Eschweilera correae J. E. Bat. & S.A.Mori

  • Family

    Lecythidaceae (Magnoliophyta)

  • Scientific Name

    Eschweilera correae J. E. Bat. & S.A.Mori

  • Primary Citation

    Brittonia 69: 342. 2017

  • Type Specimens

    Specimen 1: Isotype -- J. Batista 1188, verif. S. A. Mori, 2017

  • Description

    Authors: J. E. Batista G. & S. A. Mori

    Type: Eschweilera correae J. E. Bat. & S. A. Mori, sp. nov. Type: Panamá. Provincia de Veraguas, Santa Fe, Alto de Piedra, Parque Nacional Santa Fe, Cerro Mariposa, bosque húmedonuboso, 8°30'18"N, 81°07'08"W, 1153 m., 27 Sep 2014 (fl), J. Batista, A. Cano & M. Perret 1188. (holotype: PMA; isotypes: BM, CR, F, G, K, MO, NY, P, SCZ, UCH, U, US).

    Description: Understory trees, 10–15(–20) m tall, sometimes with buttresses 1–2 m tall. (J. Batista et a1. 1323, 1431). Bark: reddish-brown, smooth, lenticellate (J. Batista et al. 1323, 1430, 1431). Leaves: petioles 6–9 mm long, terete; blades 6–13 x 2–7 cm, elliptic to elliptic-ovate, chartaceus, glabrous, with inconspicuous, scattered, reddish to black punctuations abaxially, the base obtuse, the margins entire to crenulate, the apex acuminate to long-acuminate; secondary veins in 8–12 pairs, plane adaxiall, the tertiary veins salient abaxially when dry. Inflorescences: terminal (suprafoliar) or axillary, once-branched, sometimes unbranched; the principal rachis 4–7.5 cm, lenticels cream-colored when fresh; pedicel/hypanthium 5–11mm long, red, tapered to articulation, puberulous, lenticellate, the lenticels cream, brown when dry. Flowers: 3–5 cm diam; calyx with 6 lobes, these 4–5 x 3–4 mm, widely ovate, horizontally oriented at anthesis, convex to carinate abaxially, the bases half imbricate, red proximally, pale yellow distally, the lenticels rough in older flowers; corolla with six petals, these 2–3.5 x 1.5–2.5, white to yellowish white; androecial hood with double coil, yellow; 1–1.8 mm long, pale yellow; ovary, glabrous, pale yellow, 2-locular, 4–8 ovules per locule. Fruits: 3–3.5 x 2.5–5 cm (including operculum), turbinate, the calycine ring in middle of fruit base, small, woody calyx-lobes persisting, the supracalycine ring erect, the infracalycine zone tapered to thickened pedicel, lenticellate, the pericarp rough, reddish-brown when dry, the operculum convex or with well-developed umbo. Seeds 2–3 per fruit, ± oblongoid to globose, round in cross section; aril lateral, splitting at chalazal end into 2–3 branches, cream-colored when fresh. at chalazal end into 2–3 branches, cream-colored when fresh.

    Common names: Panamá: Calabazuelo de montaña (Santa Fe, Veraguas, J. Batista et al. 870), ollito (Fortuna, Chiriquí, J. F. Carrión et al. 1060); Costa Rica: Alma negra (Tilarán, Guanacaste, G. Rodríguez 70).

    Distribution: Ranging from Central and Western Panama (Cordillera Central) to the Talamanca and Guanacaste Mountains of Costa Rica.

    Ecology: Found in cloud forests or Premontane rainforest life zone according to the classification zones of Holdridge et al. (1971) from 700–1300 m elevation.

    Phenology: Specimens in flower have been collected in Panama and Costa Rica from September to November and fruits have been gathered in February and March.

    Pollination: No records, but other species of Eschweilera with similar morphology and flower color are usually visited by nectar-gathering bees (Gaitán-Gamboa, 1987; Mori & Boeke, 1987). Small bees drill holes in the androecial hood, perhaps to feed on nectar or the nectar rich tissue at the end of the coiled androecial hood. These small bees are probably not pollinators because they do not touch the the fertile anthers nor the stigma.

    Dispersal: The seeds possess a lateral aril which probably provides a reward to dispersal agents. The seeds are probably dispersed by arboreal animals before the seeds fall from the fruits, and/or by terrestrial mammals after the seeds have fallen to the ground.

    Field characters: This species is recognized in the field by its premontane or cloud forest habitat; reddish-brown, smooth bark with scallops (depressions left by bark falling in irregular plates); medium-sized, coriaceous leaf blades, with scattered, reddish to black punctuations abaxially; terminal or axillary, unbranched or once-branched inflorescences; red pedicel/hypanthium when in flower; flowers medium-size, the petals usually white; androecial hood 2-coiled, usually light yellow; fruits with erect supracalycine zone and thick-walled pericarp; and lateral aril splitting at end into 2-3 branches.

    Taxonomic notes: Eschweilera correae is most similar to E. neei S. A. Mori, which is also found in cloud forest, and E. panamensis Pittier, which is found in lowland rainforest. All three species have similar yellow flowers and leaves. Eschweilera correae differs from E. neei in its inflorescences usually once-branched; flowers with pedicel/hypanthium red at least at base, and calyx-lobes scarcely imbricate (vs. inflorescences usually unbranched; flowers with pedicel/hypanthium greenish-yellow, and calyx-lobes markedly imbricate). Eschweilera panamensis differs from E. correae and E. neei by its small, non-imbricate calyx-lobes, incipiently triple-coiled androecial hood, and seeds with spreading arils (vs. larger, imbricate calyx-lobes [at least at base], double-coiled androecial hood, and seeds with a lateral aril). The bark of individuals identified in the field (Batista et al. 870, 1188, 1431) very considerably. The bark of the type tree (J. Batista et al. 1188) is reddish-brown with shallow, vertical fissures and small inconspicuous lenticels; another individual (J. Batista et al. 1431) has brown bark, with thick plates that leave conspicuous scallop marks when they fall; and another individual (J. Batista & Y. Peña 870) has strikingly reddish-brown bark, conspicuously but shallow scallop marks,and small and inconspicuous lenticels. Search the specimen catalog to see the bark images of the paratypes.

    Uses: None known

    Etymology: This species is named after Mireya D. Correa A., Director of the Herbarium of the University of Panama and affiliate of the Summit Herbarium of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Mireya is the botany mentor of the first author and long-time friend and botanical colleague of the second author.

    Conservation Status: Eschweilera correae is known from four localities in Costa Rica (two in the Reserva Forestal San Ramón and two in the Rincón de La Vieja National Park). In Panama the species has been collected from two localities, one located in the Santa Fe National Park within the limits of a proposed wind farm (putting the subpopulation in peril due to forest fragmentation), and the other in the Reserva Forestal Fortuna. We estimate that the extent of occurrence (EOO) for the species is 21093 square kms, and the area of occupancy (AOO) 36 square kms. Based on these estimates, E. correae qualifies for the Vulnerable category [VU B1ab(ii,iii,iv,v)] of the IUCN Redlist (IUCN, 2012).

    Source: Based on J. E. Batista G. & S. A. Mori (2017).

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