Salacia elliptica
Content
Description
Slender tree, large shrub or liana, glabrous throughout; branches often conspicuously lenticellate. Petiole 5-14 mm long; blades coriaceous, often greyish brown when dried, upper surface smooth, elliptic to oblong, mostly 10-17 x 4-8.5 cm, margins entire or slightly undulate, apex rounded to obtusely cuspidate, base rounded to acute; primary vein flattened or impressed or slightly prominulous above, prominent beneath, secondary veins 8-10 per side, arising straight or arcuately, hardly visible, tertiary veins inconspicuous. Inflorescences fasciculate, on cushion-like peduncle to 3 mm thick; bracts and bracteoles deltoid, less than 1 mm long, erosulous; pedicels slender, 2-10 mm long. Flowers 5-10(-12) mm diam.; sepals membranous to nearly fleshy, semiorbicular, 1-2 x 1-2 mm, scariose; petals greenish, yellowish green or orange sometimes brownish at base, lineolate, glandular, membranous to nearly fleshy, elliptic-oblong, 3-5 x 3-4 mm, entire or erosulous; disk truncate, occasionally slightly widened towards base, 2-4 mm diam., 0.5-1 mm high, often with yellowish latex lumps; stamens reflexed in mature flowers, filaments 1-2 mm long, anthers 0.6-1 x 0.4 mm, dehiscing by somewhat oblique, apically confluent clefts; ovary depressed conical, ovules 2-4 per locule, style rather thick, 0.5-0.9 mm long. Fruiting pedicel to 2 cm long. Fruits subglobose or obovoid, to 4 cm diam., pericarp smooth or at most somewhat rugulose, blue-green turning orange or yellow at maturity.
Distribution
C. America present, Ceani present, Guianas present present, Northern America, Southern America: Bolivia (Bolivia present); Brazil Northeast (Maranhao present); Brazil Southeast (Minas Gerais present); Colombia (Colombia present); Ecuador (Ecuador present); Paraguay (Paraguay present); Venezuela (Venezuela present)
Mexico, C. America, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, the Guianas, Brazil (south to Minas Gerais, east to Maranhao, Ceani), Bolivia and Paraguay; over 60 collections studied, 9 from the Guianas (GU:'4 SU: 2; FG: 3).
Notes
This taxon is widespread. It shows great variation in leaf shape and size. In Panama leaves may be almost rounded, in central and southern Brazil leaves are often small, narrowly elliptic or narrowly obovate, with acute base. In the Guianas the species has elliptic leaves in which the primary vein is prominent beneath and the lesser veins are inconspicuous. The fruits are smooth or at most somewhat rugulose. The species is difficult to distinguish from S. impressifolia by the leaves only. The flowers, however, are different. In Salacia impressifolia they are 10-22 mm diam., whereas in Salacia elliptica they are 5-10 mm diam.