Couratari gloriosa Sandwith
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Description
Author: Ghillean T. Prance & Scott A. Mori
Type: Guyana. Porterima, Essequibo River, 9 Mar 1952 (fl), Persaud 143 (Forest Dept. British Guiana 6900) (holotype, K; Isotypes, G, IAN, NY, P, S, U, US).
Description: Trees, to 30 m tall, the trunk not buttressed or with low buttresses, the young branches puberulous-tomentellous, soon becoming glabrous. Leaves flush with or just after anthesis however the entire tree may not be deciduous at the same time; petioles 15-20 mm long, stellate-tomentellous, slightly canaliculate, not winged; blades 14-27 x 7.5-16 cm, elliptic or obovate-elliptic, chartaceous to coriaceous, sparsely stellate pubescent mainly on venation adaxially, stellate pubescent on surface and venation abaxially, the base subcordate or subcuneate, the margins entire, the apex retuse, rounded or bluntly cuspidate-acuminate; venation with midrib slightly impressed adaxially, prominent abaxially, the secondary veins in 19-28 pairs, plane or impressed adaxially, extremely prominent abaxially, often appearing bullate. Inflorescences terminal or axillary, racemes, the rachis to 20 cm long, densely dark-brown to black tomentose; pedicels 2.5-4.5 cm long, densely blackish puberulous. Flowers with calyx lobes triangular-ovate, 6-9 mm long, blackish tomentellous on both surfaces, the margins ciliate; petals oblong to oblong-spathulate, ca. 3.5 cm long, dark-brown tomentellous on abaxially, glabrous adaxiall, pink to purple; androecium glabrous, ca. 4 cm long, the staminal ring ca. 17 mm in diam., the exterior of hood without sterile appendages, the stamens 50-65, inserted around staminal ring in several rows. Fruits cylindrical-campanulate, triangular or quadrangular in cross section, 3-3.8 cm broad, broadest at middle x 8-9 cm long, with long, thin stipe 5-8 cm long, smooth and not crustaceous on exterior, the pericarp ca. 2 mm thick, hard and woody, the calycine ring a continuous rim 3 mm wide, inserted ca. 1 cm below apex, with little trace of calyx-lobe scars, the operculum radially grooved, centrally concave, the columella markedly triangular, longitudinally striate. Seeds oblong-Ianceolate, 5-5.5 x 1.5-2 cm. Seedlings with cotyledons opposite, ovate, 4.5-5.5 x 3-4 cm, the first leaves alternate, elliptic.
Common names: Guyana: wadara (name applied to various species of Couratari. Surinam: grootst bladige ingipipa.
Distribution: This species is known only from the lower Mazaruni-Essequibo-Demerara river area in Guyana, Surinam, and French Guiana. In Guyana, according to the protologue, this species is found along the Mazaruni, Essequibo, and Demerara Rivers below the falls. On the Essequibo River, grows in Mora forests from Bartica as least as far up as the first falls (Sandwith, 1955).
Ecology: A canopy tree collected from forest beside rivers and swamp forests in Guyana and French Guiana, and from upland forest in Surinam.
Phenology: This species flowers from Feb to Mar and fruits from Apr to May in Guyana (Sandwith, 1955).
Pollination: No observations recorded but most likely pollinated by bees.
Dispersal: Like all species of Couratari, C. gloriosa possesses winged seeds which are dispersed by the wind.
Predation: No observations recorded.
Field characters: Couratari gloriosa is characterized by its preference moist soils, at least in Guyana and French Guiana; large bullate leaves with prominent venation abaxially; very dark, almost black, hypanthium and calyx; entirely pink to purple petals and androecium; and relatively short fruits.
Taxonomic notes: Couratari gloriosa is close to C. guianensis but differs in the larger flowers with many more stamens; the longer, thicker pedicels; the dark pubescence of the inflorescence and flowers; the scattered indumentum of stellate hairs on the leaves; the broader leaves with more impressed adaxial venation; and the smaller fruit. In addition, it has much lower and broader buttresses and usually grows in riverine or swamp forests whereas C. guianensis grows in forest on non-flooded ground. Couratari calycina is placed in Couratari sect. Couratari by Prance in Mori and Prance (1990).
Conservation: IUCN Red List: Not on list.
Uses: None recorded.
Etymology: The species epithet refers to the beauty of this species.
Source: This description is based on Prance, G. T. 1990. Couratari. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 21(II): 142-143, figs. 49b, 52. 1990 which has been updated by S. A. Mori.
Acknowledgements: We are grateful to J. Lindeman and D. Black for allowing us to use their images to illustrate the characters of this species.
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Floras and Monographs
Couratari gloriosa Sandwith: [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.
