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

  • Family

    Lecythidaceae (Magnoliophyta)

  • Scientific Name

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

  • Primary Citation

    Two new species of Eschweilera (Lecythidaceae) from rainforest on the Caribbean slope of Panama
    Phytotaxa 296: 41-52. 2017

  • Type Specimens

    Specimen 1: Isotype -- J. Batista 1085, verif. S. A. Mori, 2017

  • Description

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

    Type: PANAMA. Provincia de Coclé, Corregimiento El Harino, Parque Nacional General de División Omar Torrijos Herrera, sendero de la Quebrada Yaya (Sendero Los Monos), 8°40’04” N 80°35’53” W, 717 m., 22 September 2014, J. Batista G. et al. (holotype: PMA!; isotypes, MO!, NY!, SCZ!, UCH!)

    Description: Canopy trees, to 25-30 (-40) m × 24.8-70 cm, buttresses present, 1-3 m tall. Bark dark-brown to light-brown, peeling in irregular pieces (scallops), lenticels conspicuous, brownish-white. Leaves: petioles to 4-7 mm long, canaliculate adaxially; blades 3.1-11 × 1.2-6.7 cm, elliptic, glabrous, chartaceus, with conspicuous, abundant, reddish punctations abaxially (visible without magnification), the base cuneate to obtuse, the margins entire to slightly crenulate, the apex acuminate to acute; secondary veins in 8-14 pairs, prominulous adaxially. Inflorescences from branches below leaves (ramiflorous), axillary, or terminal (suprafoliar), unbranched to once-branched, the principal rachis 4-7 cm long, puberulous when in flower to glabrous when in fruit, sparsely lenticellate; pedicel/hypanthium 4-5 mm long., sparsely lenticellate, puberulous, the lenticels cream-colored. Flowers 2-3 cm. diam.; hypanthium , tapered to articulation; calyx-lobes 6, ovate, 1.5-2 × 1-1.5 mm, horizontally oriented at anthesis, the bases not imbricate to slightly imbricate; petals 6, 9-15 × 8-12 mm, pale yellow; androecial hood with triple coil, intense yellow, ligule 14-16 mm long; ovary 2-locular, with 3-4 ovules per locule. Fruits globose, 3.2-4.5 (including operculum) × 3-4.5 cm, woody, greenish-brown when fresh, brown when dry, mottled., the calycine ring with remnants of calyx-lobes usually visible, sometimes not persistent, the infracalycine zone rounded, the supracalycine erect, the operculum rounded (without umbo), lenticellate, mottled, the spots whitish-brown. Seeds 1-4 per fruit, globose, 2.2-3.2 × 2.2-3.4 cm, white, the funicle long and flat, the aril spreading.

    Common name: None recorded.

    Distribution: This species has been collected in the Provinces of Coclé and Colón in central Panama.

    Ecology: Canopy tree, growing in cloud forests at elevations 700–900 meters above sea level and lowland rainforest at elevations 200–300 meters above sea level.

    Phenology: Collection of flowers have been made in October to February and fruiting has been documented in May and June to August.

    Pollination: No observations recorded but most likely bees seeking nectar are the pollinators of species of Eschweilera (Mori & Boeke, 1987).

    Dispersal: No observations recorded but we hypothesize that animals disperse the seeds of this species in the process of eating the spreading aril.

    Predation: No observations recorded.

    Taxonomic notes: E. rotundicarpa is part of the E. integrifolia clade. Additional information and images of this species can be viewed on the Lecythidaceae Pages (Mori et al., 2010) by consulting the following collections: E. rotundicarpa (Batista G. et al. 1085, 1268, 1661). E. rotundicarpa grows in the cloud forest in General de Division Omar Torrijos H. National Park and lowland rainforest in Donoso, Colon. This species is similar to Eschweilera aguilarii S. A Mori (2007:111) from lowland rainforest of the Peninsula de Osa and Braulio Carrillo National Park, Costa Rica and Yoro, Honduras. However, leaves of the latter species have elliptic-lanceolate to elliptic blades 10–15 × 3–5 cm, apex short to long acuminate, 11–13 secondary veins; pedicel/hypanthium zone 5–9 mm; inflorescence rachis 2.5–8 cm, unbranched to weakly branched, strongly puberulous (vs. elliptic blades 4.5–11 × 1.7–6.7 cm, apex acuminate to acute, 8–14 secondary veins; pedicel/hypanthium zone 4–5 mm: inflorescence rachis 4–7 mm, once branched to unbranched, slightly puberulous­ to glabrous in E. rotundicarpa). Eschweilera panamensis Pittier (1927:12) is likewise very similar to E. rotundicarpa (particularly in term of flower morphology) which grows in lowland rainforest of the Caribbean slopes from Panama and the Pacific slopes in the Peninsula de Osa from Costa Rica. The later species has leaf blades elliptic to oblong 15–21.5 x 6–8 cm, secondary veins in 16 pairs, inflorescence rachis 5–7.5 cm, fruits depressedglobose (vs. leaf blades elliptic, 4.5–11 × 1.7–6.7 cm, 8–14 pairs of secondary veins, inflorescence rachis 4–7 cm and fruits globoses in E. rotundicarpa). E. aguilarii and E. panamensis belongs to E. integrifolia clade, and on the basis of morphology, E. rotundicarpa, likely has well according to (Huang et al.), 2015, see introduction).

    Uses: Non have been recorded.

    Etymology: The species epithet refers to the globose fruits.

    Conservation Status: Eschweilera rotundicarpa is known from two general localities: one in the General de División Omar Torrijos H. National Park and another from a single collection (Batista 1661) from the Valle Grande within the copper mining concession in the Donoso District. Based on the IUCN (2001) criteria this species is considered Critically Endangered (CR) with an AOO 8.0 Km2 [CR B2 ab(ii,iii,iv)].

    Source: Modified from Batista and Mori (2017).

  • Sorry, no descriptions available for this record.