Manilkara huberi (Ducke) 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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Synonyms
Mimusops huberi Ducke
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Description
Species Description - Massive tree, young branches dark brown, apex usually covered in a varnish-like coat of resin, glabrous, lenticellate, becoming paler, rough and scaly with age. Stipules absent. Leaves (10-) 15-23(-27.5) × 5-8.5(-12) cm, oblong-elliptic or oblong, less frequently oblanceolate, apex obtuse, rounded or shortly and broadly cuspidate, base broadly or narrowly attenuate; upper surface glabrous, lower densely and minutely appressed scurfy-puberulous with pale yellowish hairs forming a pellicle; usually coriaceous; midrib usually slightly prominent but recessed on the upper surface; secondaries 30-35 pairs, conspicuous below; inter-secondaries long, prominent; higher order venation mostly parallel to the secondaries, often obscured by the indumentum. Petiole 3.5-6.5 cm long, not or only slightly channelled at the apex, glabrous. Flowers 10-15 in a fascicle. Pedicel 2-4 cm long, appressed puberulous, sometimes reflexed in bud. Sepals 5-5.5 mm long, lanceolate, apex acute, appressed puberulous outside, often overlaid by a waxy coat, glabrous inside. Corolla glabrous, 4.5-5.5 mm long, tube 1-1.5 mm long; lobes six, divided to base into three segments, median segment narrowly boat-shaped, clawed, apex rounded; lateral segments equalling or slightly exceeding the median segment, narrowly lanceolate, entire, or broader and then deeply bilobed. Stamens six, glabrous; filaments ca. 2 mm long, shortly fused to the staminodes; anthers 1-1.5 mm long, lanceolate-sagittate. Staminodes six, glabrous, 1.5-2.5 mm long, narrowly lanceolate to oblong, apex bilobed or irregularly toothed. Ovary slender-ovoid, 6-locular, appressed puberulous; style 3.5-4.5 mm long after anthesis, glabrous. Fruit 2.5-3 × 2.5-2.8 cm, broadly ovoid or globose, apex and base obtuse to rounded, smooth, glabrous. Seed (not seen, description from Ducke, 1957: 650) laterally compressed, with a well-developed longitudinal dorsal keel. Field characters. A massive tree up to 50 m high and 2-3 m diam, with simple, steep, thick buttresses to 2.5 m high and cylindrical bole. Bark deeply fissured and slightly grid-cracked, greyish- or blackish-brown, inner bark pink with whitish streaks and copious sticky white latex. Crown round and widely spreading. The pale yellowish colour of the leaf undersurface, which is a characteristic feature of herbarium material, is also seen in fresh specimens. Seedlings have a silvery white lower leaf surface. The flowers are greenish-white to yellowish and the ripe fruit green or yellowish-green. Flowering occurs from Apr to Nov with two peak periods, Apr-Jun and Oct-Nov. Mature fruits have been collected in most months of the year.
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Discussion
This is the Cow-tree or Milk-tree of Para first described by Spruce (1908: vol. 1, p. 50), so called because of the drinkable milk exuded by the cut bark. Spruce says that "its consistency is that of good cream, and its taste perfectly creamy and agreeable" either alone or mixed with coffee. However, due to its extreme viscosity it was also used as a substitute for glue, and this property rendered it "a rather unsafe article of diet, and serious cases of constipation have resulted from its being partaken too freely."
The principal economic product of this species is the excellent durable timber, which, because it is available in such large sizes, is in demand for heavy construction, boat building, etc. In addition, the latex has also been exploited as a source of inferior balata in Guyana, and the edible fruit is sold locally in the markets. -
Common Names
black balata, chupón, Maparajuba, massarunduba, massaranduba balata, massaranduba bois vache, massaranduba da terra firme, massaranduba mansa, pulgo negro, purguo
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Objects
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Distribution
Southern Venezuela, Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana, Brazil (Amapa), Amazonas, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima). A species of non-flooded lowland rainforest up to 700 m altitude, sometimes also present in periodically flooded (varzea) forest along rivers.
Venezuela South America| Amazonas Brazil South America| Guyana South America| Suriname South America| French Guiana South America| Brazil South America| Amapá Brazil South America| Amazonas Brazil South America| Maranhão Brazil South America| Mato Grosso Brazil South America| Pará Brazil South America| Rondônia Brazil South America|