Manilkara rufula (Miq.) H.J.Lam

  • Authority

    Pennington, Terence D. 1990. Sapotaceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 52: 1-750. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Sapotaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Manilkara rufula (Miq.) H.J.Lam

  • Synonyms

    Mimusops rufula Miq., Mimusops elata Allem ex Miq., Kaukenia rufula Kuntze, Manilkara duckei Monach.

  • Description

    Species Description - Tree, young shoots short crisped puberulous to tomentose with brown or reddish-brown hairs, becoming glabrous, grey, sometimes lenticellate, fissured. Stipules absent. Leaves 4-10 × 2-5.9 cm, broadly oblanceolate or obovate, apex rounded, truncate or emarginate, base acute to narrowly attenuate; glabrous above, short brown or reddish-brown tomentose below, indumentum persisting or falling to leave an underlying layer of closely appressed silvery or greyish hairs; midrib sunken on the upper surface; secondaries 12-15 pairs, often obscure, higher order venation areolate-reticulate, sometimes obscured; venation usually slightly impressed on the upper surface. Petiole 0.3-1.9 cm long, slightly channelled, tomentose to glabrous. Flowers 5-7 in a fascicle. Pedicel 1-1.5 cm long, shortly tomentose to sparsely puberulous, strongly reflexed in bud. Sepals 5-6 mm long, lanceolate, acute, shortly tomentose to sparsely appressed puberulous outside, appressed puberulous around the margin inside. Corolla glabrous, ca. 5 mm long, tube ca. 1 mm long; lobes six, divided to base into three segments, median segment narrowly boat-shaped, apex obtuse; lateral segments equalling the median segment, narrowly lanceolate, sometimes irregularly toothed. Stamens six, glabrous; filaments ca. 2.5 mm long, free; anthers ca. 1.5 mm long, lanceolate. Staminodes six, glabrous, 1.52 mm long, oblong, apex bilobed. Ovary ovoid, 8-11-locular, glabrous; style ca. 5 mm long after anthesis, glabrous. Fruit ca. 2 × 1.5 cm, ovoid, ellipsoid or globose apex and base rounded, smooth, glabrous. Seed solitary, ca. 1.3 × 0.9 × 0.5 cm, laterally compressed, with a hard smooth shining testa 0.75-1.5 mm thick; scar basi-ventral, ca. 7 × 2 mm. Field characters. A tree to 20 m high with yellowish latex. Mature fruits orange to red (Ducke, 1957: 656). Flowering Sep to Feb, with mature fruit recorded from Aug to Oct, and in Feb.

  • Discussion

    The durable timber has been used for railway sleepers in Bahia.

  • Common Names

    massaranduba

  • Objects

    Specimen - 375056, R. de Lemos Fróes 20047, Manilkara rufula (Miq.) H.J.Lam, Sapotaceae (269.0), Magnoliophyta; South America, Brazil, Bahia

    Specimen - 00859729, W. A. Ducke 2028, Manilkara rufula (Miq.) H.J.Lam, Sapotaceae (269.0), Magnoliophyta; South America, Brazil, Ceará

    Specimen - 00375055, T. N. Guedes 583, Manilkara rufula (Miq.) H.J.Lam, Sapotaceae (269.0), Magnoliophyta; South America, Brazil, Ceará, Tauá Mun.

    Specimen - 273533, D. de Andrade-Lima 49-168, Manilkara duckei Monach., Sapotaceae (269.0), Magnoliophyta, holotype; South America, Brazil, Pernambuco

    Specimen - 273558, G. Gardner 2910, Mimusops rufula Miq., Sapotaceae (269.0), Magnoliophyta, isotype; South America, Brazil, Pernambuco

  • Distribution

    NE Brazil (Bahía, Ceará, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, Sergipe) in subtropical forest and gallery forest on hills and mountains, around 700-1000 m altitude. Several specimens collected further south in the wet coastal lowland forest of Bahía (e.g., Froes 20047, Mori et al. 10305) are included in this species with some reservations.

    Brazil South America| Bahia Brazil South America| Ceará Brazil South America| Paraíba Brazil South America| Pernambuco Brazil South America| Piauí Brazil South America|