Lecythis alutacea (A.C.Sm.) S.A.Mori

  • Family

    Lecythidaceae (Magnoliophyta)

  • Scientific Name

    Lecythis alutacea (A.C.Sm.) S.A.Mori

  • Primary Citation

    Brittonia 33: 362. 1981

  • Basionym

    Eschweilera alutacea A.C.Sm.

  • Description

    Author: Scott A. Mori & Nathan P. Smith

    Type: Guyana. Essequibo River, nr. mouth of Onoro Creek, ca. 1°35'N, 17 Dec 1937 (fl), Smith 2690 (lectotype, NY, designated Fl Neotrop. Monogr. 21(II). 1990; isolectotypes, F, G, K, MO, P, S, U).

    Description: Canopy trees to 25 m tall, trunk buttresses not known. Bark reddish-brown, with longitudinal fissures, the outer bark ca. 4-10 mm thick, the inner bark 10 mm thick, red (Mori 24622). Stems glabrous, rimose. Leaves: petioles 5–20 mm long, glabrous, canaliculate; blades oblong, elliptic, or narrowly ovate, 18-26 x 8-11.5 cm, glabrous, coriaceous, the base rounded, the margins entire to crenulate, the apex short acuminate to acuminate; venation eucamptodromous to brochidodromous, the midrib prominent adaxially, salient and often square abaxially (at least when dry), glabrous, the secondary veins in 12-18 pairs, usually decurrent, plane to prominulous abaxially, 2-5 mm apart in the middle of blade, rarely with large (1-1.5 cm wide) festoones located 0.5-1 cm from margin (e.g., Cid 1676), the intersecondary veins well-developed, usually 1-3 between each pair of secondaries, the tertiary venation reticulate. Inflorescences terminal or axillary, spicate, unbranched or with 1 order of branching, the rachis 4–18 cm long, glabrous, rimose, zigzagged, angular in cross section, with 5-20 non-congested flowers; pedicel/hypanthium 1–2 mm long below articulation, 4–5 mm long above articulation, the bract and bracteoles not known. Flowers when leaves present, 2–3 cm diam.; hypanthium truncate, rugose, glabrous, color not known (probably green), longitudinally oriented mucilage-bearing ducts present (best seen in cross section); calyx-lobes 6, widely ovate, strongly imbricate, oblique, 9–14 x 8–12 mm, rugose (when dry), glabrous, green; petals 6, widely obovate, 2.3-3.1 x 1.5-2.0 cm, membranaceous, glabrous, white or yellow flushed with pink; androecium zygomorphic, a staminal lip present (?), the staminal ring with 237-300 stamens, narrowly triangular towards opening of flower, the filaments 3-4.5 mm long, clavate, white, the anthers 0.8 mm long, yellow, the hood arched, ca. 2 x 1.2 cm, the outer surface texture rugose (e.g., Cid 9642), color not known, with numerous vestigial stamens, the vestigial stamens swept inward, ca. 3-7 mm long, angular in cross section, pale yellow, not conspicuously stalked but often narrower towards base, staminodes absent, anterior hood extension present; ovary 4-locular, the ovary summit nearly flat, tuberculate (e.g., Cid 9642), the number of ovules per locule not known, attachment to septum and orientation in locules not known, the style long tapering to apex, obliquely oriented, 5-6.5 mm long, stylar collar absent. Fruits dehiscent, broadly turbinate, ca. 7.5 x 6 cm, the calyx lobes persistent, woody, erect, the infracalycine zone 7-7.5 cm long, rounded to pedicel, the supracalycine zone 1–3 cm long, erect or slightly slanted inward, the pericarp ca. 2–4 mm thick, lenticellate, brown, the operculum 4.5 cm wide (Reddin 1732), umbo absent. Seeds ca. 8-13 per fruit, ca. 3.5 x 1.5 cm, the testa ca. 1 mm thick, dark brown, the primary and secondary veins salient; aril present, basal, size not known.

    Common names: Venezuela: comé-yek. Guyana: kakarali, small monkey-pot.

    Distribution: Found in eastern Venezuela, Guyana, Surinam, and northern Pará, Brazil.

    Ecology: A canopy tree found along rivers.

    Phenology: Flowers have been collected in Feb and from May to Dec. Fruits have been collected in Feb, Apr, Jul, and Sep.

    Pollination: No observations recorded but its floral structure and color suggest that bees are most likely the pollinators.

    Dispersal: No observations recorded but the presence of a basal aril suggests animals, possibly bats, as dispersal agents.

    Predation: No observations recorded. The mucilage-bearing ducts of the ovary and the calyx-lobes may be a defense agains predatory insects.

    Field characters: This species is characterized by its preference for riverine habitats; sessile hypanthia; its swept inward but not fully coiled androecial hood; presence of mucilage-bearing ducts in the hypanthium and calyx-lobes; turbinate fruits; and seeds with salient veins and a basal aril.

    Taxonomic notes: Recent molecular analyses (Huang, 2010) place L. alutacea sister to L. chartacea in a larger clade (Chartacea Clade) of species that have androecial hoods with swept in vestigial stamens. The mucilaginous ducts in the ovary sometimes become so well developed that they erupt and give the external ovarian surface a pustulate appearance (e.g., Pena 396). Lecythis alutacea is morphologically similar to Eschweilera potaroensis. However, E. potaroensis has the fully developed androecial coil of Eschweilera and lacks mucilaginous ducts in the ovary.

    Conservation status: IUCN Red List: not on list.

    Uses: The bark is used by Indians in Venezuela to make rope and head bands for carrying loads (Steyermark 60767).

    Etymology: "Alutaceus" means leather-colored or pale brown but there is no indication in the protologue what part of the plant has this color.

    Source: Mori in Mori & Prance, 1990. Recent review (2012) of specimens at NY.

  • Floras and Monographs

    Lecythis alutacea (A.C.Sm.) 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.

  • Narratives

    Inflorescence and flower morphology and anatomy of Lecythis alutacea.

    Leaf morphology and anatomy of Lecythis alutacea.