Lecythis holcogyne (Sandwith) S.A.Mori

  • Authority

    Prance, Ghillean T. & Mori, S. A. 1979. Lecythidaceae - Part I. The actinomorphic-flowered New World Lecythidaceae (Asteranthos, Gustavia, Grias, Allantoma & Cariniana). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 21: 1-270. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Lecythidaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Lecythis holcogyne (Sandwith) S.A.Mori

  • Type

    Type. Guyana. Kartabo Rd. nr. confluence of Cuyuni and Mazaruni Rivers, 7 Feb 1931 (fl), Davis D17 (=Forest Dept. British Guiana 1019) (lectotype, K, here designated; isolectotypes, FDG, K).

  • Synonyms

    Eschweilera holcogyne Sandwith, Chytroma holcogyne (Sandwith) R.Knuth, Eschweilera praeclara Sandwith, Chytroma praeclara (Sandwith) Kunth

  • Description

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    Description - Trees, to 35 m tall, non-buttressed, often basally swollen. Leaf blades usually elliptic or oblong, infrequently obovate, 6-13 x 2.4-6.8 cm, glabrous, chartaceous, with 7-10 pairs of lateral veins; apex short acuminate; base obtuse, narrowly decurrent onto petiole; margins entire to inconspicuously crenulate, with reddish-brown scars left by caducous hairs; petiole 5-10 mm long, glabrous, canaliculate. Inflorescences terminal or in axils of uppermost leaves, unbranched or once-branched paniculate arrangements of spikes, the flowers tightly congested, the rachis short, 2-5 cm long, angular in cross section; bract and bracteoles inserted at same level, the bract 3.5 x 3 mm, the bracteoles 3.5 x 3 mm, both caducous, glabrous. Flowers 2-3 cm diam.; calyx with six, very widely oblong, green lobes, 6-9 x 7-11 mm, with longitudinally oriented mucilage containing ducts (best seen in cross section); petals six, widely obovate, 17-32 x 12-19 mm, white to pale cream; hood of androecium 14-18 x 13-22 mm, yellow, with antherless, inwardly curved, angular appendages; ligule of androecium 9.5 x 8 mm; staminal ring with 160-175 stamens, the filamens dimorphic, the outermost to 2.5-5 mm long, bent inward and expanded at apex, the inner ones progressively shorter, less expanded and only slightly bent at apex, the anthers orange; hypanthium glabrous, sulcate; ovary 4(-5)-locular, with 5-10 ovules in each locule, the summit truncate; style bent away from ligule, to 3.5 mm long. Fruits reddish-brown, broadly obovate, truncate at base, 6-7 x 5-7 cm, with sepal scars prominent, the pericarp 10 mm thick; operculum convex. Seeds brown, elliptic-oblong, hemispherical or trigonous in cross section, 3-4 x 2 cm, the raphe splitting into 3-5 vascular bundles at chalazal end, these run length of seed and reunite at micropylar end, the bundles salient, with interstitial areas covered by conspicuously raised reticulum.

  • Discussion

    Lecythis holcogyne is morphologically similar to L. chartacea Berg from which it differs in its fewer pairs of lateral nerves (7—10 vs. 9-14); more robust, sessile flowers; outermost filaments of staminal ring bent and expanded at apex (vs. straight and not expanded); larger fruits (6-7 x 5-7 vs. 4-5 x 4 cm) which are truncate instead of tapered at the base; and seeds with areas between longitudinally oriented vascular bundles covered with a raised reticulum (vs. without raised reticulum).

    The placement of Eschweilera praeclara Sandwith in synonymy here needs further confirmation. Although the common name for both L. holcogyne and E. praeclara is haudan (Arawak), Sandwith claims that two species are represented (Sandwith, 1935). The population represented by E. praeclara has flowers and fruits intermediate in size between L. holcogyne and L. chartacea. Its fruits have the truncate base typical of L. holcogyne but they are narrower and smaller than normally found in this species. Several collections from widely separated localities (Forest Dept. British Guiana 2199, 4243, and Mori et al. 15701) represent this variation. Consequently, if this combination of features is the result of hybridization, it has happened several times.

  • Common Names

    matamata amarelo, haudan, wadara

  • Distribution

    A canopy tree of non- flooded forest distributed in Guyana, French Guiana, and the Guayanan part of Amapa. Lecythis holcogyne flowers most profusely from Sep to Dec but flowering collections have also been gathered in Jan, Feb, Mar, and Jul. Fruits with mature seeds have been collected in Mar and Apr.

    Guyana South America| French Guiana South America| Brazil South America| Amapá Brazil South America|