Ouratea discophora Ducke

  • Authority

    Maguire, Bassett. 1989. The Botany of the Guayana Highland- Part XIII. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 51: 1-127.

  • Family

    Ochnaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Ouratea discophora Ducke

  • Description

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    Species Description - Medium-sized tree. Leaves coriaceous, oblong- elliptic or elliptic-oblong, acuminate at apex, obtuse to subacute at base, (8-)9-19 cm long, 4- 7.5 cm wide, subentire to obsoletely minutely shallowly crenulate (7-8 indentations per cm), upper surface nearly nerveless with a somewhat granulose appearance, the lateral and some intermediate nerves faintly impressed, the tertiary veinlets subobsolete, subhorizontal and subparallel, lower surface similar, the lateral and intermediate nerves faintly evident. Inflorescence many-flowered, paniculate with a stout rachis and 3-7 stout lateral axes, 5-15 cm long, 5-10 cm wide, the lateral axes 0.5-7 cm long. Flowers solitary or 2-3-fasciculate; pedicels 6-12 mm long in anthesis, up to 15 mm in fruit; flower bud ovoid, subacute to acute, 8-10 mm long, 4-6 m m wide; sepals lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, subacute or subobtuse, 9-12 mm long, 2.5-6 m m wide; petals suborbicular-flabelliform, unguiculate,

    Distribution and Ecology - Surinam and Amazonian Brazil. In addition to the specimens from Surinam cited by Maguire (1948), the following specimens from Brazil are given.

  • Discussion

    Ouratea decagyna Maguire, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 75: 644. 1948

    Specimens examined. BRAZIL, amazonas: Circa Manaus loco Estrada do Ale, 17 Oct 1935, Ducke (H.J.B.R. 34603) (NY); Manaus, sUva terris altis ultra Coloniam Joao Alfredo, 9 Sep 1941, Ducke 775, 857 (NY); Manaus, 30 Aug 1946, Ducke 1983 (NY); Camp 5 (Palmito Camp), Serra da Neblina, 750 m, 28 Nov 1965, Maguire, Pires & C K. Maguire 60432 (NY); between Camp III and Maloca Camp, Serra da Neblina, 200-250 m, 26 Dec 1965, Silva & Brazao 60733 (NY). MATO grosso: Rio Jumena, Igarape Chuini, Mata, da beira do Igarape, 10 Jul 1977, Silva & Mariu 3320 (NY). parA: Circa Obidos, 17 Sep 1927, Ducke (H.J.B.R. 21089) (NY).

    Floral and vegetative details of O. decagyna Maguire coincide with those of O. discophora Ducke of Brazil. The dimensions taken from the type material of O. discophora do not appreciably diflfer from those of O. decagyna. Both taxa have 10 carpels with the gynophore shallowly 10-lobulate, disciform and shorter than the ovary. Fruiting specimens from Amazonian Venezuela are similar to O. discophora, but are unlike it vegetatively. Since no flowering material is available, it is not possible to state whether the Venezuelan specimens can be diflferentiated as specifically distinct. Pending the future collecting of flowering material, the Venezuelan material is given subspecific rank at the present time.