Guatteria aberrans Erkens & Maas

1. Guatteria aberrans Erkens & Maas View in CoL — Map 2

Guatteria aberrans Erkens & Maas in Erkens et al. (2006) 201, t. 1, f. 1. — Type: Maas et al.9570 (holo U; iso INB,K, MO,PMA,SCZ), Panama, Colón, Santa Rita Ridge, Parcela 31 of CTFS, 250 m, 9 June 2004.

Tree 8–25 m tall, 10–30 cm diam; young twigs densely covered with erect, curly, brown hairs, soon glabrous. Leaves: petiole 5–10 mm long, 2–3 mm diam, decurrent as prominent ridge in young twigs; lamina narrowly elliptic, sometimes narrowly ovate, 15–32 by 4–9.5 cm (leaf index 2.9–3.7), coriaceous, not verruculose, shiny, dark blackish brown to grey above, brown to pale brown below, sparsely covered with appressed hairs above, soon glabrous, sparsely covered with appressed hairs below, base obtuse, extreme base sometimes slightly attenuate, apex acuminate (acumen 10–20 mm long), primary vein flat to slightly impressed above, secondary veins distinct, 15–22 on either side of primary vein, raised above, smallest distance between loops and margin 3–4 mm, tertiary veins raised above, reticulate. Flowers in 1–2(–3)-flowered inflorescences in axils of leaves or on leafless branchlets; pedicels 7–20 mm long, 1–2 mm diam, fruiting pedicels 2–3 mm diam, densely covered with erect, curly, brown hairs (to rather densely covered with appressed hairs in the Roraima specimen), articulated at c. 0.2 from the base, bracts 4–6, soon falling, not seen; flower buds conical to ovoid, distinctly pointed; sepals free, triangular to broadly triangular, 7–12 by 5–8 mm, spreading but soon be- coming completely reflexed, outer side densely covered with erect, curly, brown hairs; petals brown to chocolate-coloured in vivo, narrowly elliptic to elliptic, 13–27{–32} by 5–15 mm, outer side densely covered with erect, curly, brown hairs; stamens 1–1.5 mm long, connective shield glabrous. Monocarps 10–40, green, maturing blue-black in vivo, blackish in sicco, ellipsoid, 10–16 by 7–9 mm, sparsely covered with erect, curly, brown hairs, soon glabrous, apex apiculate (apiculum <0.5 mm long), wall c. 1 mm thick, wrinkled in sicco, stipes 9–15 by 1–2 mm. Seed ellipsoid, 10–12 by 5 – 6 mm, dark brown, smooth to pitted, raphe not distinct from rest of seed.

Distribution — Panama, Colombia (Chocó), Brazil (Roraima).

Habitat & Ecology — In forest, sometimes along roadsides. At elevations of 0–300(–540) m. Flowering: January, February, June, July; fruiting: February, June.

Vernacular name — Panama: Yayo (Howell 20).

Notes — Guatteria aberrans is remarkable by its pointed flower buds (a feature only sometimes seen in G. ucayalina and G. pannosa ). Another noteworthy aspect in collections from Panama are its chocolate-brown petals. A further peculiarity of this species is that the inner petals seem to stay closed during the whole life cycle (no open bud development seen).

Cogollo & Brand 373 (JAUM, MO) from Colombia, Antioquia, Mun. San Luis, Highway Medellín-Bogotá, 2 km from Río Claro, near Río Samaná , alt. 790 m, probably belongs to this species. It matches G. aberrans in almost all aspects (pointed flower buds, leaf size and flower size). Its flowers are annotated as pink (‘rosada’) and its fruits as black .

Sá et al. 3 (K) from Brazil, Roraima, Rorianópolis, Rio Xixuaú, alt. 36 m is placed here although it is geographically quite far from the localities in Panama and the Pacific coast of Colombia. It shares almost all flower and leaf features, but the branchlets are glabrous or sparsely covered with minute hairs at most, and the pedicels and leaves are covered with appressed instead of erect hairs.