Elachyptera floribunda
Content
Description
Liana, shrub (or slender tree with scandent branches); branches purplish brown or cinereous, smooth or strongly lenticellate. Petiole 3-10(-12) mm long, slender, canaliculate; blades chartaceous or thin-coriaceous, brownish or olivaceous when dried, slightly glossy above, elliptic or ovate-elliptic, (4-)5-10(-15) x (1.5-)2.5-5(-7.5) cm, margins entire, sinuate or crenulate, often remotely dentate near the apex, apex acuminate, the tip glandular, base acute to rounded; primary vein prominent on both surfaces, secondary veins 4-6 per side, arcuately ascending, flattened or slightly prominulous above, prominent beneath, tertiary veins reticulate, nearly flattened above, prominulous beneath. Inflorescences axillary, solitary or paired, 2-11 cm long; peduncle 0.6-3 cm long; bracts ovate, ca. 1 mm long, acute, fimbriate, cinereous-puberulent, like the bracteoles and flowers; bracteoles 0.5 mm long, deltoid, acute, fimbriolate; pedicels slender, 1-2 mm long; buds globose. Flowers (0.6-)1.5-2.7 mm diam., fragrant; sepals deltoid to semiorbicular, acute, mostly entire, 0.35-0.5 x 0.3-0.5 mm; petals white, cream, or purplish white, fleshy, oblong to elliptic, (1-)1.2-1.6 x 0.5-1.2 mm, entire, apex rounded; disk (0.4-)0.6-1 mm wide, 0.1-0.2 mm high; filaments ligulate, 0.3-0.4 mm long, anthers 0.2-0.3 x 0.4-0.5 mm; ovary 0.3-0.5 mm diam., style 0.1 mm long, stigmas forming a minute, capitate, triangular shield. Mericarps elliptic or slightly obovate, 3.5-6 x 2-2.5(-4) cm, ca. 3 mm thick, obtuse or slightly emarginate at apex, pericarp thin-coriaceous with fine, densely, flabellate-costate veins, the veins copiously anastomosing, 0.2-0.4 mm thick; seeds with embryoniferous part coriaceous, ellipsoid, 20-26 x 7 mm, and wing membranous or coriaceous, the basal part to 8 mm long, flange to 5 mm wide or inconspicuous.
Distribution
Guianas present present, Northern America, Southern America: Colombia (Colombia present); Peru (Peru present); Venezuela (Venezuela present)
Mexico, Central America, Venezuela, the Guianas, Colombia, Peru and Brazil; over 30 collections studied, 18 from the Guianas (GU: 12; SU: 1; FG: 5).
Notes
The collection Schomburgk s.n. (NY, F photo of B type negative nr 13342) belongs to this species, but was erroneously labeled as Hippocratea micrantha Cambess. It also bears the wrong determination Elachyptera micrantha (Cambess.) A.C. Smith written in pencil, this collection is not a type specimen.
The specimen described by Aublet under the nameTontelea scandens proved to belong to Elachyptera floribunda .
The specimen described by Aublet under the name