Combretum cacoucia
Description
Woody liana to 20 m, stem to 10 cm diam., sometimes shrub to 2.5 m or treelet to 4 m; ‘combretaceous hairs’ and stalked glands present. Leaves opposite or more or less so, usually alternate on flowering axis just below spike, chartaceous to subcoriaceous, elliptic- to oblong-ovate, 3.5-22 x 1.6-10 cm, apex shortly acuminate, base rounded to shallowly cordate, usually minutely verruculose along all veins, especially on veinlets below, sparsely to very sparsely pubescent but sometimes moderately so on veins especially below, stalked glands frequent on veins below and sparse above; venation usually eucamptodromous or eucamptodromous-brochidodromous, secondary veins 5-9 pairs; petiole 0.3-0.8 cm long, pubescent to densely so, with sparse to frequent stalked glands. Inflorescence simple, terminal, 18-50(-70) cm long; stems leafy to base of spike, rhachis very stout, densely fulvous-pubescent to -tomentose, with sparse to frequent stalked glands; bracts leafy, conspicuous, up to 4.5 x 1.5 cm at lower nodes. Flowers 5-merous, 18-33 mm long, weakly zygomorphic; lower hypanthium 6-14 mm long, pedicel-like region 3-7 mm long, narrowed to neck, densely pubescent, stalked glands very sparse to frequent,upper hypanthium deeply curved-cupuliform to -infundibuliform, 10-19 x 3.5-15 mm, pubescent to densely so outside, very sparse to frequent stalked glands, pubescent to densely so inside; calyx lobes erect, triangular to narrowly so, 2.5-6 mm long, apex acute; petals 5, erect, obovate to narrowly so or elliptic to broadly so, 6-16.4 x 4-5.8 mm, at anthesis slightly to far exserted, apex acute to subacute, pubescent on both surfaces; stamens 10, well exserted, filaments 19.5-29.5 mm long; disk thick, closely applied to style base, densely pubescent at margin, free portion ca. 1.5-2 mm long; style 26.5-44.5 mm long, exserted about as far as filaments, glabrous or pubescent basally; ovules 3-4. Fruit densely pubescent and with frequent stalked glands, becoming subglabrous with age, 5-8 x 1.7-2.8 cm, elliptic in side view, apex gradually tapered to narrowly rounded to obtuse, base gradually and narrowly tapered to pseudostipe of ca. 1-3 cm long, ridges 5, strong but fairly narrow and abruptly edgedStalked glands 50-110 µm long, stalk uniseriate, 6-14 cells long, obovoid head 25-35 x 20-25 µm
Distribution
Belize present, C America present, Guianas present, Southern America: Colombia (Colombia present ‒ present); Guatemala (Guatemala present); Panamá (Panamá present); Venezuela (Venezuela present), along the Atlantic side of S America present, eastern Venezuela present, just south of the Amazon river-delta in north-eastern Pará present
C America from Belize and Guatemala to Panama and just into Colombia, and along the Atlantic side of S America from eastern Venezuela to just south of the Amazon river-delta in north-eastern Pará (Brazil), with a disjunction across most of Colombia and Venezuela for at least 1600 km; about 105 specimens from the Guianas (GU: 40; SU: 27; FG: 38).