Deherainia matudae Lundell

  • Authority

    Ståhl, Bertil. 2010. Theophrastaceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 105: 1-160. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Theophrastaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Deherainia matudae Lundell

  • Type

    Type. Mexico. Chiapas: Mapastepec, Santa Rita, Jan 1938, E. Matuda 2022 (lectotype, MICH, designated by Stâhl, 1989, p. 21; isolectotypes, A, CAS, F, GH, K, MICH, US).

  • Synonyms

    Deherainia lageniformis Gómez-Laur. & N.Zamora

  • Description

    Species Description - Shrub or small tree to 6 m tall, young shoots and branchlets lepidote, sometimes sparsely so or glabrous. Leaf blade oblancolate or narrowly elliptic, 7.5-18 (-27) x 2.5-5.5(-8.5) cm, subcoriaceous, 0.25-0.35 mm thick, glabrous, base attenuate, apex acute or short-acuminate, often mucronulate; extraxylary sclerenchyma mostly separated from epidermis by a layer of mesenchymatous cells, arranged in bundles 5-17 cells thick and ± isodiametric in cross section; hypo-derm lacking; petiole 6-25 mm long, 1.2-2.6 mm thick. Flowers l-3(-9), seemingly umbellate or racemose with rachis to 0.7 cm long, pedicels 13-25 mm long, seemingly glabrous; bracts 2-3.5 mm long-inserted at base of pedicel. Calyx lobes very broadly ovate, 6-7 x 7-8 mm, seemingly glabrous, margins erose. Corolla tube 7-8 mm long, smooth within, lobes (10-) 13-14 x (8-)13-17 mm, margins fimbriate. Staminodes ovate or obovate, 1.5-2 x 1.2-1.7 mm, margins entire. Filaments 4.5-5 mm long, anthers 3-3.5 mm long. Pistil 6-8 mm long; ovules 40-60 in 4-6 rows. Fruit 10-14 x 6-7 cm, pericarp 2-3 mm thick, surface smooth to faintly rugose; seeds 35-45, 8-15 mm long.

    Distribution and Ecology - Somewhat patchy distribution from SW Mexico to Costa Rica (Fig. 49), but still unknown from Belize, El Salvador, and Nicaragua, in understory of moist to wet forests from sea level to 1500 m. Flowering Sep, Nov, and Jan; fruiting May and Jul.

  • Discussion

    Deherainia matudae lacks long, brownish trichomes and, therefore, is easily distinguished from D. smaragdina. However, young branches are usually furnished with short-stalked, capitate trichomes, which are similar to those of many species of Jacquinia (e.g., J. arborea), except that the cells are considerably more thin-walled. The foliar sclerenchyma is arranged in well-defined bundles, which differ from those of D. smaragdina in being more or less isodiametric (not laterally flattened) and somewhat immersed in the mesenchyma (not adjacent to the epidermis).

    Since my treatment of Central American Theophrastaceae (Stâhl, 1989), Deherainia iageniformis was described from Costa Rica. However, the detailed information and excellent illustration in the original publication (Gómez-Laurito & Zamora, 1998) suggest that the Costa Rican population is better treated under D. matudae. The most important, distinguishing characters, i.e., the vaguely spinulose leaf apex and the large, ovoid fruits, are features characterizing the genus as a whole. This conclusion was also reached after examining a paratype, Haber et al. 11234, from the same population as the type.

  • Distribution

    Chiapas Mexico North America| Veracruz Mexico North America| Izabal Guatemala Central America| Yoro Honduras Central America| Alajuela Costa Rica Central America|