Tapura guianensis
Description
Tree to 9 m tall or shrub; young branches glabrous or sparsely puberulous, soon becoming glabrous. Stipules lanceolate, to 2 mm long, caducous. Petioles 5-14 mm long, sparsely puberulous to appressed pubescent when young becoming less pubescent with age, rugose, terete to shallowly canaliculate; blade coriaceous, most frequently oblong to ovate-elliptic rarely oblong-lanceolate or lanceolate, 6-23 x 2.1-9 cm, acuminate at apex, acumen 4-18 mm long, rounded to cuneate and unequal at base, glabrous or with a few stiff appressed hairs beneath; midrib impressed above, prominent and glabrous or with a few stiff appressed hairs only beneath, 7-14 pairs of secondary veins, arcuate, anastomosing. Inflorescence a dense sessile glomerule inserted on upper portion of petiole. Flowers hermaphrodite, sessile or on short pedicels; bracteoles 0.5-1 mm long, persistent, pubescent; calyx 3.5-5.5 mm long, tomentellous to sparsely puberulous on exterior, lobes unequal; corolla white or yellow, exserted beyond calyx lobes, consisting of 2 larger bicucullate and 3 smaller simple lobes, united at base to form a long tube, tube glabrescent on exterior, filled by a dense lanate mass within; fertile stamens 3, alternating with corolla lobes, filaments inserted on corolla tube at base of lobes, bases densely pubescent, 2 staminodes present; ovary 3-locular, pilose-tomentose on exterior, style with 3-fid apex, pubescent throughout. Fruit ellipsoid to narrowly oblong, most frequently 1-locular, but often 2-locular, epicarp with short compact velutinous pubescence, mesocarp very thin, endocarp very thin, hard, bony, glabrous within.
Distribution
Amazonia present, Guianas present
The Guianas and Amazonia; many collections studied (GU: 92; SU: 60; FG: 86).