Terminalia yapacana Maguire

  • 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 yapacana Maguire

  • Type

    Type. Venezuela. Amazonas: Yapacana Savanna III, Cerro Yapacana, Alto Río Orinoco, 125 m, Jan 1951, Maguire, Cowan & Wurdack 30590 (holotype, NY; isotypes, BM, US, VEN), Maguire, Cowan & Wurdack 30480 (paratypes, F, K. NY, US).

  • Description

    Species Description - Shrub or tree 0.5-8(-25)m. Leaves 3-10 × 1.5-4.5 cm, strongly coriaceous, narrowly obovate to oblanceolate or narrowly oblong-oblanceolate or less often obovate or oblong-obovate, rounded or retuse or sometimes obtuse at apex, attenuate-cuneate at base, glabrous except rarely sparsely pubescent on midvein abaxially; domatia absent. Venation as in T. quintalata. Petiole 0.1-0.5(-1) cm, glabrous or rarely sparsely pubescent, usually biglandular at junction with leaf. Inflorescences 2-13 cm, simple, andromonoecious with a few male flowers near apex or all flowers bisexual; peduncle 1-7 cm, glabrous to sparsely pubescent; rhachis 1-6 cm, sparsely pubescent to pubescent. Flowers (tetramerous to) pentamerous, the bisexual ones 5-6.5 × 3-4.5 mm, the male ones 3.5-5 × 3-4.5 mm; lower hypanthium 2-2.6 mm in bisexual flowers, densely pubescent, pedicel-like and 0.5-2 mm in male flowers; upper hypanthium 2-2.5 mm, campanulate to cupuliform, appressed-pubescent to sparsely so outside, always densely pubescent inside; calyx lobes 1-1.5 mm, glabrous to sparsely pubescent, suberect to recurved; disk villous; stamens 3-5 mm; style 2-5 mm, glabrous or sparsely pubescent near base. Fruits numerous, disposed along whole length of rhachis, 0.3-0.8 × 0.2-0.9 cm, actinomorphic, broadly elliptic in side view, rounded to truncate at base and apex, sparsely pubescent; wings (4-)5. flexible, equal, 0.1-0.4 cm wide, rounded laterally; body 0.1-0.2 cm wide. Reproductive biology. Flowers whitish cream-colored, whitish green, green, tinged reddish with white filaments and yellow anthers; slightly fragrant. Bisexual flowers slightly protogynous. Flowering August to March; fruiting September to April.

  • Discussion

    Illustrations. Figs. 2a (venation), 92f (fr), 101b (If). Stace & Alwan (1998), p. 351.

    Terminalia yapacana differs from its two close relatives in its narrower leaves, from T. quintalata in its smaller, mostly wider than long fruits, and from T. guaiquinimae in its mostly 5-merous flowers and fruits.

  • Distribution

    Scrub within or woodland at edge of humid savannas and riverside forests at low altitude; 100-150 m. Confined to Amazonas, Venezuela, in the Upper Río Orinoco basin especially around Cerro Yapacana, extending for only about 225 km. Apparently totally allopatric with both Terminalia quintalata and T. guaiquinimae, but sympatric with the three species of section Ramatuellea. For Amazonian associates see Terminalia ramatuellea.

    Amazonas Venezuela South America|