Guatteria grandiflora Donn.Sm.

74. Guatteria grandiflora Donn.Sm. View in CoL — Fig. 41 View Fig ; Map 17

Guatteria grandiflora Donn.Sm.(1889) 25; R. E.Fr.(1939) 523,t. 36. — Type: Donnell Smith 1235 (syn B, GH, K, P, US 2 sheets), Guatemala, Alta Vera- paz, Pansamalá, 1100–1200 m, May 1887 .

Guatteria anomala R.E.Fr. (1939) 524, f. 1a–f. — Type: Von Tuerckheim 7816 (holo B; iso GH, K, M, NY, US 2 sheets), Guatemala, Alta Verapaz, Cubilguïtz (‘Cubilquitz’), 350 m, May 1901.

Tree 6–60 m tall, up to 170 cm diam and with deeply fluted stems; young twigs rather densely covered with appressed, white hairs, soon glabrous. Leaves: petiole 2–9 mm long, 1–4 mm diam; lamina narrowly elliptic to narrowly obovate, 10–27 by 3–8 cm (leaf index 2.6–3.8), chartaceous, rather densely verruculose to not verruculose, dull, grey to brown above, brown below, glabrous above, glabrous below, the primary vein rather densely covered with erect to appressed white long hairs to glabrous below, base obtuse to attenuate, apex acuminate (acumen 2–10 mm long), primary vein impressed to flat above, secondary veins distinct, 9–17 on either side of primary vein, slightly raised to raised above. Flowers terminal, solitary or in up to several-flowered, paniculate-like inflorescences, also axillary; pedicels 10–65 mm long, 1–2 mm diam, sparsely covered with appressed, white hairs, articulated at 0.1–0.2 from the base, thickened above the articulation, bracts 2–3 (?) to a pedicel in terminal flowers, or c. 7 on pedicels of axillary flowers, soon falling, not seen; flower buds depressed ovoid, slightly pointed; sepals free, broadly ovate-triangular, 4–10 by 4–7 mm, reflexed, outer side densely covered with appressed and erect, curly, white hairs; petals green with red inner base in vivo, narrowly oblong-ovate to narrowly ovate, 12–40 by 5–13 mm, outer side densely covered with appressed and erect, curly, white hairs; stamens (1–) 1.5–3 mm long, connective shield papillate. Monocarps 5–40, red, maturing black in vivo, black in sicco, narrowly ellipsoid to ellipsoid, 15–30 by 8–12 mm, glabrous, apex rounded to slightly apiculate, stipes 4–15 by 2–3 mm. Seed ellipsoid, 15–25 by 8–12 mm, pale brown to dark brown, rugulose.

Distribution — Mexico (Chiapas, Oaxaca, Veracruz), Guatemala, Honduras.

Habitat & Ecology — In forest. At elevations of 0–3150 m. Flowering: April, May, July; fruiting: May, July, August.

Vernacular names — Guatemala: Pale-max (Kunkel 18, 355, 411, 420, 440). Mexico: Candelero (Caletti 170), Candilero (Wendt et al. 3330), Corcho negro, Ijkbat, Jooncu’y (Zoque name) (Caletti 170), Palo de chombo ( Miranda 7176), Palo de zope, Palo de zopo, Zopo.

Note — Guatteria grandiflora apart from being among the few species in the genus with terminal flowers is remarkable by the partial fusion of axes leading to the panicle-like arrangement of flowers at the end of branchlets in part of the representatives. There exists a good illustration of this ( Sargent 1905). This phenomenon is not known to occur in any other Guatteria species, and it led Fries (1939) to create a separate species, G. anomala . See also the introduction and Fries’s excellent analysis ( Fig. 14b View Fig ). When examining material of both species we had the impression that not only the arrangement of the flowers but also other characters, e.g., presence or absence of verruculae, the long appressed hairs on the primary vein below, could distinguish the two. Closer inspection showed quite a bit of overlapping though, leaving only the fusion of axes in the inflorescence to go by. Given an otherwise homogenous impression of all specimens taken together, we think that there is insufficient support for a two-species concept.