Eschweilera parviflora (Aubl.) Miers
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Family
Lecythidaceae (Magnoliophyta)
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Scientific Name
Eschweilera parviflora (Aubl.) Miers
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Primary Citation
Trans. Linn. Soc. London 30: 260. 1874
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Basionym
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Description
Author: Scott A. Mori and Ghillean T. Prance
Type: French Guiana. Without locality, no date (fl), Aublet s.n. (lectotype, BM, photo NY-NY neg. 408, designated Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 21(II). 1990; isolectotypes, P, photo of P at NY, S).
Description: Understory or, less frequently, canopy trees, to 30 m tall, usually unbuttressed. Bark nearly smooth, often with vertically disposed lenticels and very shallow cracks, often with maroon cast, the inner bark white to yellowish-white. Leaves not known to flush just before anthesis; petioles 5-10 mm long; blades elliptic, 7.5-15.5(-21) x 2.5-7.5 cm, glabrous, often with abaxial reddish-brown punctae, chartaceous, the base acute to obtuse, the margins entire, the apex acuminate; secondary veins in (7-)10-13 pairs. Inflorescences terminal or axillary, unbranched racemes or paniculate once-branched arrangement of racemes, the principal rachis 2-7.5 cm long, slender, 1-2 mm thick, glabrous to puberulous, the pedicel 8-10 mm long. Flowers 2-2.5 cm diam.; calyx with 6 lobes, the lobes widely to very widely ovate, 2.5-6 x 2-5.5 mm, erect to spreading, imbricate, convex abaxially, flat to concave adaxially, sometimes gibbous at base; petals 6, widely obovate, yellow but fading white in late afternoon; androecium with staminal ring asymmetric, with 70-80 stamens, the filaments 1-1.2 mm long, not clavate, white, the anthers 0.4 mm long, yellow but fading white in late afternoon, the hood 10-11 x 10-12 mm, with distinct double coil; hypanthium constricted into well-defined pedicel; ovary 2-locular, each locule with 3-8 basally attached ovules. Fruits small, cup-shaped, 1.5-2 x 2-3.0 cm (excluding operculum), often black when dried, the calycine ring inserted slightly above middle, the pericarp 2-3 mm thick, the operculum convex, with only slight indication of umbo. Seeds with lateral aril.
Common names: Venezuela: cacaíto, majagüillo (also applied to several other species of Eschweilera). Brazil: matamatá (applied to many species of Eschweilera).
Distribution: Distributed in the Guiana region of South America (N of the Amazon, E of the Rio Negro, and S of the Orinoco). Within this region, however, it has not yet been collected from Surinam and from most of Amapá and Pará, Brazil.
Ecology: Eschweilera parviflora is a small to medium-sized tree usually of non-flooded forest.
Phenology: This species flowers from Aug to Mar in various parts of its range.
Pollination: No observations recorded but most likely pollinated by bees.
Dispersal: No observations recorded but the lateral arils may be eaten by animals.
Predation: No observations recorded.
Field characters: Eschweilera parviflora is characterized by its understory stature; chartaceous leaves often with abaxial punctae; slender rachises of inflorescences (usually 1-2 mm thick); petals and androecial hood yellow but fading to white especially once they have fallen to the ground; and small, cup-shaped fruits which often dry black.
Taxonomic notes: An exception is the type of E. montana which is said to have white petals and androecia. Nevertheless, this collection matches E. parviflora in other aspects and is maintained here until further collections prove differently.
Uses: According to Bernardi (coll. no. 2135) the hard and heavy wood of this species splits into fine shingles used in local construction.
Etymology: The species epithet refers to the relatively small flowers of this species.
Source: This species page is based on Mori & Prance, 1990.
Acknowledgements: We are grateful to C. Gracie and M.-F. Prévost for allowing us to use their images to illustrate the characters of this species.
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Floras and Monographs
Eschweilera parviflora (Aubl.) Miers: [Article] Mori, S. A. & Prance, Ghillean T. 1990. Lecythidaceae - Part II: The zygomorphic-flowered New World genera (Couroupita, Corythophora, Bertholletia, Couratari, Eschweilera, & Lecythis). With a study of secondary xylem of Neotropical Lecythidaceae by Carl de Zeeuw. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 21: 1-376.
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Narratives
