Buchenavia congesta Ducke

  • 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 congesta Ducke

  • Type

    Type. Brazil. Amazonas: In non-flooded wood in humid spot, near Cachoeira do Mindú, Manaus, Oct 1946 (young fr), Ducke 2003 (lectotype, selected by Exell & Stace, 1963, p. 37, RB; isolectotypes, A/GH, IAN, INPA, MG, R, U, US). Same tree, Dec 1943 (fr), Ducke 1465 (lectoparatypes, A/GH, F, IAN, MG, NY, R. US). Ducke 2104 is also from the type tree but collected too late to be a type.

  • Synonyms

    Buchenavia longibracteata Fróes

  • Description

    Species Description - Tree, 5-40 m, with large buttresses when well grown. Leaves 8-23 × 3-9 cm, chartaceous to subcoriaceous, obovate to oblanceolate, shortly and abruptly acuminate or apiculate at apex (often with good "shoulders"), narrowly attenuate-cuneate at base, glabrous except sometimes puberulous on midvein adaxially, glabrous except puberulous on midvein and secondary veins to puberulous except densely so on major venation abaxially; domatia often present in secondary vein-axils. Venation eucamptodromous or eucamptodromous-brochidodromous; midvein moderate, prominent; secondary veins 6-16 pairs, moderately spaced to close, arising at moderately to widely acute angles, curved to slightly curved, prominent; intersecondary veins absent; tertiary veins regularly and often closely percurrent; higher order veins distinct; areolation imperfect, slightly prominent. Petiole (0.6-)l-3 cm, sparsely to densely puberulous, usually conspicuously biglandular. Inflorescences 2.5-14cm, spicate; peduncle 1.8-3.7 cm, densely rufous-puberulous; rhachis 5-11 cm, densely rufous-puberulous. Flowers 3-4 mm; lower hypanthium 2-2.5 mm, probably glabrous to densely pubescent (pilose in type of B. longibracteata), with narrow neck ca. half its length; upper hypanthium 1-1.5 × 2.5-3 mm, glabrous. Fruits 1.8-2.5 × 0.7-1.5 cm, oblong to oblong-elliptic or narrowly so in side view, more or less terete, rounded to acute or apiculate at apex, rounded and usually shortly pseudostipitate at base, glabrous or nearly so even when young. Reproductive biology. Flowering September to November; fruiting November to July. Fruits are said to be buoyant (on river water).

  • Discussion

    Illustrations. Figs. 112p (fr), 129e (lf). Bautista & Abreu (1978), p. 401; Stace & Alwan (1998), p. 334.

    Uses. Fruit said to be edible (several countries).

    Buchenavia congesta is characterized by the glabrous fruits and swollen branchlet tips bearing many very densely clustered leaves which are usually narrowly obovate and abruptly shortly acuminate; B. macrophylla has leaves of a different shape (less abruptly narrowed at apex) and less densely clustered, and densely puberulous fruits. See B. pallidovirens and B. nitidissima for differences from those species. Buchenavia longibracteata is unique in the genus in having conspicuous bracts ca. 7-13 mm long at flowering time; it is almost certainly an unusual variant of B. congesta, which it closely resembles in all other features.

  • Common Names

    Au-ró, desprecio, boká, wild genip

  • Distribution

    Tropical rainforests, often riverine, on flood-plains or terra firme, at 100-400 m. Western catchment of Ríos Amazonas and Negro, in Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The single locality in Guyana is an outlier, but the specimen is quite typical.

    Acre Brazil South America| Amazonas Brazil South America| Napo Ecuador South America| Orellana Ecuador South America| Essequibo Guyana South America| Ucayali Peru South America| Amazonas Venezuela South America| Vaupés Colombia South America|