Pouteria izabalensis (Standl.) Baehni

  • Authority

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

  • Family

    Sapotaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Pouteria izabalensis (Standl.) Baehni

  • Synonyms

    Lucuma izabalensis Standl., Pouteria gentlei Lundell, Pouteria sebolensis Lundell

  • Description

    Species Description - Tree; young shoots subglabrous, pale buff, smooth or slightly scaly, lenticellate. Leaves spaced, spirally arranged, 7.3-19 × 2.4-5.5 cm, oblanceolate, oblong or elliptic, apex narrowly attenuate or acuminate, base narrowly attenuate, coriaceous, glabrous; venation eucamptodromous, with a strong marginal vein, midrib not raised on the upper surface, secondary veins 9-11 pairs, slightly convergent and arcuate; intersecondaries short or absent; tertiaries mostly horizontal to open reticulate, quaternary reticulum obscure. Petiole 0.4-1.5 cm long, flat or slightly channelled, glabrous. Fascicles 1-5-flowered, axillary and arranged along short leafless axillary shoots 1-3.5 cm long. Pedicel ca. 1 mm long, subglabrous. Flowers bisexual. Sepals 4-7, outer ca. 1 mm long, inner ca. 2 mm long, ovate, apex rounded, subglabrous outside, sericeous inside, ciliate. Corolla broadly tubular, 2.5-3 mm long, tube 1.5-2 mm long, lobes five, 0.75-1 mm long, broadly ovate, apex rounded, sometimes auriculate at base, glabrous. Stamens five, fixed at the top of the corolla tube; filaments 0.1-0.3 mm long, glabrous; anthers 0.4-0.5 mm long, lanceolate, glabrous. Staminodes five, 0.6-0.7 mm long, lanceolate or subulate, glabrous. Disk absent. Ovary globose to ovoid, five locular, densely pubescent; style ca. 1.5 mm long after anthesis, included, glabrous; style-head simple. Fruit 2-3 cm long, subglobose, rounded at apex and base, smooth, thin walled (wrinkling on drying), glabrous. Seed solitary, 1.3-2.5 cm long, broadly ellipsoid or subglobose, rounded at base and apex, testa smooth, shining, 0.3-0.5 mm thick; scar adaxial, covering about half the seed surface; embryo with piano convex, free cotyledons, radicle extending to the surface; endosperm absent. Field characters. Tree to 30 m high and 40 cm diam., buttressed to 1 m high; bole cylindrical; bark reddish-brown to greyish, scaling, slash with white latex. Flowers pale green or cream-coloured, fruit rusty-brown. Flowering Mar-May, fruit Aug-Nov.

  • Discussion

    The durable timber is used for railway sleepers in Guatemala.

  • Common Names

    mamey cederia, mammy cerilla, Silion, silly young

  • Distribution

    Guatemala to Nicaragua in well drained lowland Atlantic forest near sea level.

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