Buchenavia suaveolens Eichler

  • Authority

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

  • Family

    Combretaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Buchenavia suaveolens Eichler

  • Type

    Type.  Spruce 1887 & 3189 [error for 3198] inter Barra et Barcelos secus fl. Rio Negro nec non ad fl. Vasiva, Casiquiare et Pacimoni, Brasiliae aequatorialis et conterminae Venezuelae in protologue. Brazil. Amazonas: Between Barra and Barcelos, Nov 1851, Spruce 1887 pro parte (lectotype, selected by Exell & Stace, 1963, p. 21, LE; isolectotypes, A/GH, BM, BP, C, CGE, F, FI. G, IAN, K, M, NY, OXF, P, W). Venezuela. Amazonas: Río Guainia, above its confluence with Río Casiquiare, 1854, Spruce 1887 pro parte (lectoparatypes, C, GOET, K, W). Venezuela. Amazonas: On Rivers Casiquiare, Vasiva and Pacimoni, 1853-1854, Spruce 3198 (lectoparatypes, A/GH, BM, BP, BR, C, F, G, GOET, K. LE, OXF, P, RB, W). Venezuela. Amazonas: On the banks of Lake Vasiva, also observed on Río Pacimoni, Dec 1853, Spruce 3190 (K, P) was not cited by Eichler but the locality was.

  • Synonyms

    Terminalia suaveolens Spruce, Terminalia vasivae Spruce ex Eichler, Buchenavia pterocarpa Exell & Stace

  • Description

    Species Description - Tree 4-30 m. Leaves 2-8(-ll) × 1-4.5 cm, coriaceous, oblanceolate to obovate or narrowly oblong-elliptic, rounded or retuse to obtuse at apex, narrowly cuneate and slightly decurrent at base, glabrous except sometimes sparsely pubescent on midvein; domatia absent. Venation brochididromous; midvein moderate, slightly prominent; secondary veins 6-12 pairs, moderately spaced to close, originating at moderately acute angles, slightly curved, scarcely prominent; intersecondary veins present, often almost as evident as secondaries; tertiary veins randomly reticulate or inconspicuous; higher order venation and areolation not distinct. Petiole 0.3-2 cm, glabrous to sparsely puberulous, eglandular. Inflorescences 2.5-9 cm, spicate; peduncle 1-2.5 cm, sparsely pubescent; rhachis 1.5-6.5 cm, sparsely pubescent. Flowers 3-4 mm; lower hypanthium 2-2.5 mm, rather gradually tapered to neck ca. 1.5 mm, appressed-pubescent, more sparsely so on neck; upper hypanthium 0.8-1 × 1.5-2.5 mm, sparsely or very sparsely appressed-pubescent. Fruits 1.4-2.5(-3.5) × 0.8-1.6 cm, elliptic in side view, more or less terete to distinctly flattened, smooth to strongly ridged often with 2 very strong ridges or narrow wings on opposite edges, abruptly narrowed to 0.1-0.4 cm straight or curved beak, rounded at base usually with distinct pseudostipe to 0.5 cm, glabrous. Reproductive biology. Flowering October to April; fruiting March to July. Flowers red, reddish tan, orange, brownish yellow, yellow, greenish, greenish, cream-colored.

  • Discussion

    Uses. Wood durable, said to be suitable for house construction. Illustrations. Figs. 112k, kk (fr), 113e (lf), 124 (portrait). Bautista & Abreu (1978), pp. 415, 417 & 423 (as B. suaveolens & B. pterocarpa); Exell & Stace (1963), p. 22 (as B. suaveolens & B. pterocarpa); Stace & Alwan (1998), p. 336.

    Buchenavia suaveolens is easily recognized by its smooth glabrous leaves with very inconspicuous venation and distinctly but shortly beaked fruits. The leaves almost always dry a distinctive olive-brown or buff color. They resemble those of Terminalia yapacana to some degree. The fruits are extremely variable. This species can possess the most flattened and nearest to winged fruits in the genus; such variants were described as B. pterocarpa, but subsequent collections show every degree of intermediate to completely smooth and terete fruits which are considerably more succulent than the flattened ones. The woody endocarp shows a similar range in shape (Fig. 124).

    Eichler (1867) cited Rob. Schomburgk 854 under Buchenavia oxycarpa, but it is clearly (mostly) B. suaveolens. However there are specimens of B. oxycarpa labeled 854 at F (ex G, attributed to Gardner, from Ceará, 1838) and CGE (attributed to Schomburgk from Guyana). Buchenavia oxycarpa, like B. suaveolens, occurs on the Rio Branco without reaching Guyana, but unlike B. suaveolens it does reach Ceará. There is a specimen of B. suaveolens labeled Gardner 854, from Ceará, 1838, at G, where a confusion of labels might have arisen. In addition a genuine specimen of Rob. Schomburgk 854 (B. suaveolens) at W was wrongly labeled B. oxycarpa by Eichler.

    Terminalia suaveolens and T. vasivae were manuscript names of Spruce written on various herbarium sheets and published as synonyms by Eichler. In addition, on the sheet of 1887 at K, Spruce wrote Terminalia odorata and annotated the specimen “FIs green, odorif.,” but this name was not published.

    Distribution and Ecology: (Fig. 123). Sandy river banks and flooded forests in areas of high rainfall, at 60-140 m. This species is more or less confined to the Río Negro catchment area (Brazil, Venezuela, and Colombia), where it occurs typically with B. reticulata, B. macrophylla, B. ochroprumna, Terminalia ra- matuella, T. virens, T. crispialata, and T. yapacana. Although it has not been recorded specifically from Colombia, it must surely occur on the west banks of the Ríos Atabapo and Guainia. There are no valid records from Guyana; Rob. Schomburgk 854 ("British Guiana”) was actually collected at the Falls on the Rio Branco, Roraima, Brazil, according to Schomburgks notebooks.

  • Common Names

    Cumello hoja fina de rebalse bajo, cumello hoja gruesa, cumello, marraque, tanimbuca

  • Distribution

    Amazonas Brazil South America| Roraima Brazil South America| Amazonas Venezuela South America|