Pisonia macranthocarpa
Content
Description
Scrambling shrub or liana with numerous arcuate branches, climbing to 6 m or more; bark smooth, reddish; stems often armed with axillary, stout, straight to slightly curved, 0.3-1.1 cm long spines, densely pubescent, becoming glabrescent with age. Petiole to 3 cm long; blade subcoriaceous, ovate, elliptical, obovate or suborbicular, 11 x 6 cm, glabrous to sparsely or densely puberulent on upper surface, glabrous or shortly villous on lower surface. Inflorescence seemingly axillary, usually borne at apex of very reduced short shoots, male 1.5-3.5 cm long, female 3.6-10 cm long; peduncle 1-5 cm; bracteoles oblong, 1-1.4 mm long; pedicels short, viscid-pubescent. Male perianth greenish-yellow, broadly campanulate, 2-4 x 2 mm, minutely puberulent-papillate; stamens exserted. Female perianth tubular to more or less urceolate, 1.6-3 mm long; style 1.2 mm. Anthocarp on elongated pedicel, dry, coriaceous, green, obconical or clavate, 16-20 x 8-9 mm, 5-angled and -ribbed, densely puberulent, with 5 rows of stipitate glands, glands in each row often uniseriate, sometimes 2-seriate.
Distribution
Central and South America present, Guyana present
Central and South America, including Guyana where occurring in thickets on wooded, elevated "islands" in savanna vegetation; 20 non-Guianan collections studied; 1 collection from a single locality in Guyana, was examined: Rupununi Distr., Chaakoitou, near Mountain Point, just S of Kanuku Mts., (male flowers in bud), Maas et al. 4117 (K, U).