Guatteria subsessilis Mart. — Plate, 1841

157. Guatteria subsessilis Mart. — Plate View in CoL 8b, c; Map 35

Guatteria subsessilis Mart. (1841) 29, t. 9, f. l; R.E.Fr. (1939) 481, f. 25d, e; Steyerm.et al.(1995) 447. — Type: Martius s.n. (holo M), Brazil, Amazonas , Manaus (‘ Barra do Rio Negro’), Oct. 1819.

Tree or shrub 2–22 m tall, 5–30 cm diam; young twigs sparsely covered with appressed hairs, soon glabrous, black. Leaves: petiole 5–10 mm long, 1–3 mm diam; lamina narrowly elliptic, 10–25 by 3–9 cm (leaf index 2.6–5), chartaceous, not verrucu- lose, shiny or dull, greyish, greyish green to brown above, brown to greyish green below, glabrous above, sparsely covered with appressed hairs mostly on primary vein to glabrous below, base acute to slightly attenuate, apex acute to acuminate (acumen 5–10 mm long), primary vein slightly raised to flat above, secondary veins distinct, 10–17 on either side of primary vein, slightly raised to flat above, smallest distance between loops and margin 1–6 mm, tertiary veins inconspicuous, slightly raised to flat above, reticulate. Flowers in 1–2(–3)-flowered inflores- cences in axils of leaves or less often on leafless branchlets; pedicels 2–10 mm long, 1–1.5 mm diam, fruiting pedicels, 1–3 mm diam, glabrous, but part below articulation sparsely covered with appressed hairs, articulated at 0.3–0.6 from the base, bracts 5–6, soon falling, broadly ovate and c. 1 mm long at the base to transversely broadly ovate and c. 3 mm long at the top; flower buds depressed ovoid; sepals free, broadly ovate-triangular, 2 – 5 by 2– 6 mm, appressed, outer side sparsely covered with appressed hairs to glabrous; petals green, maturing cream or bright yellow in vivo, narrowly elliptic to narrowly ovate, 13–20{–40} by 2–9{–15} mm, outer side rather densely to sparsely covered with appressed to erect hairs; stamens 1–2 mm long, connective shield papillate. Monocarps 5 – 25, green, maturing dark maroon to purplish red in vivo, black in sicco, ellipsoid, 10–15 by 5–7 mm, glabrous, rarely sparsely covered with appressed hairs, apex rounded to apiculate (apiculum <0.5 mm long), wall 0.1–0.5 mm thick, stipes 2–8 by 1 mm. Seed ellipsoid, 8–15 by 4–6 mm, pale brown, longitudinally and transversely grooved to rugose, raphe not distinct from rest of seed.

Distribution — Colombia (Antioquia), Venezuela (Amazonas, Apure, Bolívar), Guyana,Amazonian Brazil (Amazonas, Pará), Bolivia (Beni).

Habitat & Ecology — In periodically inundated (igapó or várzea) forest, on clayey or sandy soil, or (in Colombia) in premontane forest with Quercus as dominant tree.At elevations of 0–1650 m. Flowering: February to September; fruiting: January to April, October.

Vernacular names — Venezuela: Majagua, Majagua negra.

Notes — Guatteria subsessilis is one of the few species often occurring in periodically flooded igapó and várzea forests along rivers at low elevations, and less often on dry ground. It is well marked by coriaceous leaves in which the primary vein is often slightly raised on the upper side, very narrow petals, and by relatively short pedicels and stipes.

The Colombian material from Antioquia, however, occurs in premontane forest instead, but matches G. subsessilis in all morphological features.