Tabebuia cristata A.H.Gentry
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Authority
Gentry, Alwyn H. 1992. Bignoniaceae--part II (Tribe Tecomeae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 25: 1-370. (Published by NYBG Press)
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Family
Bignoniaceae
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Scientific Name
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Type
Type. Brazil. Espírito Santo: Reserva Florestal da CVRD, Linhares, Estrada Ipe Amarelo, km 0.456, lado esquerdo, 9 Nov 1984 (fl), G. Farias 34 (holotype, CVRD; isotypes, MO 2, K).
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Description
Latin Diagnosis - Arbor ad 40 m altam. Folia palmatim 5-(6-)foliolata, foliolis obovatis vel oblongo-obovatis, integris, infra sparsim stellato-tomentosis, nervis confertim tomentosis. Inflorescentia paniculata, contracta, ramis dendroideo-rufescentibus. Flores calyce campanulate, stellato-tomentoso, conspicue porcata; corolla lutea, extus glabra vel trichomatibus stellatis infra sinis, intus fauce villosa. Capsula linearis, dense stellato-tomentosa.
Species Description - Large emergent tree to 40 m tall and 50 cm dbh, the branchlets subterete, tannish stellate pubescent when young, glabrescent. Leaves palmately 5(-6)-foliolate, the leaflets obovate to oblong-obovate or rhombic-elliptic, acute to subacuminate at apex, basally obtuse or cuneate, the terminal leaflet 4-10 cm long, 1.7-4 cm wide, the laterals progressively smaller, entire, membranaceous, sparsely and inconspicuously lepidote above and below, above also somewhat glabrescently stellate-puberulous, the trichomes persisting at least on midvein, below persistently tannish stellate puberulous with sessile trichomes sparsely scattered over the clearly visible olive-greenish-drying surface and denser on the thus tannish-drying main veins, smooth or slightly roughish above; terminal petiolule 1-2.5 cm long, the petiole 2.5-9 cm long, tannish stellate-puberulous. Inflorescence a contracted few-flowered terminal panicle or sometimes the peduncle essentially absent, the pedicels 5-15 mm long, reddish dendroid-pubescent, with linear bracts and bracteoles 2-5 mm long. Flowers with the calyx campanulate, shallowly 5-lobed, 12-20 mm long, 8-12 mm wide, shortly tannish tomentose with stellate trichomes, conspicuously costate-ridged with ridges running from lobe apices to base, usually somewhat glabrescent apically between the ridges, the exposed surface drying pale or almost translucent; corolla yellow with reddish pencilling in throat, the venation of the lobes when dry "intermediate," i.e., obvious but the lobes drying somewhat lighter than the tube, tubular-infundibuliform, 5.5-9 cm long, 1.5-2.5 cm wide at mouth of tube, the tube 4-6 cm long, the lobes 1-2 cm long, sometimes with a few stellate trichomes along veins on outside of tube just below sinuses, otherwise glabrous outside, the lobes sparsely or not at all ciliate, the sinuses and floor of throat pilose with rather long flexuous, in part branched multicelled trichomes, these extending clear to stamen insertion; stamens didynamous, the thecae divaricate, 2-2.5 mm long, ovary linear-oblong, 4 mm long, 0.6-1 mm wide, glabrous with a more or less lepidote-glandular surface; disk annular-pulvinate with a distinct margin, 0.5 mm long, 2 mm wide. Fruit a linear-cylindric capsule, 25-28 cm long, 1.2-1.4 cm wide, densely tannish stellate-tomentose, the calyx persistent; seeds thin, bialate, 6-8 mm long, 1.8-3 cm wide, the hyaline-membranaceous wings clearly demarcated from seed body.
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Discussion
Although rarely collected, this may be due more to its status as a large emergent tree than to its rarity. The road along which the type was collected is actually named for this tree: estrada ipe amarelo. Tabebuia cristata is very closely related to T. umbellata, from which it differs most strikingly in the generally thinner, strongly cristate-ridged calyx. The calyces of both species tend to be glabrescent between the teeth but in T. cristata the exposed surface dries light or almost translucent while in T. umbellata it dries blackish. Another apparent difference is that the corolla lobes of T. cristata tend to dry lighter than the corolla tube, unlike T. umbellata. In the vegetative state the two species cannot be reliably separated, although there is a tendency for T. cristata leaves to dry a lighter olive with tannish rather than rufescent venation. However, collections of leaves of both species are so rare that vegetative characters are very difficult to evaluate. While it is possible that T. cristata is no more than an extreme form of T. umbellata, it seems to be very distinct ecologically, occurring in well-drained forest while T. umbellata is restricted to swamp forest. On balance it seems best to somewhat tentatively recognize this entity as taxonomically distinct.
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Common Names
ipe-amarelo, pau-d’arco-amarelo
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Objects
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Distribution
Dry or edaphically dry forest of northeastern Brazil; one collection from caatinga and three from the Linhares area (see Peixoto & Gentry, 1990). Below 100 m elevation.
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