Talisia hexaphylla Vahl
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Authority
Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro. 2003. Meliococceae (Sapindaceae):
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Family
Sapindaceae
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Scientific Name
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Type
Type. South America. Without specific locality or date (fl), von Rohr 99 (lectotype, C-505, here designated). Syntype. South America, without specific locality or date (fl), von Rohr 98 (C-503, C-504, MO).
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Description
Species Description - Tree (4-) 10-30 m tall, usually branched on the upper portion. Young stems striate, puberulent or pubescent, becoming terete and lenticellate. Leaves paripinnate or less often imparipinnate; distal process filiform, ca. 5 mm long, early deciduous leaving a truncate base 2-3 mm long; leaflets 6-12, alternate, subopposite or opposite, 6.5-23.5 (-68) × 2.4-7.1 (23) cm, chartaceous to coriaceous, the adaxial surface glabrous, with prominent or sunken midvein and slightly impressed secondaries, the abaxial surface glabrous or puberulent, with prominent midvein and secondary veins, the venation brochidodromus, secondary veins alternate or subopposite, arching toward the margin, the margins entire or wavy, slightly revolute; petiolules nearly cylindrical or enlarged and slightly flattened, wrinkled when dry, 6-17 mm long, glabrous or puberulent; rachis 5-36 cm long, adaxially bicarinate on distal portion, slightly flattened on proximal portion, abaxially striate, puberulent; petioles 4-18 (25) cm long, striate or less often lenticellate, adaxially flattened, enlarged at base. Thyrses simple or panicle-shaped, fasciculate, axillary, ramiflorous or cauliflorous; cataphylls acicular, pubescent, 5-7 mm long, clustered at base of inflorescence or wanting; axes 2-27 cm long, angled, ferruginous or canescent-pubescent, or puberulent; bracts subulate or filiform, persistent, 0.5-2 mm long, with same indumentum as the axis; dichasia simple or compound, sessile or nearly so; pedicels 1-3 mm long, articulate from the middle to the apex. Calyx 2.5-4.6 (6) mm long, grayish pubescent to ferruginous-tomentose on both surfaces, sometimes with a few glandular hairs, the sepals ovate, 1/3 to 1/2 the length of the calyx, acute or obtuse at the apex; petals elliptic to oblanceolate, white, 3-5.8 (6.5) mm long, reflexed at anthesis, abaxially glabrous or pubescent at base and sometimes ciliate along lower margins, adaxially puberulent-papillate, the apex obtuse or rounded, the base tapering; appendages as long as the petals, or little shorter, elliptic to long-deltate, erect, entire or notched at apex, adnate along its lower half to the petal, abaxially puberulent and papillate, adaxially sericeous; disc cup-shaped, 5-lobed, pubescent or tomentose at the apex, or less often glabrous, 1-1.3 mm tall; stamens (7)8, the filaments glabrous, in two or three sets of unequal lengths, the shorter ones 2-3 mm long, the longer ones 4-5 mm long, or sometimes nearly equal, the anthers ellipsoid to oblong, 0.6-1.2 mm long, glabrous, apiculate or seldom obtuse at apex; ovary ovoid, densely sericeous, the stigma elongated, papillate. Fruits ellipsoid to ovoid, brownish-yellow or yellow, nearly smooth, densely ferruginous-sericeous, (1.5) 2.5-3 × 1.3-2.2 cm, obtuse at apex, with short apiculum, the pericarp woody, 2-3 mm thick, the endocarp granulate, sparsely to densely woolly. Seed ellipsoid, 1-2 cm long, with sweet, white fleshy testa. Embryo with cotyledons superimposed, of equal size.
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Discussion
The specific epithet refers to the leaves with 6 leaflets as shown in the type specimens.
Note: I have placed T. hexaphylla in Talisia subgenus Talisia with some reservations. Its anthers (ellipsoid or oblong with apiculate or obtuse apex) are intermediate between those defining subgenus Pitombaria and subgenus Talisia and it reseambles T. clathrata in numerous morphological aspects, suggesting that they may be closely related and perhaps belong together in subgenus Pitombaria.