Roupala suaveolens
Content
Description
Tree 3-10(-20) m, or shrub 1.5-2.5 m tall; young branches yellow-brown to red-brown, velutinous to long-tomentose, becoming short-tomentose and fading to grey, persistent; bark dark grey to red-grey or brown; lenticels few, inconspicuous, orange to brown. Leaves simple, lobed and compound, blade coriaceous, drying brown, matt or shiny, densely yellow-brown or rufous-velutinous above and beneath when young, gradually glabrescent, hairs persisting on base of midvein above, and more generally beneath, fading to greySimple leaf: petiole 1-6 cm long x 1.5-4 mm broad at midlength, terete, somewhat canaliculate towards blade, yellow-brown velutinous totomentose, fading to grey, rarely becoming completely glabrous; blade predominantly ovate, also wide- to narrow-ovate, or narrow-oblong to oblong, 6-21 x 3-12 cm(length:breadth 1.1-2.5:1), base obtuse- or rounded-decurrent, cordate or truncate, symmetrical, folded, apex predominantly attenuate, sometimes acute, obtuse or acuminate, margin entire, or serrate when at transitional stage between simple and compound leaves with 1-3(-6) pairs of serrations, not revolute; venation raised and ± conspicuous on both sides, eucamptodromous to semicraspedodromous, midvein reaching apex, secondary veins 5-8(-12) pairs. Compound leaves: 13-26 cm long (including 2.5-8.5 cm long petiole), 7-19 cm broad; leaflets 1-4 pairs; petiolules lateral leaflets 0-0.8 mm long; blade lateral leaflet 4-11.5 x 1.5-4.2 cm(length:breadth 2-3(-4.5):1), base strongly asymmetrical, broader side of blade facing terminal leaflet, acute to obtuse, at times shortest side of blade acute, longer side obtuse, apex attenuate, margin entire, secondary veins 5-8 pairs; petiolule terminal leaflet 0-3 cm long, blade terminal leaflet 7.5-14 x 3.2-8 cm(length:breadth 1.5-3.5:1), base obtuse to acute, apex attenuate, margin entire, secondary veins 6-10 pairs; compound leaves of juvenile plants with considerably longer and narrower leaves, long-attenuate at apex and long-cuneate at base. Inflorescence axillary, unbranched, rarely 2 arising in same leaf axil, 7-28 x 1.8-2.8 cm, densely pale brown, yellow-brown to rufous, velutinous or tomentose; peduncle 1-3.5(-6) cm x 1.2-2 mm; sterile bracts few, persistent; common bracts 1-2 x 0.6-1 mm, densely velutinous to tomentose outside, glabrous within; flower-pair axis to 1mm long; pedicels 1.5-5 mm long. Flower buds 1.4-2 mm broad at apex, 0.7-1.2 mm broad at midlengthFlowers 7-11 mm long; filaments 0.3-1 mm long, attached to tepals 5.5-9 mm from base, anthers 1.7-2.6 x 0.3-0.4 mm; hypogynous glands 0.3-0.6 mm long, lobes in contact at base; ovary hairs extending (1-)1.5-2(-2.5) mm from base of ovary, covering entire ovary, long, weak, straight, ferrugineous to rufous, also with sericeous hairs, dense, bushing outwards. Infructescence 9-21(-34) cm long, densely tomentose; fruit pedicel (3-)4-6 x 1-1.5 mm, tomentose. Fruit 1.8-3.2 x 0.9-1.5 cm, both sutured and unsutured side curved to similar degrees, or sutured side slightly more curved, base constricted for (1-)3-7 mm, apex not constricted to constricting for 2.5-3.5 mm, sharp with persistence of style, straight or curved so apex perpendicular to unsutured side, yellow-brown velutinous, sometimes slowly glabrescent, if so, light brown-grey beneath, marginal vein protruding around periphery; seeds 1.3-1.4 x 0.6-0.9 cm.
Distribution
Bolivar present, Guyana present, Southern America: Brazil North (Amazonas present), Venezuela where rivers drain northwards into the Orinoco system present
Venezuela where rivers drain northwards into the Orinoco system (Amazonas and Bolívar) , and Guyana; (GU: 6; SU: 1).
Notes
Although the locality on the type specimen label of