Terminalia catappa L.

Authority

Stace, C. A. & Alwan, A.-R A. 2010. Combretaceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 107: 1-369. (Published by NYBG Press)

Family

Combretaceae

Scientific Name

Terminalia catappa L.

Type

Type. "Habitat in India" in protologue (lectotype, selected by Byrnes, 1977, p. 38, LINN 1222.1).

Synonyms

Myrobalanus catappa (L.) Kuntze, Terminalia subcordata Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd., Terminalia catappa var. subcordata (Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.) DC., Terminalia intermedia (A.Rich.) Urb., Terminalia paraensis Mart.

Description

Species Description - Evergreen to briefly deciduous tree 2-35 m. Leaves (8-)12-30(-38) × (5-)9-15(-22) cm, chartaceous, obovate to broadly so or rarely elliptic-obovate, rounded to shortly acuminate at apex, tapering to narrow, usually cordate to subcordate (rarely rounded, subtruncate or cuneate) base, glabrous adaxially, glabrous to appressed-pubescent abaxially; bowl-shaped domatia always present, in secondary and lower-order vein-axils. Venation eucamptodromous-brochidodromous; midvein stout to moderate, prominent; secondary veins 6-12 pairs, moderately spaced to distant, originating at moderately to widely acute angles, curved distally, prominent; intersecondary veins present; tertiary veins usually irregularly percurrent, often alternate and oblique; quaternary veins sometimes conspicuous; areolation randomly reticulate, imperfect or incomplete. Petiole 0.5-2.5 cm, pubescent, usually biglandular. Inflorescences (8-)13-30 cm, simple, andromonoecious, with the bisexual flowers few and near base; peduncle 3-5.5 cm, glabrous to sparsely pubescent; rhachis (5-) 10-27 cm, pubescent. Flowers pentamerous, 3-5 × 4-7 mm (male) or 6-10x4-7 mm (bisexual); lower hypanthium 3-7 mm in bisexual flowers, appressed-pubescent, usually densely so near base and sparsely so near apex; upper hypanthium 1-2 mm, cupuliform or campanulate, sparsely pubescent; calyx lobes 1-1.5 mm, erect to patent or slightly recurved when at full anthesis, nearly glabrous; disk villous; stamens 2-4 mm; style 3-3.5 mm, glabrous. Fruits few near base of rhachis, (3.5-)4-8 × 3-5.5 cm, drupaceous but rather fibrous, ovoid to ellipsoid, slightly compressed, rounded to broadly cuneate at base, acute to acuminate or stoutly beaked at apex, glabrous, with obscure to conspicuous ridge or wing to 6 mm wide along full length on each lateral edge. Reproductive biology. The inflorescences bear bisexual flowers and, therefore, fruits only near the base, with a long distal part of the rhachis with male flowers or, at siting, bare. Rowers and fruits are found throughout most the year, even in one locality. The flowers are Cream-colored and sweetly scented, but are sometimes described as yellow, white or green, or with an unpleasant smell. There is no evidence of dichogamy. The spongy fruits are well suited to water dispersal (Guppy 1917). Chromosome numbers. This species has been counted with 2n = 24 (four counts on cultivated material from Africa and India).

Discussion

Uses. Widely grown as an ornamental and for shade, and the seeds are eaten like almonds. Leaves are reportedly used as picnic plates, but we have no evidence of use as timber.

Distribution and Ecology: (Fig. 72). An ornamental introduced into the Americas certainly by the early 1800s. Terminalia subcordata was described in 1806, Bertero collected it 1816-1818 and again 1820 and 1821, Martius collected it 1817-1820, and De Candolle (1828b) stated now cultivated in the Carribean Islands. It often self-sows and and is sometimes thoroughly naturalized on marginal open ground, especially close to the sea where it may form a zone behind the mangroves; it tolerates salinity. It occurs mostly at low altitude, but to at least 1805 m, throughout the Neotropics. It appears to be much more commonly planted and naturalized in Central America and the West Indies than in South America. Graham (1964) states that it is “naturalised in scattered areas of southern Florida and the Keys, but I have seen no material so annotated from there. It is naturalized on the islands of Kauai, Oahu, Maui, and Hawaii in Hawaii (Wagner et al., 1990), but only planted in Santa Cruz, Galapagos (Wiggins & Porter, 1971), and Baja California (Wiggins, 1980). Native in tropical Asia, probably from India to the extreme southeast, and in Polynesia and northeastern Australia. Most American herbarium material does not make it clear whether the specimen came from naturalized (wild) or cultivated trees. The map omits those specimens that state a cultivated source (though many included might also be cultivated), but the list of specimens examined includes cultivated material.

Common Names

almendro, almendrillo, amendoeira, amendoeira da praia, amendoeira da Índia, amandelboom, mantara, Indian almond, West Indian almond, Barbados almond, moena amarilla, chapéo de sol, capéu do sol, castanha da praia, castanhola, castagna de Amazonas

Distribution

Puntarenas Costa Rica Central America| Acre Brazil South America| Amazonas Brazil South America| Pará Brazil South America| São Paulo Brazil South America| Roraima Brazil South America| Distrito Federal Brazil South America| Bahia Brazil South America| Rio de Janeiro Brazil South America| Santa Catarina Brazil South America| Pernambuco Brazil South America| Ceará Brazil South America| Paraná Brazil South America| Puerto Rico South America| Cuba South America| Jamaica South America| Guadeloupe South America| Bonaire South America| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines South America| Martinique South America| Grenada South America| Dominica South America| Barbados South America| Trinidad and Tobago South America| Dominican Republic South America| Haiti South America| Bermuda South America| Bahamas South America| Aruba South America| Belize Central America| El Salvador Central America| Guatemala Central America| Colón Panamá Central America| Honduras Central America| Veracruz Mexico North America| Baja California Mexico North America| México Mexico North America| Yucatán Mexico North America| Tabasco Mexico North America| Quintana Roo Mexico North America| Chiapas Mexico North America| Campeche Mexico North America| Oaxaca Mexico North America| Guerrero Mexico North America| Sinaloa Mexico North America| Nayarit Mexico North America| Suriname South America| Florida United States of America North America| Ecuador South America| Loreto Peru South America| Rivas Nicaragua Central America| Chiriquí Panamá Central America| Bocas del Toro Panamá Central America| Esmeraldas Ecuador South America| Panamá Panama Central America| San Blás Panama Central America| Veraguas Panama Central America| Belize Belize Central America| Corozal Belize Central America| Stann Creek Belize Central America| Guanacaste Costa Rica Central America| Limón Costa Rica Central America| San José Costa Rica Central America| La Unión El Salvador Central America| San Miguel El Salvador Central America| San Salvador El Salvador Central America| Escuintla Guatemala Central America| Izabal Guatemala Central America| Petén Guatemala Central America| Suchitepéquez Guatemala Central America| Zacapa Guatemala Central America| Atlantida Honduras Central America| Colón Honduras Central America| Comayagua Honduras Central America| Cortés Honduras Central America| El Paraíso Honduras Central America| Francisco Morazán Honduras Central America| Islas de la Bahía Honduras Central America| Chinandega Nicaragua Central America| Granada Nicaragua Central America| León Nicaragua Central America| Managua Nicaragua Central America| Masaya Nicaragua Central America| Matagalpa Nicaragua Central America| Zelaya Nicaragua Central America| Beni Bolivia South America| La Paz Bolivia South America| Guayas Ecuador South America| Los Ríos Ecuador South America| Morona-Santiago Ecuador South America| Cayenne French Guiana South America| Essequibo Guyana South America| Central Paraguay South America| Nueva Asunción Paraguay South America| Cusco Peru South America| Madre de Dios Peru South America| Commewijne Suriname South America| Marowijne Suriname South America| Paramaribo Suriname South America| Aragua Venezuela South America| Carabobo Venezuela South America| Distrito Federal Venezuela South America| Falcón Venezuela South America| Mérida Venezuela South America| Zulia Venezuela South America| Antioquia Colombia South America| Bolívar Colombia South America| Chocó Colombia South America| Cundinamarca Colombia South America| Huila Colombia South America| Magdalena Colombia South America| Meta Colombia South America| Norte de Santander Colombia South America| Valle del Cauca Colombia South America| Portland Jamaica South America| Toledo Belize Central America| Darién Panamá Central America| French Guiana South America| Mexico North America| Costa Rica South America| Panama Central America| La Habana Cuba South America| Piñar del Río Cuba South America| Saint Elizabeth Jamaica South America| Saint James Jamaica South America| Saint Ann Jamaica South America| Saint Mary Jamaica South America| Nord-Ouest Haiti South America| Río Grande Puerto Rico South America| Bayamón Puerto Rico South America|