Gustavia dodsonii S.A.Mori
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Description
Author: Scott A. Mori & Xavier Cornejo
Type: Ecuador. Los Rios: Rio Palenque Science Center, km 56 between Quevedo and Santo Domingo de Los Colorados, tropical wet forest, alt. ca. 200 m, 25 Oct 1974 (young fr), Gentry & Dodson 12048 (holotype, MO 2272186; isotypes, NY, QCA).
Description: Trees, understory to 15 m tall. Leaves present at anthesis; petioles absent, the midrib 7-12 mm wide at attachment to stem, cross section hemispherical, entirely penetrated by vascular bundles; blades oblanceolate, 33-78 x 8.5-26 cm, coriaceous, glabrous, the blade decurrent to leaf attachment, the margins entire, the apex short acuminate; venation brochidodromous, the midrib thick, salient abaxially, plane toward base, salient toward apex adaxially, the secondary veins in 30-37 pairs, slightly decurrent at attachment to midrib, the lower oriented more at right angles than upper ones, reaching 1-2 mm from margin of leaf, the tertirary veins percurrent but curved, not straight, in orientation, the higher order venation reticulate. Inforescences suprafoliar, above previous flush of leaves, racemose, the flowers numerous; pedicels 4.5-17 cm long, densely pubescent when young less so as fruits develop, the trichomes white, septate; bract 1, oblong to linear, ca. 20 mm long, caducous; bracteoles 2, oblong to ovate, ca. 11 x 6 mm, inserted just under to 15 mm below hypanthium. Flowers ca. 14 cm diam.; hypanthium white to ferruginous pubescent, 4-costate, the costae extending downward from between calyx-lobes, short; calyx-lobes 4(-5), broadly triangular, 5 x 12 mm, reddish at apex; petals (5)6(7), to 10 cm long, pink or white at base and pink for rest of length; androecium with staminal tube 15 mm tall, yellow inside, the stamens >500, the outermost filaments ca 20 mm long, white at base, pink for rest of lengh, the anthers ca. 3 mm long, yellow; ovary 4(5)-locular, the summit truncate, densely white pubescent, the style obconical, 3 mm long. Fruits longer than wide, narrowly campanulate, ca 9 x 6.5 cm, the pericarp 8 mm thick. Seeds irregularly shaped, with thin, fragile seed coat.
Common names: Ecuador: Membrillo (Dodson & Gentry, 1978).
Distribution: Known only from northwestern Ecuador from the provinces of Los Rios and Pichincha from between 150 and 600 m alt.
Ecology: An understory tree to approximately 15 m tall in lowland rain forest and cloud forest from about 200 to 600 m alt.
Phenology: This species has been collected in flower in Sep and Oct and with mature fruit in Mar.
Pollination: Pollinators not recorded but, as in other species of Gustavia, most likely pollinated by bees.
Dispersal: No information recorded.
Predation: No observations recorded.
Field characters: Gustavia dodsonii is an understory tree with sessile, coriaceous leaves; secondary venation abruptly turned upward 1-2 mm from the margin; inflorescences suprafoliar; calyx 4-lobed, the lobes widely triangular; slightly costate hypanthia; petals 6; and fruits campanulate. The secondary veins departing at right angles to form a marginal vein close to the margins. The sympatric G. angustifolia possesse petioles and abaxial pubescence easily observed with a hand lens.
Taxonomic notes: The following collections have been eroneously determined as this species by the senior author of this species page: Clark & Adnepos 91, Clark & Troya 513, Guanga et al. 1261, Jaramillo 7438, Little & Dixon 21139, Neill et al. 12914, Tipaz et al., 1261, and van der Werff et al. 11974. See description of Gustavia johnclarkii S. A. Mori & Cornejo, sp. ined. for a discussion of the differences between this species and G. dodsonii.
Conservation: This species is listed as Endangered A4c in the IUCN Redlist (2011.1, vers. 3.1). It is found within the following Río Palenque Science Center but that reserve of 167 hectares (Dodson & Gentry, 1978) is not large enough to protect this species.
Uses: None recorded.
Etymology: This species was named in honor of Dr. Calaway H. Dodson who, among many other accomplishments, founded the Río Palenque Biological Station and made many collections of and publications about orchids.
Source: Based on Mori in Prance & Mori (1979).
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Floras and Monographs
Gustavia dodsonii S.A.Mori: [Article] Prance, Ghillean T. & Mori, S. A. 1979. Lecythidaceae - Part I. The actinomorphic-flowered New World Lecythidaceae (Asteranthos, Gustavia, Grias, Allantoma & Cariniana). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 21: 1-270.
