Guatteria clusiifolia D.M.Johnson & N.A.Murray

37. Guatteria clusiifolia D.M.Johnson & N.A.Murray View in CoL — Fig. 27 View Fig ; Map 10

Guatteria clusiifolia D.M.Johnson & N.A.Murray (1990) 599. — Type: Tillett et al. 45009 (holo NY; iso K, MO), Guyana, Upper Mazaruni River Basin, NE side of Mt Ayanganna, 800–900 m, 2 Aug. 1980.

Tree 25–35 m tall, 40–80 cm diam; young twigs densely covered with appressed hairs, soon glabrous. Leaves: petiole 10–20 mm long, 2–4 mm diam; lamina obovate, 12–16 by 6–8 cm (leaf index 1.8–2), coriaceous, scabridulous on both sides, dull, greenish brown to greyish green above, brown below, the youngest leaves densely covered with silvery, appressed hairs, soon glabrous above, sparsely covered with appressed hairs mainly along primary and secondary veins below, base attenuate, apex truncate, sometimes emarginate or shortly and slightly acuminate (acumen 1–3 mm long), primary vein impressed above, secondary veins indistinct, 9–17 on either side of primary vein, impressed or slightly raised above, smallest distance between loops and margin 3–4 mm, tertiary veins slightly impressed above, reticulate. Flowers in 1(–2)-flowered inflorescences in axils of leaves; pedicels 12–18 mm long, c. 1.5 mm diam, fruiting pedicels to c. 3 mm diam, densely to sparsely covered with appressed hairs, articulated at 0.2–0.4 from the base, bracts 6–7, soon falling, not seen; flower buds not seen; sepals free, broadly ovate-triangular, 3–5 by 4–6 mm, reflexed, outer side densely covered with appressed hairs; petals yellow in vivo, narrowly oblong-obovate to oblong-ovate, 14–23 by 4–12 mm, outer side densely covered with erect hairs at the base, sparsely so at the apex; stamens c. 1 mm long, connective shield papillate. Monocarps 5 –15, green in vivo, reddish black in sicco, ellipsoid, 20–27 by 12–14 mm, sparsely covered with some appressed hairs, soon glabrous, apex rounded, wall 1.5–2 mm thick, stipes 4–6 by 3–4 mm. Seed narrowly ellipsoid, 16– 21 by 9 –10 mm, reddish black to dark, shiny brown, rugulose, raphe not distinct from rest of seed.

Distribution — Guyana (Mt Ayanganna).

Habitat & Ecology — In mixed, evergreen and fluvial forest, with Dicymbe , Caryocar and Inga , on brown sandy clay and lateritic soil. At elevations of 500– 900 m. Flowering: August, September; fruiting: August.

Vernacular names — Not recorded.

Notes — Guatteria clusiifolia is well recognizable by its thick, scabridulous Clusia -like leaves.

Johnson & Murray (1990) placed it in sect. Mecocarpus near G. dura , with which in our view it has little affinity because of the absence of verruculi in the leaves. It is probably closest to G. pachyphylla , occurring in Amazonian Venezuela and Peru. For the differences with that species, see there.