Lecythis ollaria L.
-
Family
Lecythidaceae (Magnoliophyta)
-
Scientific Name
Lecythis ollaria L.
-
Primary Citation
Systema Naturae 10 (2): 1071
1759
-
Description
Author: Scott A. Mori
Type: Venezuela. Miranda: Road from Ocumare del Tuy to San Fernando de Yare, 27 July 1952 (fl), Arisiteguieta 839 (neotype Dorr & Wiersema, 2010], VEN).
Description: Trees, small to medium-sized, to 20 m tall. Stems pubescent when young. Bark with deep vertical fissures. Leaves: petioles poorly developed, 2-5 mm long, abaxially pubescent; blades ovate to widely ovate, 6-14.5 × 4-8 cm, glabrous, coriaceous, the base rounded to cordate, decurrent, the margins entire to crenulate, the apex acute to obtuse; venation brochidodromous, the secondary veins in 8-12 pairs, the tertiary veins reticulate. Inflorescences terminal or in axils of uppermost leaves, racemose, usually unbranched or once-branched, infrequently with 3-4 orders of branches but then the ultimate branches poorly developed, all rachises somewhat pubescent, the principal rachis 10-20 cm long; pedicels jointed, whitish to rust-colored pubesence, with a cucullate ovate bract, 4-5 × 2-4 mm at base and 2 cucullate ovate bracteoles, 3-3.5 × 1.2-2.8 mm inserted just below articulation, 1.5-3 mm long below articulation, 3-5 mm long above articulation. Flowers 5-8 cm diam., zygomorphic; calyx-lobes 6, widely to very widely ovate, 5-9 × 5-9 mm, imbricate, slightly carinate abaxially, the margins erose; petals 6, widely obovate to suborbiculate, 22-37 × 18-22 mm, white to yellowish white or pale yellow; ligule once-coiled inward, with well-developed but antherless appendages on outer side, the appendages curved inwards, white or pale yellow; staminal ring with 242-372 stamens, the filaments 1.5-2.5 mm long, clavate at apex, the anthers 0.7-0.8 mm long; hypanthium ferrugineous-tomentose, difficult to distinguish from petiole; ovary (3-)4(-5)-locular, with 5-15 ovules in each locule, the summit of ovary more or less truncate, the style 2 mm long. Fruits cup-shaped, 3.5-6 × 5.5-8.5 cm, the pericarp ca. 12 mm thick, the calyx-lobes persisting as woody calycine ring ring. Seeds brown, with ca. 4 longitudinally oriented, lighter colored, impressed veins, the areas between the veins smooth; aril lateral/basal.
Common names: Venezuela. Coco de mono.
Distribution: This species is found exclusively east of the Andes where it is restricted to the Venezuelan states of Anzoátegui, Apure, Aragua, Barinas, Cojedes, Guarico, Lara, and Portuguesa. The map in Fl. Neotrop. 21(II) is incorrect because the symbols for this species and L. minor are reversed. The solid circles actually represent collections of L. ollaria and the stars those of L. minor.
Ecology: This is a relatively common tree of dry forests, galeria forests, and savannas. It is restricted to Venezuela where it is common in the llanos.
Phenology: Flowers have been collected from Apr to Nov.
Pollination: There are no recorded studies of pollination for this species but the related L. minor is pollinated by bees. Moreover, the white petals and yellow androecial hood are found in many species of Lecythidaceae reported to be pollinated by bees.
Dispersal: The basal aril suggests dispersal by bats.
Predation: The seeds are said to be preyed upon by capuchin monkeys which open the nearly ripe fruits by banging them against branches.
Field characters: Lecythis ollaria is characterized by its small size when growing in savanna (it is larger in forests); leaf blades cordate at base; white- or rust-colored pubescence on the rachises of the inflorescence and the hypanthium; petals white; ligule light yellow, with a single coil with vestigial stamens only on the outside surface; fruits with a cup-shaped base; seeds with impressed veination and smooth between veins; and a basal/lateral area. Only this species and L. minor and L. tuyrana have a single-coiled ligule with vestigial stamens only on the outside surface.
Taxonomic Notes: Lecythis ollaria, L. minor, and L tuyrana form a molecular clade that is morphologically characerized by a single-coiled ligule with vestigial stamens only on the outer surface of the coil. Because the type of this group is L. ollaria the name Lecythis will apply only to these three species if the genus is split into segregate genera (Huang, 2010; Mori et al, 2007). Dorr and Wiersema (2010a) have pointed out that Prance and Mori (1977), Mori in Prance and Mori (1990), and others before them mistakenly used the unpublished name Lecythis ollaria Loefl. for Lecythis ollaria L. Although the genus was published by Loefling (1758), the species was published by Linnaeus in 1759 and not by Loefling; thus, L. ollaria Loefl. is a nomen nudum. Jarvis (2007, p. 617) recognized that it was Linnaeus who had published L. ollaria, but he failed to correctly typify the name. To avoid further confusion in the selection of a neotype, Dorr and Wiersema (2010a) selected the same specimen (Aristeguieta 839) for the neotype of L. ollaria L. as did Prance and Mori (1977) for the unpublished L. ollaria Loefl. See Dorr & Wiersema (2010b) for further information about Loefling and the Iter Hispanicum. This species is very closely related to L. minor from which it differs by the more rounded to somewhat cordate leaf bases and the more easterly distribution.
Conservation: IUCN Red List: Lower Risk/least concern ver 2.3 (Pires O'Brien, J. 1998. Lecythis ollaria. In: IUCN 2013. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 21 March 2014.).
Uses: The seeds of L. ollaria are edible but those from trees growing in soils high in selenium can be toxic and cause the loss of hair and fingernails if too many are consumed (Kerdel-Vegas, 1966). This is discussed in more detail on the species page of L. minor. Local people say that this tree is used for making cattle fences (pers. comm., G. Aymard, 2008).
Etymology: There is no indication in the protologue as to what the epithet "ollaria" refers to. However, it most likely refers to the Spanish word olla and alludes to the pot-like fruits.
Source: This species page is based on Mori in Mori & Prance, 1990.
Acknowledgements: We are grateful to M. Ramirez, G. Aymard, and E. Cuello for allowing us to use their images to illustrate the characters of this species.
-
Narratives
Inflorescence and flower morphology and anatomy of Lecythis ollaria.
