Swartzia caribaea Griseb.
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Authority
Cowan, Richard S. 1967. Swartzia (Leguminosae, Caesalpinioideae Swartzieae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 1: 3-228. (Published by NYBG Press)
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Family
Fabaceae
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Scientific Name
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Type
Type collection. A. Anderson s. n. (lectotype K), St. Lucia, British West Indies. The selection of a lectotype is necessary because the original description included several collections and the Anderson collection is the best of these. The Imray collection is virtually sterile. The Anderson collection bears a note by R. A. Rolfe to the effect that the type is a mixed collection, but there is no evidence of this on the sheet at Kew which has been selected as the lectotype; on the same sheet there is mounted material collected by Ramage but this need not be confused with the Anderson material.
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Synonyms
Tounatea caribaea (Griseb.) Taub., Tunatea caribaea (Griseb.) Kuntze
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Description
Description - Tree 10-18 m tall, the bark mottled gray-brown, smooth, horizontally lenticellate, the branchlets sparingly strigulose minutely, soon glabrescent; stipules caducous; petioles terete, (10-) 15-25(-40) mm long, minutely strigulose sparingly at first but glabrescent, the rachis (2-)5.5-7(-9) cm long, terete, glabrous or sparingly strigulose and glabrescent; leaflets (1-) 2- or 3-jugate, the petiolules 2-5 mm long, minutely strigulose but soon glabrescent, the blades (7-) 10-14(-20.5) cm long, (2.5-)3.5-5(-6.5) cm wide, elliptic, obovate, lanceolate-elliptic or elliptic-oblong, the base cuneate to acute, the apex acute to acuminate, glabrous or minutely strigulose sparingly on the costa on the upper surface, minutely strigulose beneath, the venation prominulous, the costa plane to slightly impressed above, the primary veins plane above, somewhat salient beneath; inflorescence racemose, 7-20 cm long, axillary or ramuligerous, the axis minutely strigulose, the bracts persistent, 0.6-1 mm long and wide, triangular, minutely strigulose externally, glabrous within, the bracteoles lacking; pedicels (7-)9-15(-18) mm long, minutely strigulose; buds globose, 4.5-6 mm diameter, minutely strigulose; calyx segments 3-4, persistent, at least in part, minutely strigulose externally and glabrous within; corolla lacking; larger stamens 2 (?), glabrous, the filaments 6.5 mm long, the anthers ca 2 mm long and 1 mm wide, oblong, the smaller ones glabrous, the filaments 9 mm long, the anthers orbicular, 0.8 mm diameter; stigma punctiform, the style 0.6-0.7 mm long, glabrous; ovary oval to elliptic-oblong, 3-4.5 mm long, 2-2.5 mm wide, minutely strigulose, the gynophore 3-5.5 mm long, minutely strigulose; fruit oval in outline, 4-6 cm long, 2-3 cm wide, orange-colored, sparingly strigulose minutely to glabrous, the stipe 4-7 mm long, sparingly strigulose minutely to glabrous, 1-seeded, or occasionally 2 seeds in one fruit but these half the size of those in 1-seeded fruits; seeds 20-30 mm long, 20-22 mm wide, oval in outline, darkly black-brown, the seed coat thinly crustose, the aril white, enclosing about one-fourth of the seed.
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Discussion
S. caribaea differs from what is probably its nearest relative, S. bannia, a Guyana species, by its chartaceous, concolorous leaflets; those of S. bannia are strongly discolorous and rigid. From the other West Indian species with apetalous flowers this species differs in its naked leaf rachis.
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Common Names
Acouquois, bois maler, bois du bras de sable, bois olivier, coco negre hebrew, graine agouti, olivier, yoranger
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Distribution
(Fig. 27). Rain forest on the British West Indian islands of Dominica and St. Lucia, and on Guadeloupe, 300-600 m alt.
Guadeloupe South America| Dominica South America| Saint Lucia South America|