Terminalia bucidoides Standl. & L.O.Williams

  • 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 bucidoides Standl. & L.O.Williams

  • Type

    Type. Costa Rica. Puntarenas: forested hills near Golfito de Golfo Dulce, Jul 1951, Allen 6282 (holotype, US (see Dorr et al., 2009); isotypes, A/GH n.v., EAP n.v., F). Nicaragua. Zelaya: mountain rainforest of Esquipulas and Alemán, drainage of Río Alemán, Nov 1951, Shank & Molina Rositto 4839 (paratype, F).

  • Description

    Species Description - Tree to 50 m; no buttresses noted. Leaves 6.5-14 × 2.5-6.5 cm, chartaceous, obovate to oblanceolate, usually narrowly obovate, narrowly cuneate at base, acute to shortly abruptly or gradually acuminate at apex, usually well shouldered, sparsely pubescent adaxially and densely so abaxially when young, glabrous or sparsely pubescent only on main veins at maturity; domatia absent. Venation as in T. obovata except secondary veins 5-8 pairs, moderately spaced to distant. Petiole 1-3(-5) cm, glabrous to pubescent, eglandular or rarely biglandular. Inflorescences 5-20 cm, simple, with flowers small, numerous, crowded and all bisexual; peduncle 2-6 cm, densely pubescent; rhachis 3-14 cm, densely pubescent. Flowers pentamerous, 4.4-5.7 × 3.5-4.3 mm; lower hypanthium 1.7-3 mm, pubescent to densely so; upper hypanthium 1.4-1.8 mm, campanulate, pubescent; calyx lobes 1.2-1.5 mm, revolute, pubescent; disk pubescent; stamens 4.1-6 mm; style 3.2-5 mm, densely villous for at least proximal half, sometimes almost so to apex. Fruits often disposed along whole length of rhachis, 1.4-2.7 × 2.5-6 cm. flattened, transversely elliptic in side view, obtuse to emarginate at apex, truncate or very obtuse at base, without pseudostipe, subglabrous at maturity; wings 2, fairly stiff, equal, 1-2.8 cm wide, rounded to narrowly rounded or rarely pointed laterally; body 0.5-0.7cm wide, ridged on one face, flat or depressed on other. Reproductive biology. Probably the same floral biology as in Terminalia oblonga. Flowering mostly June to August; fruiting throughout most of the year, mostly July to December. Germination is epigeal, with two obcordate cotyledons (Flores, 1994c).

  • Discussion

    In many places the same vernacular names are used interchangeably for this Species and Terminalia oblonga.

    Uses. The timber is said to be used in the same way as that of Terminalia oblonga, and is very similar, but T. bucidoides is apparently not planted for forestry (Flores, 1994c) as is T. oblonga.

    Illustrations. Figs. 741 (fr), 79e (If). Flores (1994c), p. 109.

    Terminalia bucidoides is sympatric with T. oblonga throughout its range in Central America and in Peru. For differences see under T. oblonga-, the two key-characters usually easily distinguish them.

  • Common Names

    escobo, escobo negro, escobillo, muñeco, guayabo de charco, guayabo negro, white nargusta, criollo

  • Distribution

    A species of humid forests, in similar habitats to Terminalia oblonga, occurring from Guatemala and Belize to C Panama, with one outlier in Loreto, Peru, at 75-1000 m.

    Puntarenas Costa Rica Central America| Colón Panamá Central America| Loreto Peru South America| Alajuela Costa Rica Central America| Guanacaste Costa Rica Central America| Heredia Costa Rica Central America| Limón Costa Rica Central America| San José Costa Rica Central America| Izabal Guatemala Central America| Petén Guatemala Central America| Zelaya Nicaragua Central America| Toledo Belize Central America|