Salacia impressifolia

Primary tabs

Salacia impressifolia

Content

Description

Liana or shrub, glabrous throughout. Petiole 8-25 mm long; blades subcoriaceous to coriaceous, narrowly ovate, 9-20 x 4-8 cm, margins entire, apex abruptly obtusely acuminate or rounded, base rounded, sometimes slightly cordate, or cuneate, often somewhat falcate; primary vein impressed or flat above, prominent beneath, secondary veins 7-11 per side, widely arcuately ascending, impressed or flat, tertiary veins impressed or inconspicuous on both surfaces. Inflorescences axillary, fasciculate; pedicels slender, 4-15 mm long. Flowers 10-22 mm diam.; sepals unequal, 1-2.2 x 1-1.5 mm, rounded; petals slightly fleshy to chartaceous, yellowish green, pale brown or orange, often brown at base and green at apex, elliptic, 5.5-10 x 5-8 mm, lineolate; disk truncate, 3.5-5.5 mm diam., 1 mm high, generally strongly flattened at base; stamens spreading, filaments 1.5-2.3 mm long, anthers ca. 0.9 mm long and wide, dehiscing by oblique, apically confluent clefts; ovary depressed-conical, ovules 4 per locule in superposed pairs, style thick, to 1 mm long. Fruiting pedicel up to 3 cm long and 8 mm diam.Fruit globose, 3-4 cm diam., pericarp coriaceous, smooth or somewhat rugulose, greyish-glaucous, dull orange when mature.

Distribution

C. America present, Guianas present present, Northern America, Pani present, Southern America: Bolivia (Bolivia present); Brazil North (Amazonas present); Colombia (Colombia present); Peru (Peru present); Venezuela (Venezuela present)
Mexico, C. America, Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, Brazil (Amazonas and Pani), Peru and Bolivia; ca. 70 collections studied, 7 from the Guianas (GU: 1; SU: 1; FG: 5).

Notes

The species can be distinguished from Salacia elliptica and S. juruana by its larger flowers, 10-22 mm diam. In Salacia elliptica they are 5-10 mm, in S. juruana 13-14 mm diam. The disk of S. impressifolia is conspicuously flattened at base like in S. juruana, whereas in Salacia elliptica the disk is slightly flattened at base. The leaves in S. elliptica are narrowly elliptic, while in S. impressifolia they are usually ovate, or rarely narrowly elliptic. In S. juruana the leaves are almost oblong.
In 1872 Miers described Raddia grandiflora (Benth.) Miers and Raddia impressifolia. Peyritsch (1872) considered the two names as synonyms, transferring them to Salacia grandiflora. This name, how- ever, was previously assigned to an Asian species by Kurz in 1872. It is, therefore, correct that A.C. Smith provided the combination Salacia impressifolia as the name for the taxon. Under the present code the name must be ascribed to A.C. Smith alone.