Corythophora amapaensis Pires ex S.A.Mori & Prance
-
Family
Lecythidaceae (Magnoliophyta)
-
Scientific Name
Corythophora amapaensis Pires ex S.A.Mori & Prance
-
Primary Citation
Brittonia 33: 365. 1981
-
Type Specimens
Specimen 1: Isotype -- J. M. Pires 48579
-
Description
Author: Scott A. Mori and Ghillean T. Prance
Type: Type. French Guiana. Oiapoque River, along Crique Alikene, about 0-50 km from confluence with Camopi River, ca. 3°10-20'N, 52°28-32'W, 30 Sep 1960 (fl, fr), Pires 48579 (holotype, IAN, photo NY; isotypes, IAN, NY).
Description: Canopy trees, to 30 m, unbuttressed. Bark brown, nearly smooth, with shallow vertical cracks. Twigs gray or brown, 4-6 mm diam., with suborbicular lenticels, these with slight horizontal orientation. Leaves not deciduous before flowering; petioles 8-20 mm long, glabrous; blades elliptic to oblong, 14-26 x 5-10.5 cm, glabrous, chartaceous, the base obtuse to rounded, the margins crenulatethe, the apex acuminate; secondary veins in 17-23 pairs. Inflorescences terminal or in axils of uppermost leaves, paniculate arrangement of racemes, with 2 or 3 orders of branching, often large and spreading, to 50 x 40 cm, all rachises ferrugineous, with horizontally oriented squamulae; pedicel jointed, the lower part persisting as knob 2-5 mm long after flowers fall. Flowers 3.5-4 cm diam.; calyx of 6 broadly ovate lobes, imbricate at bases, rounded at apices, 3-4 x 3-4 mm; petals 6, broadly obovate, 17-20 x 13-19 mm, pinkish-red to dark red or purple; androecium: staminal ring with 194-230 stamens, the filaments 1.8-2.5 mm long, the anthers 0.4 mm long, the innermost yellow, the remainder white; hood of flat, dorsiventrally expanded, 16-17 x 12-15 mm, the appendages nearly entirely fused, antherless; hypanthium ferrugineous, rough, with horizontally oriented squamulae, contrasting with dark smooth calyx lobes; ovary 2-locular, each locule with 13-26 ovules attached at base of septum or on floor of locule, the summit umbonate, the style not differentiated from summit of ovary. Fruits campanulate, 6-15 x 6-10 cm, with indistinct calyx lobes, the pericarp 13-27 mm thick. Seeds elongate, 30 x 11 mm; aril base, white.
Common names: Brazil: matamatá gameleira.
Distribution: Endemic to French Guiana and Amapá, Brazil.
Ecology: A medium to large-sized tree of non-flooded forests
Phenology: Corythophora amapaensis flowers from Jul to Dec.
Pollination: In a study by Mori and Boeke (1987), the flowers of C. amapaensiswere visited on numerous occasions by females of Euglossa mixta. Less frequent visitors to C. amapaensis were a species of Epicharis, Eufriesea purpurata and Xylocopa viridis. All the species entered the flowers head first, prying up the androecial hood with their heads. They entered the flowers with their ventral surfaces oriented toward the androecial hood, which placed their heads and backs in contact with the anthers of the staminal ring. When bees entered flowers close to the observer, a high-pitched sound could be heard, resulting from vibrations which caused the pollen to "rain" onto the insects' bodies. The bees remained inside the flowers for 3 to 5 seconds. When the bees emerged from the flowers, the pattern of pollen deposition on their bodies was striking. The head was covered with yellow (fodder) pollen, while the dorsal surface was coated with white (fertile) pollen. After the bees backed out of the flower, they would hover for several seconds. While hovering, the bees scraped the pollen from their heads and passed their legs over their fully extended tongues. The pollen was packed into the corbiculae, which became bright yellow. The white (fertile) pollen remained on the insect's dorsal thorax where it could effect pollination upon entry into the next flower. The extension ofthe tongue presumably provides a secretion ofregurgitated nectar which aids in sticking the pollen to the corbiculae. The same flower was entered from one to five times, and all bees were seen to visit numerous flowers within the same tree. The peak time of activity was between 0900 and 1200, with very few visits in the afternoon. The flowers, which remain open for a portion of a single day, drop their petals and androecia in the late afternoon. Other large bee visitors to C. amapaensis included Xylocopa viridis which carried yellow and white pollen in a pattern similar to that described above, and a species of Epicharis which carried little pollen. Several species of Trigona, Ceratina, and Paratetrapedia were commonly seen hovering around the flowers. However, these small bees, one of which is an effective pollinator of C. rimosa, also common in the area, were unable to enter the larger, more tightly closed flowers of C. amapaensis. The Trigona sp., Ceratina sp, I, and Paratetrapedia sp. 4 would occasionally manage to squeeze their heads between the hood and the staminal ring, but thus trapped, could not enter the flowers any further and were forced to retreat. Only infrequently would one of the more robust species of Trigona slip all of the way into a flower.
Dispersal: No observations recorded but the basal aril may attract bats as a food source and this may lead to dispersal of seeds by the bats.
Predation: No observations recorded.
Field characters: A canopy tree with a cylindric trunk; bark which is nearly smooth; relatively large leaves; calyx-lobes that are distinct from the hypanthium in color and texture; and more or less campanulate fruits.
Taxonomic notes: This species is morphologically similar to C. labriculata, with which it shares a ferrugineous hypanthium which contrasts sharply with the smooth, dark calyx lobes. For differences between the two species see discussion of C. labriculata. The anthers of the staminal ring appear to be of two different types. Several rows of anthers on the ligular side ofthe staminal ring are yellow in contrast to the white ones of the remainder of the ring.
Conservation: IUCN Red List: Not on list (Feb, 2014).
Uses: None recorded.
Etymology: The species epithet refers to the Brazilian state of Amapá where is was first discovered by J. Murça Pires.
Source: This species page is based on Mori & Prance, 1990.
Acknowledgements: We are grateful to B. Angell, C. Gracie, and C.-H. Tsou for allowing us to use their images to illustrate the characters of this species.
-
Floras and Monographs
Corythophora amapaensis Pires ex S.A.Mori & Prance: [Article] 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.
-
Narratives
SEM of pollen grains of Corythophora amapaensis. Photo by D. Black.
Inflorescence and flower morphology and anatomy of Corythophora amapaensis.
