Neea ovalifolia

Content

Description

Shrub or tree, 3-21(-30) m x 35 cm, either buttressed and with a crown to ca. 6 m wide, or scrambling; branches glabrous. Leaves opposite or subopposite; petiole to 3 cm long; blade coriaceous, elliptical or oblanceolate, rarely ovate, to 13.5(-23) x 6.5 cm, apex shortly to long-acuminate or acute, base acute to attenuate, glabrous, glossy-shining above, green on both sides, often drying greenish- or yellowish-brown. Inflorescence an axillary or terminal, corymbiform cyme or panicle, all parts rufous-puberulent; peduncle 2-5 cm (male), to 10.5 cm (female) long. Male inflorescence more diffusely branched and flowered than female; bracteoles 5, to 1 mm long; pedicels thin, to 0.4-0.5 mm wide, not subalate. Male perianth urceolate, to 5 x 3 mm, green, sparsely puberulent, 5-dentate or -lobed; stamens 6, anthers ca. 0.8 mm long. Female perianth tubular-cylindrical, 4-5 x 1.5 mm, dirty white; style shortly exserted, fimbriate. Infructescence to 19 cm long; branches subalate and seemingly webbed at insertion area of smaller sub-axes; pedicels thickened to 2 mm diam.Anthocarp ellipsoid, 13-15 x 5.5 mm, ca. 25-sulcate, dark red or black.

Distribution

Guianas present, Southern America

Brazil; 82 collections studied, all from the Guianas (GU: 24; SU: 13; FG: 45).

Common Name

Boni (French Guiana): mabechi; Creole (French Guiana): graine-malimbe; English (Guyana): mamudan, menkaro-kade, menkaroma-kade; English (Suriname): bosgujave, jamsi-oedoe, kleinbladige prasara-oedoe, prasara-oedoe

Notes

A male Guyana specimen examined, Jenman 4840 (BRG, K), previously identified by Heimerl as Neea nigricans (Sw.) Heimerl and Neea jamaicensis Griseb., is the basis for the inclusion (now considered incorrect) of Guyana in the range of the Jamaican endemic Neea nigricans by Heimerl (1934). Similarly, Pulle (1906) cites Splitgerber 1030 (L) from Suriname, as Pisonia nigricans Sw. Despite the inference provided by the specific epithet "ovalifolia", the leaves of this species are very seldom oval or ovate.
See note under Guapira salicifolia regarding similarity to female specimens of Neea ovalifolia.