Virola melinonii (Benoist) A.C.Sm.
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Authority
Smith, Albert C. & Wodehouse, R. P. 1938. The American species of Myristicaceae. Brittonia. 2: 393-527. f. 1-9.
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Family
Myristicaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Species Description - Tree; branchlets striate, when young brown puberulent, soon glabrous and nigrescent or cinereous; petioles deeply canaliculate, essentially glabrous, 1-2 mm. in diameter, 4-10 mm. long; leaf blades chartaceous, narrowly elliptic or oblong- or obovate-elliptic, 9-18 cm. long, 2.5-6 cm. broad, attenuate or acute at base, subacute or obtusely cuspidate at apex, puberulent beneath (hairs einereous, sessile-stellate, 4-6-branched, less than 0.1 mm. in diameter, long persistent), the costa shallowly grooved or nearly plane above, prominent beneath, the secondary nerves 13-22 per side, spreading or slightly ascending, plane or sharply impressed above, raised beneath, the veinlets usually obscure, sometimes plane or prominulous; staminate inflorescences once twice-branched, 2-9 cm. long, uniformly ferruginous- or cinereous puberulent (hairs sessile-stellate, minute, soon deciduous on the branchlets, persistent on the flowers), the peduncle up to 2.5 cm. long, slightly flattened; bracts oblong, puberulent, 3-5 mm. long, soon deciduous; flowers in ultimate clusters of 5-15, the ultimate peduncles slightly swollen distally, the pedicels slender, up to 3 mm. long; perianth carnose, 2-3.5 mm. long, 3-lobed nearly to base, the lobes oblong, obtuse; androecium 1.5-1.7 mm. long, the filament column slender, 0.8-1 mm. long, the anthers 3, 0.5-0.7 mm. long, connate to apex, obtuse; pistillate
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Discussion
Myristica Melinonii Benoist, Bull. Mus. Paris 30: 104. 1924.
Native names: British Guiana: Dalli, Hill Dalli. Surinam: see van Ooststroom (13: 122).
Benoist and van Ooststroom have cited specimens which are not available to me. The type is not indicated in the original description, but I presume that a Melinon specimen was intended as such. The species, as represented by the above cited specimens, is well marked geographically and need not be confused with V. venosa, under which name van Ooststroom (13: 121) has treated it. In addition to its larger and more distinctly carinate fruit, V. Melinonii has the secondary nerves of the leaves a little farther apart and less prominent beneath. The staminate perianth of V. Melinonii is more deeply cleft than that of V. venosa.
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Distribution
Distribution: The Guianas. BRITISH GUIANA: Franqois Creek, Forestry Dept. D367 (2363)
Guyana South America| French Guiana South America| Suriname South America|