Parkia discolor Spruce ex Benth.

  • Authority

    Hopkins, Helen C. F. 1986. Parkia (Leguminosae: Mimosoideae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 43: 1-124. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Mimosaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Parkia discolor Spruce ex Benth.

  • Type

    Type (cited in Bentham, 1876). Brazil. Amazonas: Rio Caipuru, Dec 1849 (fl), Spruce 571 (lectotype, K, photo NY, S, US; isolectotype, P).

  • Synonyms

    Parkia auriculata Spruce ex Benth.

  • Description

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    Species Description - Tree to 15 m high. Leaves alternate, to 25 cm long. Petiole bearing a single elliptical gland on upper side between base and first pair of pinnae. Pinnae 2-8 pairs, opposite or subopposite. Leaflets 20-36 pairs, opposite, sometimes at obtuse angle to secondary rachis beyond point of insertion, oblong or somewhat sigmoid, 10-26 x 2.5-7 mm, rarely with white coating on underside, apex rounded or obtuse, base weakly or strongly auriculate; main nerve somewhat sigmoid, curving towards distal margin at apex; secondary nerve at proximal side usually prominent. Compound inflorescence axis horizontal to ascending, projecting beyond foliage, unbranched to 1 m or more long. Peduncles to ca. 14 per inflorescence, alternate, pendent, 4-12 cm long. Capitula 4.5-5.5(-6.5) cm long, biglobose, the basal staminodial fringe ca. 3.5-4.5 cm diameter, the apical part obovoid, ca. 2-2.6 cm diam. Hermaphrodite flowers: calyx 5-6.5 mm long (including pseudopedicel of ca. 0.5 mm long), the lobes ca. 0.5 mm long; corolla 6-7 mm long, the lobes 0.5-1 mm long; filaments exserted 1-2 mm beyond calyx, free ± to base. Nectar-secreting flowers: calyx 5-6 mm long. Staminodial flowers: calyx 6-9 mm long; corolla 8.5-10.5 mm or more long; filaments exserted to ca. 20 mm beyond calyx. Pods oblong in outline, 11-23 [including stipe of (0.5-)4-9.5 cm] x 2.8-5 cm, the sutures not or scarcely thickened, and the coriaceous, indehiscent, somewhat corky or spongy, glabrous valves not or scarcely corrugated and composed of several readily separating fibrous layers; endocarp in immature pods white and pithy; the cavity sometimes containing small amounts of amber-colored sticky or crystalline gum. Seeds 9-15(-18) per pod, 14.5-17 x 5-7.5 x 4-5 mm; testa black.

  • Discussion

    The paratype of Parkia discolor, Schomburgk 973 (BM, K, L), has flowers of P. discolor and leaves of Heterostemon mimosoides Desf. according to Bentham (1876). Bentham (1876) cited “Spruce n. 1208” as the type of Parkia auriculata, but material with this number was collected both in January 1851 (fl) and May 1851 (fr). Material with the second date, here designated as the lectoparatype, comes from BM, G, GH, K, NY, OXF, P. Some sheets are labelled 1203, presumably in error. A sheet at RB, originally from BM, lacks a number but was collected by Spruce in January 1851, and it had both flowers and fruit. It is probably an isolectotype.

    Field characters. A small or medium sized tree, branching low, often with an irregular, straggly, rather open crown with long tortuous branches. In old trees the crown may be very broad. Leaves leathery, sometimes glaucous, or shiny, rarely with a white waxy bloom on upper and lower surfaces (e.g., Williams 14091 & 15992), as in P. nitida. Buds brown. Capitula at anthesis have a deep bright red fringe and the fertile flowers are brownish-pink, the corolla lobes being deep dull red, purplish, or brown, and the stamens red with yellow pollen (Hopkins & Hopkins 262 & 267, Prance et al. 4737, Spruce 1208). The day after flowering the capitulum is dull purplish-gray. Young pods are green, becoming bright red, maroon or reddish-brown, the abaxial suture sometimes remaining green. Mature pods are black, abscising at the base of the peduncle soon after maturity, and they float.

    Local names and uses. Venezuela: Casaba de murciélago, cacáni-caritsapi (Baniba). Brazil: Arapari, piradabi (Maku), manopé, manopé de praia, arara-tucupi, faveira, visgueiro do igapó, gipoúba (several spellings). The trunk bark is scraped and added to water as a cure for dysentery by Maku Indians (Prance et al. 15594).

    Taxonomy and variation. Bentham recognized Parkia auriculata and P. discolor as distinct, differing in leaf characters (number of pairs of pinnae and leaflet length) and in the length of the staminodia. Ducke (1922, 1925a) also regarded them as separate but later suggested that they were varieties of the same species which differed only slightly in their leaves (Ducke, 1933, 1949). Measurements of leaves from nine collections from Praia Grande, lower Rio Negro, show that the range within a single population can encompass both of Spruce’s species, the number of pinnae ranging from three to eight pairs, and the maximum leaflet length ranging from 11 to 23 mm (details in Hopkins, 1981). Herbarium collections do not confirm significant differences in staminodial length. Two species cannot therefore be maintained. Both names were published simultaneously, so both are available, and both have been taken up in the literature. Parkia discolor is chosen here as the valid name.

    Distribution and Ecology: The main center of distribution is in the Rio Negro-upper Orinoco drainage basins, but isolated populations occur elsewhere in Amazonia, e.g., near Humaita, Obidos, and Belem. Parkia discolor grows on white sand in forest seasonally flooded by black water (seasonal igapó). This vegetation is characterized by low tortuous trees, low species diversity, xeromorphic adaptations, and soil which is very poor in nutrients (Prance, 1979). Throughout most of its range flowering is recorded principally from December to April, and fruiting from April to July. At Praia Grande on the lower Rio Negro it grows on sand banks along the main course of the river and around lagoons behind the sand banks, where the forest is flooded for a few months from May onwards annually; it is absent from the continually flooded areas. The fruits mature as the river rises and the pods fall into the water. Near Humaita fruits have been collected in November.

  • Common Names

    Casaba de murciélago, cacáni-caritsapi, Arapari, piradabi, manopé, manopé de praia, arara-tucupi, Faveira, visgueiro do igapó, gipoúba

  • Distribution

    Amazonas Brazil South America| Brazil South America| Venezuela South America|