Guatteria terminalis R.E.Fr.

162. Guatteria terminalis R.E.Fr. View in CoL — Map 34

Guatteria terminalis R.E.Fr. (1938) 709; (1939) 303, f. 2a, b; Maas & Westra (2010) 272, pl. 2. — Type: Lechler 2648 (holo UPS; iso B, G 2 sheets, K, LE, P), Peru, Puno, Tatanera (‘Tatanara’), Aug. 1854.

Tree or shrub 1–12 m tall, 15–25 cm diam; young twigs rather densely to sparsely covered with appressed hairs, soon glabrous. Leaves: petiole 2–8 mm long, 0.5–1 mm diam; lamina narrowly elliptic, 3.5–9 by 1.5–3.5 cm (leaf index 2.2–2.7), coriaceous, not verruculose, shiny, dark blackish brown above, dark brown below, glabrous above, sparsely covered with appressed, white hairs below, base long-attenuate, apex obtuse, acute, or shortly acuminate (acumen 3–7 mm long), primary vein flat to impressed above, secondary veins distinct, 7–12 on either side of primary vein, strongly raised above, smallest distance between loops and margin 1–2 mm, tertiary venation strongly raised above, reticulate. Flowers solitary, terminal on leafy branchlets or most often terminal on leafy axillary branchlets; pedicels 10–20 mm long, c. 1 mm diam, fruiting pedicels to c. 2 mm diam, rather densely to sparsely covered with appressed, white hairs, articulated at or somewhat above the base, bracts not present or not detectable, the leaves close to the flower generally smaller than leaves on vegetative branchlets at most, but of comparable shape; flower buds depressed ovoid; sepals free, broadly ovate-triangular, 3–5 by 3–5 mm, reflexed, outer side rather densely or densely covered with appressed hairs; petals lead-coloured, greenish yellow or yellow in vivo, narrowly elliptic to narrowly obovate, 10– 20 by 4–8 mm, outer side densely covered with appressed hairs; stamens 1–2 mm long, connective shield papillate. Monocarps 20–25, green, maturing purple-red (‘morado’) in vivo, black in sicco, ellipsoid, 12–17 by 6–7 mm, sparsely covered with ap- pressed hairs, apex apiculate (apiculum slightly pointed and to c. 1 mm long), wall c. 0.2 mm thick, stipes 1–4 by 2–3 mm. Seed ellipsoid, brown, 10–11 by 4–5 mm, smooth to pitted, raphe not distinct from rest of seed.

Distribution — Peru (Cusco, Huánuco, Pasco, Puno, Ucayali).

Habitat & Ecology — In cloud forest, dominated by Cyatheaceae , Alzateaceae , Cunoniaceae and Myrtaceae , or low elfin forest with many epiphytic lichens, mosses, and ground covered by a thick layer of roots, rotten leaves and mosses. At eleva- tions of 1795–2300 m. Flowering: February, June, August to November; fruiting: February, August to October.

Vernacular names — Not recorded.

Notes — Guatteria terminalis is the only South American species with terminal flowers. Terminal flowers in Guatteria otherwise are only known in G. acrantha and G. grandiflora , from Central America and from Mexico and Central America, respectively.

The lead-coloured flowers reported by Farfán are a curious feature of this species, but more observations on this aspect are desirable.

No proper bracts could be found below the flowers. The articula- tion of the pedicels is usually seen a little above the uppermost leaf. As compared to the bulk of Guatteria species, one might expect two (small) bracts together with the articulation, one on either side. Being unable to find such bracts or even traces of them in the material we studied, we feel we cannot confirm either their presence or absence.