Chrysophyllum oliviforme L.

• Authority

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

• Family

  Sapotaceae

• Scientific Name

  Chrysophyllum oliviforme L.

• Type

  Type. Plumier, ed. Burmann, Gen. 57, tab. 69. 1756.

• Description

  Species Description - Shrub or small tree; young growth sericeous-tomentose with golden-ferruginous or rarely paler buff-coloured hairs, becoming greyish with age and finally glabrous, grey-brown, usually scaly, lenticellate or not. Leaves spaced, alternate and distichous, (1.3-)3-12 × (0.6-)1.5-4(-6.7) cm, usually elliptic, less frequently lanceolate, oblong-lanceolate or oblong, apex usually shortly narrowly attenuate, but very variable and sometimes rounded or emarginate, base narrowly attenuate, obtuse or rounded, usually coriaceous, upper surface glabrous or occasionally with residual venation along the midrib, lower surface sericeous-tomentose or less frequently sericeous, hairs golden-ferruginous or sometimes paler buff-silvery, turning greyish with age; venation brochidodromous, usually with a marginal vein, midrib sunken on the upper surface, secondary veins (11-)15-20(-25) pairs, usually straight, occasionally slightly arcuate, parallel, not sunken on the upper surface; intersecondaries long, tertiaries parallel to the secondaries and descending from the margin, but usually obscured by the indumentum. Petiole (0.3-)0.5-1(-1.7) cm long, slightly channelled, tomentose with golden or greyish hairs. Fascicles 1-10-flowered. Pedicel 3-5(-8) mm long, sericeous-tomentose. Flowers bisexual. Sepals (four-)five, 1.5-2 mm long, broadly ovate or suborbicular, apex obtuse or rounded, outside sericeous to tomentose, inside appressed puberulous or glabrous, often with a hyaline margin, and sometimes ciliate. Corolla 3.5-4(-5) mm long, tube 2-3.5 mm long, sometimes slightly thickened at the throat, lobes (4-)5(-6), 1-1.5 mm long, ovate, apex obtuse or rounded, usually glabrous, less frequently sparsely sericeous outside. Stamens (4-)5(-6), fixed at the top of the corolla tube or base of lobes; filaments 0.3-0.5 mm long, glabrous; anthers 0.5-0.6(-1.0) mm long, lanceolate to ovoid, glabrous. Ovary ovoid, (3-)5(-6)-locular, appressed puberulous; style (0.2-)0.5-0.75 mm long after anthesis, glabrous; style-head minutely lobed. Fruit 1.4-3 cm long, 0.7-1 cm broad, narrowly ellipsoid to ovoid, apex and base acute to rounded, smooth, glabrous; pericarp fleshy. Seed solitary, 1.3-1.5 cm long, oblong, ellipsoid or narrowly ovoid, base obliquely truncate, not laterally compressed, testa smooth but strongly sculptured into prominent plates, 0.5-1.5 mm thick; scar broad, basi-ventral, often cordate, up to half the length of the seed; embryo vertical, with thin foliaceous cotyledons and exserted radicle, surrounded by copious endosperm.