Guatteria villosissima A.St.-Hil.

172. Guatteria villosissima A.St.-Hil. View in CoL — Fig. 86 View Fig ; Map 34

Guatteria villosissima A.St.-Hil. (1825) 38; R. E. Fr. (1939) 349. — Cananga villosissima (A.St.-Hil.) Warm.(1873) 144. — Type : A.F.C.P de Saint-Hilaire 606 (holo P; iso P), Brazil, Minas Gerais, Rio Piracicaba, Serra dos Pilões (‘près Itajuru de São Miguel de Mato Dentro’ ), Jan. 1817 .

Guatteria villosissima A.St.-Hil. var. longepedunculata R.E.Fr. (1939) 351. — Type: Dusén 1910 (holo S; iso LE, U), Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, Nova Friburgo , 22 Feb. 1903.

Tree or shrub 3–10 m tall, 3–8 cm diam;young twigs densely covered with erect, long-persisting hairs. Leaves: petiole 1–3 mm long, 2–3 mm diam; lamina narrowly elliptic to elliptic, 5–15 (–18) by 2–4 cm (leaf index 2.3–6), coriaceous to chartaceous, not verruculose, blackish green to brown above, pale brown below, sparsely covered with erect hairs above, densely covered with erect hairs below, margins revolute, base obtuse to cordate, apex acute, primary vein impressed above, secondary veins distinct, 10–15 on either side of primary vein, raised above, smallest distance between loops and margin 1–2 mm, tertiary veins raised above, reticulate. Flowers solitary in axils of leaves; pedicels 5–20 mm long, 1–3 mm diam, fruiting pedicels to c. 35 mm long, densely covered with erect, brown hairs, articulated at 0.2–0.5 from the base, bracts 5–7, mostly soon falling, the uppermost bracts elliptic or sometimes narrowly elliptic, 7–15 mm long, lower bracts broadly elliptic, 1–4 mm long, rarely partly foliaceous, elliptic, c. 15 mm long; flower buds broadly ovoid; sepals free, but connate in bud, broadly ovate-triangular, 7–10 by 7 mm, appressed, outer side glabrous; petals green, reddish green, maturing yellow to red-orange in vivo, ovate to elliptic, 10–25 by 4–12 mm, outer side densely covered with erect, curly, brown hairs; stamens c. 1.5 mm long, connective shield papillate to glabrous. Monocarps 15–45, green, maturing purplish black in vivo, blackish in sicco, ellipsoid, 7–8 by 4–6 mm, sparsely covered with erect, brown hairs, soon glabrous, apex apiculate (apiculum c. 1 mm long), wall c. 0.3 mm thick, stipes 3–4 by 1 mm. Seed ellipsoid, c. 8 by 5–7 mm, brown, pitted, raphe raised.

Distribution — Brazil (Ceará, Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro).

Habitat & Ecology — In non-inundated, Atlantic rain forest, gallery forest or cerrado, on clayey to sandy soil.At elevations of 25–1800 m. Flowering: throughout the year; fruiting: throughout the year.

Vernacular names — Brazil: Pimenta-de-macaco (Andrade & Lopes 5253), Pindaíba (‘Pindahyba’) ( Mexia 4620, 5277).

Field observations — ‘Flower’s odor remembering fruits’ (Gottsberger 21-7774).

Notes — Guatteria villosissima is characterized by almost sessile leaves, densely covered with erect hairs on the lower side, an obtuse to cordate leaf base, revolute leaf margins and by short stipes (3–4 mm long).

The species is quite similar to the widely distributed G. tomentosa (Central America and in many parts of tropical South America), differring by: obtuse vs pointed flower buds, leaf margins revolute all over its length vs basally revolute in G. tomentosa , and generally shorter stipes (3–4 vs 4–20 mm long).