Authors

Rupert C. Barneby

Scientific Name

Albizia polycephala (Benth.) Killip

Description

1.Albizia polycephala (Bentham) Killip ex Record, Trop. Woods 63: 6. 1940. Pithecolobium polycephalum Bentham, London J. Bot. 3: 219, syn. Velloziano dubio excluso. 1844 - "Tropical Brazil, Sello, Pohl; near Rio de Janeiro, Miers, near Ilheos, Blanchet, n. 1848." — Lectoholotypus, Pohl d. 1420, K(herb. bentham.)! = NY Neg. 2022; isotypi, F!, K(herb. hooker.)!, NY!, US!; paratypi, Sello 219, Miers, Blanchet 1848, all K(herb. bentham.)!. — Feuilleea terminalis O. Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 1: 187. 1891. Samanea polycephala (Bentham) Pittier, Arb. Arbust. Venez. 55, in clave, basionymo imperfecte citato. 1925.

Amply microphyllidious trees 4-10 m with smoothish mottled trunk potentially 5 (but usually 1-3) dm dbh, sometimes flowering precociously as a shrub 2 m, the young stems and all lf- and inflorescence-axes densely tomentellous and sometimes also pilosulous with incumbent or straighter spreading, golden- brown or sordidly yellowish hairs to 0.15-0.8 mm, the lvs bicolored, on upper face dark green (brunnescent when dry) sublustrous and either glabrous or thinly minutely puberulent, beneath paler dull (usually tan or orange when dry) and pilosulous either thinly overall or only along principal nerves, the inflorescence a pyramidal, efoliate or only proximally few-foliate panicle of small whitish capitula at least equaling and more often overtopping the distal lvs. Stipules narrowly triangular or linear-lanceolate 0.8-1.8 mm, caducous, the externally nerveless blade puberulent like adjacent stem. Lf-formula vi-xi (—xii)/l 6—22; lf-stks of longer lvs (8-)10-19(-24) cm, the petiole 2-4(-5) cm, at middle 1-1.8 mm diam, the longer interpinnal segments 9-19 mm, the ventral groove continuous between pinna-pairs; a nectary well below midpetiole round or vertically elongate 0.8-4 mm diam, either shallow-cupular or almost plane, in profile not over 0.4 mm tall, sometimes immersed in petiolar groove or even obsolete, a much smaller nectary at tip of most pinnae; pinnae a little decrescent proximally, the rachis of longer ones 6-9(-10.5) cm, the longer interfoliolar segments 2-4(-4.7) mm; lft-pulvinules 0.1-0.3 x 0.3-0.6 mm, the lfts sessile against the rachis; lfts gently decrescent toward each end of rachis, the first pair often reduced to paraphyllidia or its anterior member lacking, the blades of the rest oblong from obliquely truncate base, deltately subacute, the larger ones (4.5-)5-14 x (1.9-)2.1-4(-4.3) mm, 2.2-3.1 times as long as wide, the margin of all strongly revolute; venation of 3-4(-5) nerves from pulvinule, the nearly straight midrib a little forwardly displaced and giving rise on each side to 2-4 slender secondary nerves, the inner of 2(-3) posterior primary nerves incurved-ascending to anastomosis a little beyond midblade, the outer posterior nerve and sometimes a faint anterior one very short and weak, the whole venation immersed on upper face. Primary axis of inflorescence ±(1-) 1.5-3 dm; peduncles 3—8(—10) per node of inflorescence, biseriate upward from node, the longest of each fascicle 10-22 mm, the rest progressively shorter proximally; capitula 10-22-fld, without filaments 6-7.5 (-8) mm diam, the receptacle including short terminal pedestal 1.5-2.5 mm; bracts oblong-obovate or spatulate 0.6-1 mm, tardily deciduous; fls dimorphic, the perianth of all 5-merous and externally yellowish-silky-strigulose overall; PERIPHERAL FLS: calyx turbinate-campanulate (1—)1.2—1.8 mm, either sessile or contracted at base into a pedicel 0.1-0.5 mm, the depressed-deltate teeth 0.1-0.4 mm; corolla 2.8-3.5 mm, the erect ovate lobes 0.7-1.4 x 0.5-1 mm; androecium 9-14-merous 11-14.5 mm, the stemonozone ±0.45 mm, the tube 1—2.2(—2.5) mm; ovary at anthesis glabrous, conical at apex, following fertilization becoming densely yellowish tomentulose; style a little longer than longer stamens, slightly dilated at the stigma; TERMINAL FL: sessile, the calyx 2.1-2.9 x 1.2-2 mm, the corolla 4-5.5 mm; androecium 16-25-merous, the stemonozone 1-1.4 mm, the dilated tube 5-7 mm, shortly but evidently exserted. Pods solitary, sessile or cuneately contracted at base into a pseudostipe to 4 mm, the broad-linear, straight or nearly straight, piano-compressed body (8—)9—15 x (1.5-)1.7-2.7(-3.2) cm, rounded at apex but minutely apiculate, 8-12-seeded, the papery, early glabrate, sordid-olivaceous or castaneous, transversely venulose valves becoming low-bullate over each seed, framed by almost straight, simple sutures 1.2-1.4 mm wide, the pallid endocarp not adherent between seeds; dehiscence tardy, through both sutures, inert; funicles ribbonlike, sigmoid at apex; seeds (few seen) at middle of valves, obliquely ascending, disciform, in broad view 5.5-9.5 mm diam, ±1.5 mm thick, the translucent, brownish or grayish testa produced as a peripheral wing 0.2-0.4 mm wide, adherent to the embryo, which does not fill the testa-cavity, the pleurogram small, U-shaped.