Tovomita albiflora A. C. Sm.

2. Tovomita albiflora A. C. Sm. View in CoL in Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 67: 293. 1940. – Lectotype (designated here): Venezuela, [Bolívar], district Mount Roraima , vicinity of Arabupu, 4200 m, 19 Jan 1939, A. S. Pinkus 269 (NY [ NY00579007 ]!; isolectotypes: F [ F0054531 F] photo!, G [ G00355922 ] photo!, GH [ GH00067908 ]!, NY [ NY00076043 ]!, NY [ NY00579006 ]!, S [ S03-2036 ] photo!, US [ US 00114287] photo!, US [ US 00719427] photo!).

Description — Shrubs or trees up to 9 m tall, prop roots inconspicuous; exudate yellow, abundant. Petioles 1–3 cm long, smooth, coloration not seen, lenticels present; exudate canals inconspicuous. Leaf blades (6–)13–20 × 3–7 cm, dark brown in sicco, black dots absent, coriaceous, elliptic to obovate, base convex to decurrent, apex convex to straight; papillae, lenticels and fungal spots absent. Venation: secondary veins 10–13 pairs, 7–11 mm apart from each other, forming angle 60°–70° to midvein, strongly prominent in both surfaces, arcuate and connecting near margin; intersecondary veins present, one or two per intercostal area, much thinner than secondary veins, distal course reticulating, <50 % of subjacent secondary length; tertiary veins percurrent sinuous; intramarginal vein present. Inflorescences: ♂ lax cyme with 5 basal branches and up to 60 flowers, lacking terminal flower, dichasia reduced lacking central flower, ♀ 6-flowered cyme, lenticels present. Pedicels 4–7 mm long, coloration not seen, proximally articulated and enveloped by calyptra, lenticels present; calyptrae 4–5 mm long, lenticels absent. Floral buds 4–5 mm long, ovoid, apex round- ed, lenticels absent, not blackened in sicco. Sepals 2, 4–7.5 × 4–7 mm, circular to ovate, apex rounded, greenish; petals 4, 4–7 × 2–3 mm, oblong to lanceolate, patent, apex rounded, white. Staminate flowers: stamens 40–45, c. 2 mm long, isodynamous; filaments terete, white; anthers 0.5–0.6 mm long, connective not exceeding thecae; pistillode not seen. Pistillate flowers: staminodes 40–45, 3–3.5 mm long, white; ovary 4.5–5 mm long, not costate, 4-locular, white, styles fused, stigmas 4, c. 1.2 mm in diam. Capsules fleshy, 3.2–4 × 1.4–1.8 cm, 4-septate, fusiform to turbinate when closed, not costate or lobed, rostrum present, 6–8 mm long, epicarp asperous, lenticels present, green when immature and mature, mesocarp coloration not seen; sepals, petals, staminodes and stigmas persistent. Aril coloration not seen.

Distribution — Tovomita albiflora is endemic to the central portion of Guiana Shield, occurring in Guyana (Cuyúni-Mazaruni, Potaro-Siparuni, Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), and Venezuela (Bolívar). The records were made in sandstone or granite outcrops in montane forests. Fig. 16.

Conservation status — Data Deficient (DD, Marinho & Beech 2019).

Nomenclatural notes — Smith was curator at New York Botanical herbarium ( NY) from 1928 to 1940, the year of publication of Tovomita albiflora , which supports that the author examined this specimen. The specimen NY00579007 was chosen as the lectotype because it is the only one of three NY specimens of Pinkus 269 with open flowers and mature fruits .

Recognition and discussion — Tovomita albiflora is known from a few specimens, possibly due to the difficulty of accessing the populations in high-elevation forests of the Guyana Shield. Vegetatively, the species can be recognized by the coriaceous leaves with prominent secondary veins on both surfaces. Still, it is the only species of the genus whose inflorescences, flowers and fruits bear lenticels and the lateral flowers of the dichasia have their bracteoles connate in a calyptra. Similar lenticels occur in T. acutiflora , but this species does not present calyptrate bracteoles.

Specimens examined — GUYANA: CUYÚNI-MAZARUNI: slopes of Mt Roraima near Arabupu, 4600 ft, 16 Dec 1938, fr., anonymous 2826 ( K! 2 sheets); along Koatse river, ± 2 km W of Pong river; ± 5 hr. walk S of Chinoweing , 05°28'N, 60°04'W, 600–650 m, montane rainforest on sandstone, 25 Feb 1987, fl. ♂, J GoogleMaps . J GoogleMaps . Pipoly & al. 10624 ( B!, CAS!, MG!, P!) . POTARO-SIPARUNI: Eagle Mt, 2000 ft, 21 Jan 1943, fl. ♂, D. B . Fanshawe 3850 ( K! 2 sheets) . UPPER TAKUTU-UPPER ESSEQUIBO: Makarapan Mt, upper slopes, below southern false summit, 03°57'N, 58°51'W, 760 m, dense forest on brown sand and granite outcrops, 2 Oct 1997, immature fr., D. Clarke & al. 6980 ( NY!) GoogleMaps . — VENEZUELA: BOLÍVAR: Chimantá massif, 17 Apr 1953, fl. ♂, J . A . Steyermark 75093 ( NY!) .