Tovomita plumieri Griseb., Fl. Brit. W. I.

46. Tovomita plumieri Griseb., Fl. Brit. W. I. View in CoL : 106. 1859. – Lectotype (designated by Howard 1989: 333): Dominica, s.loc., s.dat., J. Imray 228 (GOET [ GOET000935 View Materials ] photo!; isolectotype: K [ K000488546 ]!).

= Tovomita martinicensis Vesque, Epharmosis View in CoL 3: 20. 1892. – Lectotype (designated here): Martinique, [Forêt de la Trinité], 1868/69, L. Hahn 992 (G [ G00355497 ] photo!; isolectotypes: GH [ GH00067880 ]!, K [ K000488474 ]!, W [no. W-1889- 0074308]!).

Description — Trees up to 10 m tall, prop roots conspicuous; exudate yellow, abundant. Petioles 3.1–5.4 cm long, green, smooth, lenticels absent. Leaf blades 8.3–32 × 3.5–13.5 cm, greenish to copper-coloured in sicco, black dots absent, subcoriaceous, elliptic to oblong, base convex to decurrent, apex acuminate with drip tip; papillae, lenticels and fungal spots absent; exudate canals inconspicuous. Venation: secondary veins 8–11 pairs, 10–38 mm apart from each other, forming angle 55°–60° to midvein, slightly prominent adaxially, prominent abaxially, arcuate near margin; intersecondary veins present, one to three per intercostal area, much thinner and basically connected to secondary veins,> 50 % of subjacent secondary length; tertiary veins percurrent sinuous; intramarginal vein absent. Inflorescences: ♂ lax cyme with (3–)5–6 basal branches and 9–150 flowers, lacking terminal flower, ♀ dichasium, lenticels absent. Pedicels 18–19 mm long, green, distal and proximal portion with same gauge, proximally articulated on lateral flowers of dichasia; calyptrae and lenticels absent. Floral buds 9–11 mm long, ovoid, apex apiculate, lenticels absent. Sepals 4, 9–11 × 4–8.5 mm, ovate to oblong, apex apiculate to rounded, green; petals 4, 11–12 × 3.5– 6 mm, oblong, reflexed, apex rounded, white. Staminate flowers: stamens c. 100 stamens, 5–8.5 mm long, heterodynamous; filaments terete, white; anthers 1–2 mm long, white, connective not exceeding thecae; pistillode c. 1 mm long, conic. Pistillate flowers: staminodes 100, 6–7 mm long; ovary c. 8.2 mm long, 5-locular, stigmas 5, sessile, c. 4 mm in diam., coloration not seen. Capsules fleshy, 4.2–10.5 × 2.5–3.3 cm, 5-septate, fusiform when closed, sometimes falcate, not costate or lobed, rostrum present, c. 15 mm long, epicarp smooth, green when immature and mature, mesocarp red; sepals, petals, staminodes and stigmas persistent. Aril orange. Fig. 67.

Iconography — Illustration available in Howard (1989: 334).

Distribution — Dominica (Saint David, Saint George, Saint Paul, Saint Peter), Martinique (La Trinité, Saint Pierre), Saint Lucia (Soufriere). Fig. 68.

Conservation status — Near Threatened (NT, Marinho & Beech 2019).

Nomenclatural notes — Tovomita martinicensis was published based on three collections: Hahn 992 (mixed, pistillate and staminate specimens), Hahn 1173 (pistillate specimen), and Hahn 1390 (with fruits). We designated as the lectotype a staminate G specimen (Hahn 992, G00355497 ), which bears an open flower .

Recognition and discussion — Tovomita plumieri is the only species of the genus that occurs in the Caribbean islands of Dominica, Martinique and Saint Lucia. The species is very similar to T. longifolia and T. megantha , mainly by the large leaves with similar number of secondary veins, ovoid floral buds, and 5-carpellate ovary. Tovomita plumieri differs from these two species by the number of stamens (> 100 vs <80 in the related species) (see also Table 2 and Fig. 58).

Selected specimens examined — DOMINICA: SAINT DAVID: Bois Diable ridge, Pont Cassé area, near turn off to Castle Bruce , 27 Jul 1966, fl. ♂, W. L . Stern & D. Wasshausen 2549 ( B!) . SAINT GEORGE: fresh water lake area, south face Micotrin 2400–2600 ft, 1 Jan 1967, fr., D. C . Wasshausen & E. S. Ayensu 332 (B!). SAINT PAUL: along path to Morne Couronne near Point Lolo , 1500 ft, 31 Jul 1965, fl. ♂, W. R . Ernst 1980 (B!, CAS!, GH!). SAINT PETER: near SE corner of St John Parish , 17 Mar 1991, sterile, S. R . Hill 22070 (NY!). — MARTINIQUE: LA TRINITÉ: wooded trail from summit of Morne Rouge , 13–18 May 1979, fr., R. A . Howard & E. S. Howard 18885 (A!). SAINT PIERRE: Commune de Case Pilote , 14°40'34"N, 61°07'15"W, 635 m, 15 Dec 2015, fr., Deinatte C GoogleMaps . & Girault R. 3570 (NY!). — SAINT LUCIA: SOUFRIERE: forest between Quilesse and Piton St Espirit , 22 Apr–18 May 1950, fr., R. A . Howard 11627 (A!, B!).