Mouriri ficoides Morley

Authority

Morley, Thomas. 1976. Melastomataceae tribe Memecyleae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 15: 1-295. (Published by NYBG Press)

Family

Melastomataceae

Scientific Name

Mouriri ficoides Morley

Type

Type. A. Ducke sn, RB 25515 (holotype, US; isotypes, G, K, MG, P, RB, S, U, US; same collection, as Ducke 44, is at A, F, MAD). Brazil: Amazonas: near small stream at km 5, Estrada do Aleixo, Manaus. In flower, 17 Nov 1931.

Description

Description - Glabrous tree to 35 m high, the trunk to 45 cm in diam, straight and round; young twigs terete or slightly channelled; bark thin, rather smooth or fissured, medium brown but becoming gray and often dark externally; wood hard, the sapwood light colored, the heartwood darker and from light to medium chestnut color. Petioles 3.0-10.0 mm long when measured on upper surface; blades dark green above, yellowish-green beneath, 10.5-28.5 cm long, 6.0-10.6 cm wide, elliptic-oblong to elliptic or slightly ovate-elliptic, abruptly acuminate at the apex, abruptly attenuate to broadly acute to rounded at base; midrib grooved above, rounded below; lateral nerves not apparent above or below or very obscurely so. Margins of midrib xylem turned in and down, not touching each other or the upper surface; stomatal crypts a highly modified Type II, averaging in a leaf ca 20-27 µ in diam, 70-90 µ high, 190-215 per sq mm (extremes 15-36 µ diam, 65-100 µ high, 80-240 per sq mm); upper epidermis varying from one to two cells thick in the same leaf, the doubled points occasional to common; mucilaginous walls none; hypodermis none; free cortical stone cells elongate, extending along the midrib above and below for its full length; terminal sclereids filiform, extending from epidermis to epidermis, turning abruptly at the epidermises and running next to them before ending, not branching. Inflorescences cauliflorous on main trunk and ramiflorous, on branches and leafless twigs up to the leaves but never axillary, 1 or 2 per side, each 1-18-flowered, 14-56 mm long to base of farthest pedicel measured along the axes and with 2-4 internodes in that length; bracts 3.5-8.0 mm long, triangular to ovate, acute, deciduous by anthesis. True pedicels 3.0-10.0 mm long; calyx green; calyx including inferior ovary 8.0-10.0 mm long measured along the surface, obconic; free hypanthium none; calyx lobes 2.0-4.5 mm long, 6.0-8.0 mm wide, 3.5-5.0 mm long from stamen attachment, broadly rounded or occasionally very broadly acute or slightly notched, the calyx not splitting between the lobes at anthesis. Petals white to yellow, sometimes whitish below, rose above, sometimes outwardly white with rose apex, inwardly cream to light orange, 11.0-15.0 mm long, 8.5-12.0 mm wide, broadly elliptic or oblong-elliptic to elliptic-obovate, rounded to broadly acute at the apex, sessile or narrowed to a short broad claw at base, the inner surface densely papillose. Filaments white, 2.5-4.5 mm long; anthers blue to purple to red, 3.5-4.5 mm long, 2.6-3.0 mm wide; sporangia horseshoeshaped, curved over the apex of the anther, extending 3.0-3.4 mm on the gland side, 1.7-2.3 mm on the opposite side, dehiscing by lengthwise slits; gland 0.6-1.0 mm long, on upper or caudal end of anther; anthers tilted upward only 30°or less at anthesis, their position little changed. Ovary 5-locular; placentae basal in each locule, the ovules borne on all sides of a short basal column, 10-12 per locule, 50-60 in all; style 11.0-13.0 mm long. Fruit edible with an agreeable flavor, yellowish to bright yellow, globose or slightly ellipsoid or obovoid, crowned with the persistent calyx, 16.0-19.0 mm high excluding calyx and 15.0-18.0 mm thick when dry, estimated 20-25 mm high and 19-24 mm thick when fresh. Seeds 2-5, light to medium brown, sometimes mottled with dark brown, polished, irregularly obovoid with the thick end up, slightly constricted at or just below the middle, 10.0-11.0 mm long, 5.3-6.0 mm wide, 4.2-5.2 mm thick, with a lateral flattish narrowly obovate hilum 9.0-10.3 mm long by 4.3-4.8 mm wide occupying most of one side of the seed.

Discussion

This species is similar to the preceding one, M. crassifolia; their distributions are distinct, and have been discussed under the topic of Distribution, Speciation, and Variation Patterns. Although generally similar, the two species are amply distinct. Greatest differences are found in the leaf width, petiole length, extent of cortical stone cells along the midrib, flower position, flower number, pedicel length, length of calyx and ovary, calyx and petal width, filament length, anther size, and ovule number. Differences also occur in diameter of stomatal crypts and number of cell layers in the upper epidermis.

Common Names

Tinajuito, dereillo, yokoro

Distribution

Southern Amazonas in Venezuela, and in the vicinity of Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. In moist primary forest above flood level, at elevations up to 128 m, reported once (Williams 14491) in forest “along” a place periodically flooded; found in the “chiqui-chiquiales” of southern Venezuela. Sand rich in humus and clay-sand soils reported.

Amazonas Venezuela South America| Amazonas Brazil South America|