Trichilia catigua A.Juss.

  • Authority

    Pennington, Terence D. 1981. Meliaceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 28: 1-359, 418-449, 459-470. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Meliaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Trichilia catigua A.Juss.

  • Type

    Type. St. Hilaire s.n., Brazil, Minas Gerais, near Caxuerhina, fl (holotype, P).

  • Synonyms

    Trichilia catigua var. parviflora A.Juss., Trichilia affinis A.Juss., Moschoxylum catigua A.Juss., Moschoxylum affine A.Juss., Trichilia catigua var. pilosior A.Juss. & C.DC., Trichilia catigua var. affinis (A.Juss.) C.DC., Trichilia catigua var. glabrior C.DC. & A.Juss., Trichilia catigua var. pallens C.DC. & A.Juss., Trichilia flaviflora C.DC., Trichilia polyclada C.DC., Trichilia alba C.DC.

  • Description

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    Species Description - Young branches short erect pubescent to densely sericeous, soon becoming glabrous, greyish-white to brown, lenticellate. Bud scales absent. Leaves imparipinnate or pinnate with one leaflet of ultimate pair orientated to simulate a terminal leaflet, 6-12(-17) cm long, petiole semiterete, rhachis ± terete, villose (long ± erect hairs) to subglabrous; petiolule 1.5-3 mm long. Leaflets alternate to opposite, (7-)9-12(-15), oblanceolate, elliptic or oblong rarely lanceolate, apex usually attenuate often with the point minutely emarginate, less frequently acuminate or obtusely cuspidate, base nearly always asymmetric, one side acute or attenuate, the other acute to rounded, obtuse or truncate, rarely both sides acute, ± chartaceous, 5-9(-10)[7.7] cm long, 1.5-3.1[2.5] cm broad, lower pairs often smaller, upper midrib puberulous to glabrous, lower surface villose to pubescent (hairs basifixed) especially on midrib and secondary veins, or glabrous, very rarely glandular-punctate and -striate; venation eucamptodromous, midrib nearly always prominent, rarely flat; secondaries (11-) 12-16(-18) on either side of midrib, ascending, usually ± straight and ± parallel, less frequently slightly convergent; intersecondaries obscure or absent. Flowers unisexual, plant dioecious; inflorescence axillary or several clustered on a short axillary shoot, (0.5-) 1.5-8 (-11) cm long, from a small fascicle to a slender pyramidal thyrse, pubescent or puberulous; pedicel 0.5-1(-1.75) mm long. Calyx usually patelliform, rarely rotate or cyathiform, (0.25-)0.5-1 mm long, with 4-5 acute, triangular, ovate or obtuse lobes 1/3-3/4 length of calyx or margin ± truncate, sparsely puberulous to subglabrous. Petals 4-5, united to % their length, erect or slightly spreading, valvate, 2.5-3.5(-4) mm long, 0.75-1.5 mm broad, ovate to lanceolate, apex acute, minutely appressed puberulous outside, glabrous inside. Staminal tube urceolate to short cylindrical; filaments completely fused, 1.5-2.5(-3) mm long, 1-1.5 mm broad, margin with l(-2) lanceolate to subulate lobes alternating with anthers and 1/4-3/4 their length, outside glabrous or rarely with sparse crisped hairs around apex, inside with sparse to dense long hairs around throat; anthers (6-)7-8(-9), 0.7-1 mm long, glabrous; antherodes slender, not dehiscent, without pollen. Nectary absent. Ovary ovoid, (2-)3(-4)-locular, loculi with 2 collateral ovules, densely appressed puberulous; style nearly always glabrous; style-head capitate or small discoid, sometimes apiculate, equalling or below anthers; pistillode ± conical containing well formed non-functional ovules. Capsule narrowly obovoid or oblong (usually broadest in upper half), smooth, appressed pubescent to densely sericeous, 1.3-1.5 cm long, 0.5-0.7 cm broad, (2-)3-valved; pericarp ca. 0.3 mm thick; endocarp thin-cartilaginous. Seeds 1-2, collateral in each fruit, ca. 0.8 mm long, 0.4 mm broad, obovoid, completely surrounded by a thin fleshy arillode which also develops around aborted ovules; arillode free except for thin line of attachment from micropyle to raphe; seed coat membraneous. Embryo with plano-convex, collateral cotyledons; radicle apical, included. Endosperm absent.

  • Discussion

    The distribution of the two species is distinct, the only overlap occurring in the Department of La Paz, Bolivia, and there are no known intermediates. Trichilia quadrijuga occurs in the Atlantic coastal forest of Brazil as far south as the Espirito Santo-Bahia border but at these latitudes T. catigua is confined to the higher elevations inland.

    The Central American T. erythrocarpa also resembles T. catigua, but the latter may be distinguished without difficulty by its smaller leaflets and capsule, fused corolla lobes, and capitate or discoid stigma.

    Relationships

    Trichilia catigua is closely related to T. quadrijuga, but is nevertheless quite distinct from it. The differences are as follows: petiole lacking the pair of vestigial leaflets (present in T. quadrijuga); leaflet base usually asymmetric, midrib prominent, leaflets 5-9(-10)[7.7] cm long, 1.5-3.1 [2.5] cm broad (base rarely asymmetric, midrib sunken, 9.5-19[12.5] cm long, (2.5-)3-4.5(-6)[3.6] cm broad in T. quadrijuga); petals always fused, ± erect (often free and always spreading or reflexed in T. quadrijuga); and capsule 1.3-1.5 cm long ((1.5-)2-3 cm in T. quadrijuga).

    Field Characters: Small tree to 10 m with yellow flowers. There are records of flowering from throughout the year, but most specimens with mature fruit have been collected in November and December.

    Distribution and Ecology: This species is centred in southern Brazil (Santa Catarina, Paraná), northern Argentina and Paraguay and extends northwards to Brasília in the east and to Bolivia (Department La Paz) on the eastern foothills of the Andes. Collections are numerous, but ecological information is sparse and indicates it to be a tree of moist forest. There are also several records of it from the drier parts of Minas Gerais, where it occurs on limestone hills.

  • Common Names

    Catigua

  • Distribution

    Brazil South America| Minas Gerais Brazil South America| Goiás Brazil South America| Minas Gerais Brazil South America| São Paulo Brazil South America| Rio de Janeiro Brazil South America| São Paulo Brazil South America| Paraná Brazil South America| Santa Catarina Brazil South America| Bolivia South America| La Paz Bolivia South America| Paraguay South America| Argentina South America| Misiones Argentina South America| Corrientes Argentina South America| Chaco Argentina South America| Corrientes Argentina South America|