Manilkara bidentata (A.DC.) A.Chev.
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Authority
Pennington, Terence D. 1990. Sapotaceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 52: 1-750. (Published by NYBG Press)
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Family
Sapotaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Species Description - Young branches dark brown, glabrous, becoming paler, lenticellate and finally cracked or fissured. Stipules present or absent. Leaves 6-21 × 2.3-8(-9.5) cm, oblanceolate, narrowly elliptic or oblong, apex acute, obtuse, rounded or emarginate, base obtuse, acute, cuneate or attenuate; glabrous, but occasionally with a waxy cuticular covering; strongly coriaceous to chartaceous; midrib slightly raised on the upper surface, but recessed; secondaries (10-) 12-2 5 pairs, quaternary venation coarsely to finely areolate, often completely obscuring the lower order venation. Petiole (1-)1.5-4.5 cm long, not or only slightly channelled, glabrous. Flowers (2-)5-20 in a fascicle. Pedicel 0.9-2.5 cm long, glabrous or occasionally with some waxy cuticular scales. Sepals 4-6 mm long, outer whorl usually lanceolate, acute, inner whorl lanceolate or narrowly elliptic, often rounded, outer whorls glabrous or occasionally with waxy scurf, inner whorl minutely puberulous on the outer surface. Corolla glabrous, (3-)3.5-6(-6.5) mm long, tube 0.5-1.5 mm long; lobes six, divided to base into three segments, median segment narrowly elliptic or subulate, apex rounded, lateral segments equalling or slightly exceeding the median segment, very variable in form, from lanceolate and entire to deeply divided into two linear parts. Stamens six, glabrous; filaments 1.5-2.5 mm long, free or occasionally shortly connate to the staminodes; anthers 1-2(-2.5) mm long, lanceolate to narrowly ovate. Staminodes six, glabrous, 1-3.5 mm long, very variable in form, from lanceolate with an entire margin to irregularly incised, bilobed or sometimes laciniate. Ovary broadly ovoid, 6(-10)-locular, glabrous; style 3-6 mm long after anthesis. Fruit 1-3(-4) cm long, ellipsoid or globose, apex and base rounded or truncate, smooth, glabrous. Seeds 1-2, 0.9-2.6 cm long, strongly laterally compressed, often narrow, with an abaxial crest; testa hard, smooth, shining, brown, 0.2-2 mm thick; scar narrow, basi-ventral or adaxial, 0.4-1.2 × 0.1-0.2(-0.4) cm.