Trichilia singularis C.DC.

  • 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 singularis C.DC.

  • Type

    Type. Martius 2749, Brazil, Pará, banks of the Amazon, fl (lectotype, M, here designated).

  • Synonyms

    Trichilia singularis var. parvifolia C.DC., Trichilia macbrideana Harms

  • Description

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    Species Description - Young branches strigulose with medifixed hairs, becoming dark brown to pale greyish-white, rather rough or fissured, glabrous, lenticellate. Bud scales absent. Leaves pinnate, trifoliolate or unifoliolate; petiole and rhachis (3.5-)6-18 cm long (petiole of unifoliolate leaves 1-3 cm), semiterete, rhachis often canaliculate, sparsely strigulose to glabrous; petiolule of lateral leaflets 1-3 mm long or leaflets subsessile. Leaflets opposite to alternate, 1-8, oblanceolate, elliptic, oblong or lanceolate, apex acuminate, attenuate or acute, base cuneate or attenuate, rarely obtuse, chartaceous, (2-) 10-22[15.5] cm long, (1-)3-6.5[5.1] cm broad (lateral leaflets of trifoliolate leaves very small); unifoliolate leaves usually with 2 minute lateral tufts of hairs at base of pulvinus; leaflets glabrous above, lower lamina with sparse to moderately densely-appressed medifixed hairs, rarely glandular-punctate and -striate; venation eucamptodromous, midrib prominent above or rarely flat; secondaries 12-18 on either side of midrib, ascending, arcuate to ± straight, parallel to slightly convergent; intersecondaries obscure to ± prominent. Flowers unisexual, plants dioecious; inflorescence axillary or several clustered on a short axillary shoot, 1-7(-12) cm long, ± racemose or slender paniculate with very short lateral branches bearing flowers in small cymose fascicles, strigulose; pedicel 0.5-1(-1.5) mm long. Calyx cyathiform or patelliform, 0.5-1 (-1.25) mm long, with (4-)5 ovate or triangular, acute or attenuate lobes length of calyx, strigulose. Petals (4-)5(-6), fused in lower half or less frequently free, valvate, (2-)2.5-3 mm long, 0.75-1(-1.25) mm broad, ovate-lanceolate to narrowly triangular, acute, usually hooded, strigulose outside, glabrous inside. Staminal tube urceolate or cyathiform; filaments completely fused, 1-1.5(-2) mm long, 1-1.5 mm broad, margin with (9-) 10(-11) subulate, lanceolate or triangular lobes alternating with anthers and 1/3-1/2 their length, glabrous or with a few crisped hairs inside throat; anthers (9-)10(-11), 0.5-0.7 mm long, glabrous; antherodes slender, rather shrunken, indehiscent, without pollen. Nectary absent. Ovary conical to ovoid, 2-locular, loculi with 2 collateral ovules, densely appressed puberulous; style short, stout, glabrous; style-head minute capitate, slightly below or equalling anthers. Pistillode similar in shape, containing well-formed, non-functional ovules. Capsule narrowly ovoid to ellipsoid or rarely globose, apex acute, obtuse or rounded, smooth, densely granular papillose with a few stiff appressed hairs, 1.5-2 cm long, 0.9-1 cm broad, 2-valved; pericarp 0.3-0.5 mm thick; endocarp thin-cartilaginous. Seeds 1-2, collateral in each fruit, ca. 1.3 cm long, 0.6 cm broad, completely surrounded by a thin fleshy arillode which also develops around aborted ovules; arillode thickened at base and apex, free except for thin line of attachment from micropyle to chalaza; seed coat membraneous. Embryo with plano-convex, collateral cotyledons; radicle apical, included. Endosperm absent.

  • Discussion

    Relationships

    This species is related to T. maynasiana but differs from it in several details of vegetative, floral and fruit morphology. The leaflet undersurface has appressed medifixed hairs (absent in T. maynasiana); the calyx is deeper with well marked triangular to ovate lobes (calyx rotate or patelliform, lobes shallow in T. maynasiana); petals (4-)5(-6) (3-4 in T. maynasiana); anthers (9-) 10-(11), ovary 2-locular (anthers 5-7, ovary 3-locular in T. maynasiana); and capsule densely granular papillose (with scattered minute appressed hairs or glabrous in T. maynasiana).

    Plants with pinnate leaves from Amazonian Peru were formerly referred to T. macbrideana Harms whereas the name T. singularis was applied only to unifoliolate specimens. The unifoliolate plants are confined mainly to the lower and middle Amazon flood-plain, with a few records from Amazonian Peru and Bolivia.

    Peruvian material is either 1-, or 5-8-foliolate, whereas the Venezuelan plants are 1-5 foliolate, but never exclusively unifoliolate. Although the geographical separation of the unifoliolate material is almost complete, with the only overlap occurring in western Amazonia, it is not thought sufficient to justify the maintenance of two species. Unifoliolate and multifoliolate plants occupy the same restricted ecological niche, and they flower in the same locality at the same time of year. There is no detectable ecological replacement. The difference in number of leaflets is not accompanied by any other morphological differences. Unifoliolate and multifoliolate plants share the same characteristic appressed medifixed indumentum of the young parts and lower leaf surface and there are no observable differences in the flower or fruit. Finally unifoliolate and multifoliolate leaves occur on the same plant in several Venezuelan and Brazilian collections. It may be expected that more intermediate cases will be discovered when the species is better collected.

    Several other species of Trichilia also exhibit unifoliolate, trifoliolate or pinnate leaves (e.g. T. breviflora, T. pallida).

    For a discussion of the differences between T. singularis and the other unifoliolate species (T. acuminata, T. blanchetii) see under the latter.

    Field Characters: Treelet or small tree to 6 m. Flowers white to cream; flowering mainly July to November, ripe fruit June.

  • Common Names

    Cimba Potro

  • Distribution

    In Brazil this species is confined almost exclusively to the flood-plain of the Amazon and its major tributaries. Elsewhere it is recorded at low altitudes from Amazonian Bolivia, Peru, and Colombia. In Venezuela, it is known only from a few of the principal tributaries of the Orinoco. It is exclusively a tree of seasonal swamp forest (várzea) or less frequently permanent swamp forest (igapó).

    Colombia South America| Venezuela South America| Apure Venezuela South America| Barinas Venezuela South America| Guárico Venezuela South America| Peru South America| Loreto Peru South America| Maranhão Brazil South America| Pará Brazil South America| Amazonas Brazil South America| Madre de Dios Peru South America|