Terminalia virens (Spruce ex Eichler) Alwan & Stace
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Authority
Stace, C. A. & Alwan, A.-R A. 2010. Combretaceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 107: 1-369. (Published by NYBG Press)
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Family
Combretaceae
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Scientific Name
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Type
Type. Venezuela. Amazonas: Río Guainía, above its confluence with Río Casiquiare, Nov 1854, Spruce 3758 (lectotype, W, here designated; isolectotypes, A/GH, B destroyed but photograph in US, BM, BR, C, CGE, F, G, GOET, K, LE, OXF, P, RB, TCD, W).
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Description
Species Description - Shrub or tree 2-20 m. Leaves 2-15 × 1-7 cm, strongly coriaceous, obovate to oblanceolate or elliptic-oblong to narrowly so, retuse to rounded or sometimes obtuse or shortly apiculate at apex, cuneate and often shortly decurrent at base, often slightly revolute at margin, glabrous except usually sparsely puberulous on midvein especially abaxially, sometimes also on lamina abaxially; domatia absent. Venation as in T. ramatuellea except secondary veins 8-16 pairs. Petiole 0.3-3 cm, sparsely appressed-puberulous to glabrous, usually obscurely biglandular at junction with leaf. Inflorescences 1.2-8 cm, simple, more or less capitate except sometimes with more spaced-out male flowers proximally, andromonoecious with male flowers proximal and bisexual flowers distal, rarely some inflorescences with entirely male or bisexual flowers; peduncle 1-5 cm (can appear longer in fruit when proximal male flowers have dropped), pubescent or sparsely so; rhachis 0.2-3.5(-5) cm, pubescent. Flowers tetramerous to pentamerous (mostly tetramerous), the bisexual ones 5-10 × 3.5-5 mm, the male ones 3-6 × 3.5-5 mm; lower hypanthium 3-7 mm in bisexual flowers, pedicel-like and 0.8-3 mm in male flowers, densely appressed-pubescent to tomentose; upper hypanthium 1.5-4 mm, cupuliform, appressed-pubescent or sparsely so; calyx lobes 0.5-1.5 mm, appressed-pubescent or sparsely so, suberect; disk villous; stamens 3-6 mm, style 4-6 mm, sparsely pilose proximally. Fruits crowded into more or less globose terminal heads, 0.8-1.8 × 0.6-l.l cm, actinomorphic, rhombic or transversely elliptic to elliptic or ovate in side view, obtuse to acuminate and abruptly to gradually narrowed into a narrow beak 0.1-0.3 cm at apex, obtuse to rounded and gradually narrowed into stout pseudostipe 0.15-0.4 cm at base, pubescent; wings 4(-5), rigid, equal, straight-edged to crispate, 0.4-0.7 cm wide, rounded to pointed laterally; body 0.2-0.4 cm wide. Reproductive biology. Flowers whitish yellow, yellow, green, greenish white, with white, cream-colored, or green filaments and orange, yellow or chestnut anthers; probably varying with age. Flowers fragrant. Bisexual flowers clearly protogynous. Flowering July to May; fruiting September to July.
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Discussion
Illustrations. Figs. 8d-f (epidermis), 22c (pollen), 92j, k (fr), 101e (If), 104a-d, h-j (portrait). Bautista & Abreu (1978), pp. 429, 431 & 433 (as Ramatuellea maguirei & R. virens)', Exell & Stace (1963), pp. 40 (fr) & 43 (fl) (as Ramatuellea virens, R. maguirei & R-latifolia); Stace & Alwan (1998), p. 350.
Terminalia virens differs from T. ramatuellea in its glabrous to sparsely pubescent leaf abaxial surface and brownish fruits, and from T. crispialata in its less pubescent leaves and slightly smaller fruits without a crisped or undulate margin to the wings and with a distinct beak and pseudostipe. Ramatuellea maguirei was described as differing in its smaller more deltate or rhomboid fruits; the type of R. latifolia, with its large ovate fruits with rounded wings, comes at the opposite end of the range, but all intermediates have now been collected. The “cuticular exfoliation” described in R. latifolia was probably an artefact. -
Distribution
Habitats as for Terminalia ramatuellea, at 80-200 m. Headwaters of Ríos Negro and Orinoco; Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil, in an area ca. 350 × 350 km. For Amazonian associates see under T. ramatuellea.
Amazonas Brazil South America| Roraima Brazil South America| Amazonas Venezuela South America| Guainía Colombia South America|