Terminalia crispialata (Ducke) Alwan & Stace

  • 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 crispialata (Ducke) Alwan & Stace

  • Type

    Type. Brazil. Amazonas: Caatinga ad Igarapé Juraxare, affl. Rio Vaupés, 2 Nov 1932, Ducke 25024 (holotype, RB; isotypes, K, US). Ducke 221=31948 (NY, RB, S, Y) and Ducke 34637 (G, INPA, P, RB, S, U, US), both collected on 29 September 1935 from the type tree, are not otherwise types.

  • Description

    Species Description - Shrub or tree, 3.5-10 m. Leaves 3-14 × 1.5-7.5 cm, obovate to oblanceolate or elliptic-oblong, retuse to rounded or sometimes obtuse at apex, cuneate at base, often slightly revolute at margin, glabrous to sparsely puberulous adaxially, sparsely to densely puberulous abaxially especially on midvein, becoming subglabrous with age; domatia absent. Venation as in T. ramatuellea except secondary veins 8-18 pairs. Petiole 0.5-2.5 cm, pubescent, puberulous or glabrous, usually obscurely biglandular at junction with leaf. Inflorescences 4-12 cm, simple, more or less capitate or with more distant male flowers proximally, andromonoecious with male flowers proximal and bisexual flowers distal, rarely some inflorescences with entirely male or bisexual flowers; peduncle 3-6 cm (can appear longer in fruit when proximal male flowers have dropped), pubescent or densely so; rhachis 0.5-5 cm, densely pubescent. Flowers tetramerous to pentamerous (mostly tetramerous), the bisexual ones 6-11 × 3.5-7 mm, the male ones 3-6 × 3.5-7 mm; lower hypanthium 3-7 mm in bisexual flowers, pedicel-like and 1-3 mm in male flowers, tomentose; upper hypanthium 2 5-4.5 mm, cupuliform, densely appressed-pubescent; calyx lobes 1.5-2 mm, appressed-pubescent, suberect; disk villous; stamens 3-6 mm, style 3-4 mm, pilose proximally, sometimes nearly to apex. Fruits crowded into more or less globose terminal heads, 1-2 × 0.8-1.8 cm, actinomorphic, elliptic-oblong to orbicular in side view, obtuse or rounded to truncate or retuse at apex with beak 0-0.1 cm, truncate to rounded and without pseudostipe at base, densely pubescent; wings 4(-5), rigid, equal, usually strongly crispate, 0.4-0.7 cm wide, round laterally; body 0.2-0.4 cm wide. Reproductive biology. Flowers whitish. Flowering September to October; fruiting September to July.

  • Discussion

    Illustrations. Figs. 9e, f (epidermis), 921, m & 104f, g (fr), lOlf (If), 104k (fl). Bautista & Abreu (1978), p. 427 (as Ramatuellea crispialata); Exell & Stace (1963), pp. 40 (fr), 43 (fl) (as Ramatuellea crispialata & R. obtusa); Stace & Alwan (1998), p. 350.

    Terminalia crispialata differs from T. ramatuellea and T. virens in its puberulous leaves and large elliptic-oblong to orbicular fruits without an obvious beak or pseudostipe. Ramatuellea obtusa was supposed to differ from T. crispialata in minor leaf and fruit characters, but later collections have shown such distinction to be untenable.

  • Distribution

    Habitats as for Terminalia ramatuellea, at 80-120 m. Headwaters of Ríos Negro and Orinoco; Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil, over a wider area, ca. 400 × 290 km, than the other two species of the section. For Amazonian associates see under T. ramatuellea.

    Amazonas Brazil South America| Roraima Brazil South America| Amazonas Venezuela South America| Guainía Colombia South America|