Tovomita hopkinsii Bittrich & L. Marinho

28. Tovomita hopkinsii Bittrich & L. Marinho View in CoL in Brittonia 68: 423. 2016 ≡ Dystovomita brasiliensis D’Arcy View in CoL in Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 65: 694. 1979 [non Tovomita brasiliensis (Mart.) Walp. View in CoL in Repert. Bot. Syst. 1: 392. 1842]. – Holotype: Brazil, Amazonas, São Paulo de Olivença, basin of creek Belem, tierra firma, high forest, 26 Oct–11 Dec 1936, B. A. Krukoff 8714 (MO

[MO1594045] photo!; isotypes: A!, BR photo!, F photo!, K!, NY [ NY01416676 ]!, P [ P 05062415]!, US photo!, US photo !).

Description — Trees up to 25 m tall, prop roots inconspicuous; exudate yellow, abundant. Petioles 3–4.5 cm long, green, smooth, lenticels absent. Leaf blades 18.5– 27 × 9–16 cm, dark brown adaxially and brown-orangish abaxially in sicco, black dots absent, coriaceous, elliptic to obovate, base convex to decurrent, apex rounded, rarely acuminate; covered by papillae abaxially with ferruginous aspect in sicco, lenticels and fungal spots absent; exudate canals inconspicuous. Venation: secondary veins 12–14 pairs, 8–22 mm apart from each other, forming angle 55°–65° to midvein, arcuate near margin, major secondary spacing irregular; intersecondary absent; tertiary veins inconspicuous in vivo, percurrent convex in sicco; intramarginal vein absent. Inflorescences: ♂ lax cyme 4 basal branches and up to 109 flowers, with terminal flower, ♀ cyme with 3 basal branches and up to 60 flowers, lenticels absent. Pedicels 3–12 mm long, green, distal and proximal portion with same gauge, proximally articulated and enveloped by calyptra on lateral flowers of dichasia; lenticels absent. Floral buds 4–8 mm long, spheroid, apex apiculate, lenticels absent. Sepals 4, 4–8 × 3.5–7 mm, circular to ovate, apex apiculate, green; petals 4, 8.5–10 × 4.5–5 mm, oblong, inner ones strongly patent, apex rounded, yellowish-white. Staminate flowers: stamens c. 70 stamens, 1–3 mm long, heterodynamous; filaments terete, yellowish-white; anthers 0.4–0.6 mm long, connective not exceeding thecae; pistillode conic, yellow. Pistillate flowers: staminodes c. 70, 2.5–3 mm long; ovary c. 2.5 mm long, slightly lobed, 4-locular, coloration not seen, stigmas 4, sessile, 3.5–4.5 mm in diam. Capsules fleshy, 3.4–5.8 × 1.6–2.2 cm, 4-septate, fusiform when closed, slightly lobed, rostrum present, 2–3 mm long, epicarp smooth, lenticels absent, green when immature, mature not seen, mesocarp red; sepals, petals, staminodes and stigmas persistent. Aril coloration not seen. Fig. 47.

Iconography — Illustration available in Bittrich & Marinho (2016: 424).

Distribution — Brazil (Amazonas, Pará). Fig. 48. Conservation status — Data Deficient (DD, Marinho & Beech 2019).

Recognition and discussion — Tovomita hopkinsii can be easily recognized by the elliptic to obovate leaves with a rounded or rarely acuminate apex ( Fig. 47A). The abaxial surface of the leaves are opaque and greyish in vivo ( Fig. 47B) and ferruginous in sicco ( Fig. 13G), resembling those of T. vismiifolia , with which it shares leaf papillae. It can be distinguished from T. vismiifolia by the number of secondary veins (12–14 vs 6–7 pairs), and from T. fanshawei by the presence (vs absence) of connate bracteoles forming a calyptra in the lateral flowers of the dichasia.

Selected specimens examined — BRAZIL: AMAZONAS: Manaus , Reserva Florestal Ducke, 02°53'N, 59°58'W, 10 May 1994, fl. ♂, A GoogleMaps . Vicentini & al. 526 ( INPA!, K!). PARÁ : Rio Trombetas , flanco do planalto Saracá, 27 May 1978, bud, N. T . Silva & M. R . Santos 4661 ( MG!, NY!) .