Eschweilera tessmannii R.Knuth

  • Family

    Lecythidaceae (Magnoliophyta)

  • Scientific Name

    Eschweilera tessmannii R.Knuth

  • Primary Citation

    Pflanzenr. (Engler) IV, 219a: 115. 1939

  • Type Specimens

    Specimen 1: Lectotype -- G. Tessmann 4691

  • Description

    Author: Scott A. Mori and Xavier Cornejo

    Type: Peru. Loreto: Mouth of Rio Santiago, 1924 (fl), Tessmann 4691 (holotype, B, not found; lectotype, NY, designated by Mori & Prance, 1990; isolectotype, INPA).

    Description: Small to medium sized trees, to 20 m tall. Bark smooth, with vertically oriented lenticels, often with inconspicuous hoop marks, pock marks often present, especially lower on trunk, the outer bark thin, the inner bark thick, reddish. Leaf blades elliptic, 8-11 x 3.5-4.5 cm, glabrous, wIthout punctations, chartaceous, with 7-9 pairs of lateral veins; apex acute to short acuminate; baseacute to obtuse; petiole 11-12 mm long, the blade very narrowly decurrent. Inflorescences terminal or in axils of uppermost leaves, unbranched or once-branched, the principal rachis 2-14 cm long, ferrugineous pubescent, the pedicel 5-7 mm long, ferrugIneous pubescent. Flowers 1.5-3 cm diam.; calyx with six lobes, the lobes widely to very wIdely ovate, 4-6.5 x 2.5-5 mm, ascending to erect, imbricate at very base, convex to slightly carinate abaxially, especially toward base; petals 6, wIdely obovate, 7-18 x 7-11 mm, usually light yellow, sometimes white; hood of androecium ca. 10-15 x 8-15 mm, with distinct double coil, yellow; staminal ring asymmetric, with (151-) 200-276 stamens, the filaments 1.2-1.5 mm long, not clavate, the anthers 0.5-0.6 mm long; hypanthium ferrugineous pubescent, abruptly constricted into well defined pedicel; ovary 2-locular, with 8-11 ovules attached to base of locule, the style well differentiated, geniculate 1.5-2 mm long. Fruits cup-shaped, often asymmetric at base, 2-3.5 (excluding operculum) x 2-4.5 cm, the calycine ring inserted above middle, the pericarp 3-4 mm thick, the outer surface somewhat verrucose, the operculum convex, often with small, spine-like umbo.

    Common names: Brazil: ripeiro, ripeiro vermelho. Peru: machimango, machimango colorado.

    Distribution: From central and western Amazonia.

    Ecology: A small to medium-sized tree of non-flooded forests.

    Phenology: This species flowers from Aug to Nov.

    Pollination: No reports recorded but other species of Eschweilera are reported to be pollinated by bees (e.g., Mori & Boeke, 1987).

    Dispersal: No reports recorded.

    Predation: No reports recorded.

    Field characters: This species is distinguished by its pock-marked bark surface, thin outer bark, and reddish inner bark; rust-colored twigs; calyx-lobes slightly imbricate at bases; petals tinged with varying amounts of red; ferrugineous pubescent axes of the inflorescence as seen on herbarium specimens; relatively long, geniculate style; and relatively small, cup-shaped fruits.

    Taxonomic notes: The summit of the ovary is elevated for 0.5-0.8 mm above the attachment of the sepals, petals, and stamens, but the style, which bends toward the anterior end of the flower near its middle, is well differentiated from the summit of the ovary.

    Uses: None recorded.

    Etymology: The species epithet honors Günther Tessmann, a German explorer, ethnographer, and plant collector who gathered the type collection of this species.

    Conservation: This taxon has not yet been assessed for the IUCN Red List.

    Source: Based on Mori & Prance (1979) and Mori & Lepsch-Cunha (1995).

  • Floras and Monographs

    Eschweilera tessmannii R.Knuth: [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.

    Eschweilera tessmannii R.Knuth: [Article] Mori, S. A. & Lepsch da Cunha, Nadia M. 1995. The Lecythidaceae of a central Amazonian moist forest. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 75: 1-55.