Swartzia recurva Poepp.

Description

Type: Brazil, [Amazonas]: Ega [Tefé], Brasiliae septentrionalis, Nov 1831 (fl), E. F. Poeppig D.2771 (Holotype: W-0027007; Isotypes: BM, F, G, GOET, KIEL, LE, NY, P, W).

Description: Tree to 30 m, but often shrubby in open habitats and occasionally reproductive when only 2 m tall; trunk circular to sulcate, often buttressed, occasionally to ca. 1.5 m in diameter, the bark brown, fissured-reticulate, craking in grid-like pattern; exudate sacant or absent, clear or reddish; pubescence of appressed, fairly straight, golden-tan, simple and malphigian hairs, these mostly less than 0.3 mm long, but to ca. 1 mm long on the adaxial surface of the calyx; leaf-bearing branchlets 1–4.5 mm thick at middle of internodes, glabrous to moderately strigulose. Leaves imparipinnate with 1–2 (–3) pairs of opposite lateral leaflets, rarely unifoliolate, sometimes with the rachis and terminal leaflet abortive; stipules 1.5–30 (–37) x 0.6–14.5 (–26) mm, foliaceous, laceolate or oblanceolate to broadly elliptic or ovate, sometimes more or less orbicular, occasionally triangular, often breifly psuedo-petiolate at base and shortly apiculate at apex, entirley glabrous or sparsely strigulose, reticulate-venulose, parallel veined, caducous; petiole 0.5–3.5 cm, terete, naked or marginate, glabrous to sparsely strigulose, the pulvinus 3–10 (–13) mm long; rachis (0.4–) 1–12 (–19.5) cm long, subterete, usually longitudinally bicarinate or marginate adaxially, occasionally winged, glabrous to sparsely strigulose, the wings when present to 5 (–9) mm wide measured across the rachis, thickly chartaceous, venulose, obtriangular to oblong-clavate, glabrous; stipels rarely to ca. 0.5 mm long, usually absent or vestigal; petioles 2–8.5 (–9.5) mm long, glabrous to sparsely strigulose; leaflet blades 1.8–3.5 x as long as wide, 4–20 x 1.8–9 cm, stiffly coriaceous; mostly elliptic, but ranging from ovate to obovate, glabrous or nearly so, lustrous adaxially, the base acute or obtuse, the apex acute or acuminate, the acumen usually rounded, sometimes aborted and the apex obtuse or rounded, ca. 3–15 mm long, the venation rainsed reticulate to immersed on both surfaces, the midrib raised-cariniform on both surfaces, the secodary veins ca. 6–15, initially ascending at ca. 20–40°. Inflorescences simple, or more commonly, loosely branched compound racemes with 1 (–2) orders of branching and 1–several lateral axes, these silmilar to the primary axis, but typically somewhat shorter, borne from the axils of current leaves or from slightly older nodes on recently defoliated branches, occasionally terminal, solitary or 2–3-fascicled, ca. 10–80-flowered; primary axis 4–22.5 cm long, 1.4–3.6 mm thick near base,, longitudinally ridged, somewhat dilated at nodes, densely fulvo-strigulose; bracts (2.7–) 3.5–14.5 x (0.8–) 1.5–10 mm, elliptic-lanceolate to orbicular, acuminate at apex, usually thinly to densely strigulose on both surfaces, particularly toward base, caducous; pedicels 5.3–14.1 mm long, (0.8–) 1.3–2.5 mm thick at middle, progressively dilated from base to point of insertion of bracteoles, somewhat narrower above bracteoles, dorso-ventrally flattened, densely fulvo-strigulose; bracteoles (1.6–) 2–8.9 x 0.5–3.3 mm, opposite to strongly subopposite, inserted from middle to apex of pedicel, ovate-lanceolate to elliptic or spatulate-elliptic, usually sparsely to densely strigulose on both surfaces, particularly toward base, rarely nearly glabrous, caducous; flower buds 5.3–9.2 x 4.1–7.4 mm, ellipsoid to globose or somewhat ovoid, weakly umbonate, thinly to densely golden-strigulose. Calyx thinly to fairly densely pilose-sericeous adaxially, sparsely to densely strigulose abaxially; segments 3–5 (–6) in number, 2.7–7.4 mm wide, subequal, more or less elliptic, strongly recurved. Petal yellow, glabrous; claw 3.6–7.6 mm; blade ovate, elliptic, orbicular or oblate, the base obtuse, truncate or cordate, 7.1–14.3 x 6.7–15.1 mm. Androecium glabrous or essentially so, but often with the dehisced hairs of the calyx adherent, more or less zygomorphic, the stamens primarily of two sizes, but often with some intergradation; larger stamens (4–) 6–10 (–12), abaxial, the filaments 9.9–18.7 x 0.3–1 mm, yellow, dorso-ventrrally compressed, tapering apically, the anthers 1–2 x 0.8–1.5 mm, elliptic or oblong-elliptic to somewhat obovate or ovate in outline, sometimes more or less orbicular, indented between the thecae the connective not prolonged; smaller stamens 71–192, the filaments (2.1–) 3–14.2 x 0.1–0.2 mm, yellow the anthers 0.6–1.3 x 0.5–1.1 mm, elliptic, oblong, ovate, obovate or oblate in outline, indented between the thecae. Gynoecium monopistillate, glabrous or essentially so, but often with the dehisced trichomes of the calyx adherent, occiasionally with a few trhichomes on the stipe and/or ovary sutures; stipe (6.7–) 8.5–16.8 mm long, 0.4–0.8 mm thick at middle, oval in cross section, somewhat dilated basally and apically; ovary 4.8–7.8 x 1.7–3.6 mm; oblong-lunate to D-shaped in outline, laterally compressed, the locule glabrous; ovules 4–11; style 0.8–2.8 mm long, 0.4–0.7 mm thick at middle, obliquely terminal, arcuate, more or less terete; stigma truncate to punctiform. Fruits green, glabrous; stipe 1.1–2 cm long, 1.4–3.5 (–4.2) mm thick at middle, terete; body 3–8 x 2.5–6.2 cm, broadly elliptic or somewhat obovate to orbicular or oblate in outline, usually inequilaterally so, obtuse to rounded at base, rounded and then shortly acuminate or apiculate at apex, strongly compressed laterally, when multiseeded the chamber unconstricted between seeds. Seeds 1–2 (–3) per fruit, when solitary ca. 2.8–5.3 x 1.8–3.8 cm, maturing brown, broadly elliptic-reniform in outline, strongly compressed laterally, half-sized and irregularly shaped in bi-seeded fruits, and then with one seed strongly compressed against the other; aril ca. 1.5–3.5 x 1–3 cm, yellowish-cream, convex-ellipitic, positioned centrally on hilar side of seed, covering about a quarter of seed surface.

Common names: Muiragibóia (Portuguese); geographical location: Amazonas, Brazil; source: e.g., Rodrigues 524, Krukoff 8011. Muiragibóia amarella (Portuguese); geographical location: Amazonas, Brazil; source: e.g., Rodrigues 8975, Aluísio 96. Bolacheira; geographical location: Amazonas, Brazil; source: Lopes et al. 97. Castanea brava (Portuguese); geographical location: Amazonas, Brazil; source: Prance et al. 3349. Copaibarana (Portuguese); geographical location: Amazonas, Brazil; source: Marinho 574. Urucurana (language?); geographical location: Amazonas, Brazil; source: Benat 18. Fava (Portuguese); geographical location: Mato Grosso, Brazil; source: Prance et al. 18296. Favana (Portuguese); geographical location: Mato Grosso; source: Berg et al. P18643. Sucupira preta da várzea (Portuguese); geographical location: Mato Grosso; source: Gomes & Miranda 460. Pirauichy (Portuguese): geographical location: Roraima; souce: Capucho 486.

Geographic distribution: Swartzia recurva is widely distributed in the Brazilian Amazon, on both sides of the Amazon River, where it occurs at less than 500 m elevation. North of the Amazon, it ranges from the drainage of the Trombetas River in Pará to the upper Negro River in Amazonas, as far westward as the drainage of its tributary, the Curucuari River. The northernmost collections come from the middle to upper basin of the Blanco River in Roraima, apparently as far north as Boa Vista. South of the Amazon River, it occurs from the near the mouth of the Amazon in Pará, with the easternmost collections coming from the vicinity of Melgaço, westward in Amazonas to Tefé on the Solimões River and Lábrea on the upper Purus River. The southern limits of the distribution encompass tributary systems of the upper Madeira, Tapajós and Xingu Rivers in northern Rondônia, northern Mato Grosso and south-eastern Pará, including the Serra do Cachimbo.

Ecology: Swartzia recurva occurs in a variety of Amazonian habitats, including well-drained terra firme forest on clay or sandy soils, savannas and campinas on white sand, and seasonally inundated igapó and varzea forest along rivers, particularly in the transitional zone to higher land. It may even occur in open rocky country. Label notes on one collection (Prance et al. P24763) report that the flowers are visited by large “bumble bees.”

Phenology: Flowering has been observed in every month, except March and April, however it appears to be strongly concentrated from August to December, with the peak occurring in October. Mature or nearly mature fruits have been collected in all months except September. But the available data suggest that fruit maturation may be bimodal with one peak from November to January, and another in April.

Taxonomic notes: The type of section Recurvae, S. recurva belongs to a closely knit subclade of the section also containing S. racemosa, S. canescens and S. oblanceolata (Torke & Schaal, 2008). Several other species yet to be sampled in phylogenetic studies —S. caudata, S. discocarpa, S. ingens, S. krukovii, S. prancei and S. rondoniensis— are undoubtedly also very closely related. These species are united in having malpighian trichomes, glabrous gyoecia, with the stipe typically longer than the ovary, and the style much shorter Among these and other species of section Recurvae, S. recurva is unique in having the adaxial (internal) surface of the calyx thinly to fairly densely strigose. The large, subcoriaceous stipules, two to three pairs of subcoriaceous leaflets, with the primary vein raised axadially, and discoid fruits are also useful in combination for recogonizing the species. Swartzia recurva displays considerable morphological variation across its broad geographical distribution. However, this variation is not strongly correlated with geography.

Uses: According to specimen label notes (Rodrigues et al. 1780; Chagas de Almeida s.n.), the wood is used for furniture and similar items.

Etymology: The epithet presumably refers to the calyx, which upon anthesis is strongly recurved at anthesis.

Conservation status: Swartzia recurva is widespread and often common. It is present in numerous protected areas. The species is not currently threatened.

Floras and Monographs

Swartzia recurva Poepp.: [Article] Cowan, Richard S. 1967. Swartzia (Leguminosae, Caesalpinioideae Swartzieae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 1: 3-228.

Map Distribution

View all records of Swartzia recurva Poepp.

Objects

Images

Field photograph of B. Torke 2044 (image/jpeg)

Field photograph of B. Torke 2044 (image/jpeg)

Field photograph of B. Torke 2044 (image/jpeg)

Field photograph of B. Torke 2044 (image/jpeg)

Field photograph of B. Torke 2044 (image/jpeg)

Field photograph of B. Torke 2044 (image/jpeg)