Jacaranda macrantha Cham.

Authority

Gentry, Alwyn H. 1992. Bignoniaceae--part II (Tribe Tecomeae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 25: 1-370. (Published by NYBG Press)

Family

Bignoniaceae

Scientific Name

Jacaranda macrantha Cham.

Type

Type. Brazil. Sellow s.n. (lectotype, HBG; isotype, K).

Synonyms

Bignonia elliptica Thunb., Jacaranda elliptica (Vell.) Steud., Jacaranda elliptica (Vell.) Mart. ex DC., Jacaranda heteroptila Bureau & K.Schum.

Description

Species Description - Small tree 2-10 m tall, the branchlets subtetragonal, very minutely and glabrescently puberulous, usually with small whitish lenticels. Leaves bipinnate (rarely some of the lower pinnae reduced to single large leaflets), 30-60 cm long on fertile branches, with (12-)14-20(-30) pinnae, each pinna with slightly margined puberulous rachis and (13-) 15-21 (-25) sessile or short petiolulate asymmetrically ovate or ovate/obovate leaflets, these (2.5-)5-8(-15) cm long and (0.9-)1.5-2.5(-4.5) cm wide, the apex acuminate, the base more or less cuneate, entire, somewhat bullate, glabrous or glabrescent above except the midvein, below puberulous at least along the veins and sometimes over surface (Espírito Santo) with short crisped trichomes. Inflorescence a large open panicle, minutely puberulous, the bracts caducous. Flowers with the calyx cupular, subtruncate, 6-8 mm long, 5-7 mm wide, glabrous or puberulous with a very few minute inconspicuous trichomes; corolla dark purple, tubular-campanulate above a narrower base, (4.5-)5-6(-6.5) cm long, (1-)1.3-1.7 cm wide at the mouth, the lobes 0.5-1 cm long, the tube 4-5.5 cm long, puberulous outside, mostly with sessile glands, also with a few minute simple trichomes, lobes inside glandular papillose, otherwise glabrous, tube inside very sparsely glandular pubescent at stamen insertion; stamens didynamous, the anthers dithecate, each theca 3 mm long, the staminode ca. 3 cm long, not exserted, the apex slightly expanded, glandular villous near middle, villous with mostly non-glandular trichomes at apex, otherwise with sessile glands; ovary flattened-ovate, glabrous. Fruit broadly oblong to obovate, distinctly woody, rounded to slightly apiculate at apex, 6.5-13 cm long, 4.5-5.7 cm wide (l:w = 1.3-2.3), the margin usually not undulate at dehiscence, occasionally very slightly undulate, glabrous, drying dark brown to black; seeds small-bodied with a surrounding suborbicular wing, ca. 2 cm long, 2.5-3 cm wide, the wing hyaline-membranaceous with radial brownish striations, clearly demarcated from the seed body.

Discussion

Well characterized by the largish somewhat bullate leaflets, dark-colored flower, and thinly woody fruit with a straight or very slightly undulate margin. Some collections from Espírito Santo (Mexia 4092, Bittencourt & Bittencourt s.n.) and adjacent Minas Gerais (Paulinho Filho s.n.) have more strongly pubescent and bullate leaflets and thicker capsules but appear to be conspecific. Jacaranda heteroptila, which, following Sandwith (in herb.), we previously applied to the species from NE Brazil that is here treated as J. duckei, differs only in having the lower part of the leaf simply pinnate. Since the type of J. heteroptila is from São Paulo (fide Glaziou, 1911) the similar plant from northeastern Brazil with lower pinnae reduced to single leaflets seems unlikely to be conspecific, especially in the absence of geographically intermediate populations. Moreover, the replacement of lower pinnae by simple leaves is common in closely related J. jasminoides and occasionally occurs in otherwise typical J. macrantha (Mexia 4579, MO). Therefore, we are confident in reducing J. heteroptila to J. macrantha.

Common Names

carabobinho, caroba

Distribution

Coastal Brazil, in middle elevations of the Serra da Mantiqueira from São Paulo to Espírito Santo, mostly along forest margins or in open and second growth forest, often associated with bamboo; near sea level to 1200 m elevation.

Brazil South America| Espirito Santo Brazil South America| Minas Gerais Brazil South America| Rio de Janeiro Brazil South America| São Paulo Brazil South America|