Guatteria minutiflora Scharf & Maas

99. Guatteria minutiflora Scharf & Maas View in CoL — Map 20

Guatteria minutiflora Scharf & Maas in Scharf et al. (2006a) 124,f. 4. — Type: Henkel et al. 1156 (holo U; iso BRG, CAY, US), Guyana, Potaro-Siparuni Region, Pakaraima Mts, Upper Ireng River , 2 km E of Cipo settlement on N end of adjacent ridge, 750 m, 3 Feb. 1993.

Tree 4–15 m tall, diam not recorded; young twigs sparsely to densely covered with erect, dark brown hairs, soon glabrous. Leaves: petiole 3–7 mm long, 1–1.5 mm diam; lamina nar- rowly elliptic to ovate, 5–11 by 2–4 cm (leaf index 2.9–3.6), chartaceous, not verruculose, dull, mostly greyish black on both sides, glabrous above, except for some erect, brownish hairs along primary vein, sparsely covered with erect hairs below, base acute, slightly attenuate, apex acuminate (acumen 5–15 mm long), primary vein flat to slightly impressed above, secondary veins indistinct, 7–10 on either side of primary vein, raised above, smallest distance between loops and margin 1–3 mm, tertiary veins raised above, reticulate. Flowers in 1(–2)-flowered inflorescences in axils of leaves; pedicels 7–15 mm long, 0.5–1 mm diam, fruiting pedicels 10–20 mm long, c. 1 mm diam, rather densely covered with erect hairs, articulated at 0.3–0.5 from the base, bracts 5–6, soon falling, only basal ones seen, triangular-ovate, to c. 1 mm long; flower buds depressed ovoid; sepals free, broadly ovate-triangular, 3–4 by 3–4 mm, apically reflexed, outer side densely covered with appressed, reddish brown, long hairs; petals green with purple base in vivo, oblong-ovate, 5–15 by 3–7 mm, outer side densely covered with appressed hairs; stamens c. 1 mm long, connective shield papillate. Monocarps 10–40, green in vivo, black to dark reddish brown in sicco, ellipsoid, 7–12 by 4–5 mm, glabrous, apex apiculate (apiculum <1 mm long), wall 0.1–0.2 mm thick, stipes 5–15 by c. 0.5 mm. Seed ellipsoid to ovoid, 8–10 by 4–5 mm, brown, smooth, pitted or rugulose, raphe not distinct from rest of seed.

Distribution — Western Guyana and Central Suriname.

Habitat & Ecology — In forest on mountain tops or on slopes, in association with Euterpe , Inga , Licania , Schefflera , Socratea and Weinmannia , on sandstone with peat and sandy clay or lateritic soil. At elevations of 750–1500 m. Flowering: January to March, June; fruiting: January to March, June.

Vernacular names — Not recorded.

Notes — Guatteria minutiflora is quite characteristic by its small, often more or less black drying leaves, an indument of erect, brown hairs on the leafy twigs and lower leaf side, and by its small petals in comparison to Guatteria species in general.

It somewhat resembles G. liesneri notably in its dark drying leaves, but it lacks the strongly raised tertiary veins of the latter.