Tovomita speciosa Ducke

52. Tovomita speciosa Ducke View in CoL in Arch. Jard. Bot. Rio de Janeiro 4: 136. 1925 ≡ Tovomitidium speciosum (Ducke) Ducke View in CoL in Arq. Inst. Biol. Veg. 2: 61. 1935. – Lectotype (designated by Marinho & al. 2018: 291): Brazil, [Pará], habitat in silvis humosis regione collium Quataquara prope médium flumen “medium” Tapajoz (civitate Pará), 15 Aug 1923, A. Ducke s.n. RB no. 18069 (RB [ RB00539008 ]!; isolectotypes: K [ K000488588 ]!, NY [ NY00073984 ]!, S [ S03-2039 ] photo!, US).

Description — Trees up to 18 m tall, prop roots inconspicuous; exudate yellow, abundant. Petioles 1.6–4 cm long, green, smooth, lenticels absent. Leaf blades 10–42 × 9–17 cm, brown-orangish in sicco, black dots absent, coriaceous, obovate, base convex to decurrent, apex round- ed; papillae present, lenticels and fungal spots absent; exudate canals inconspicuous. Venation: secondary veins 11–22 pairs, c. 25 mm apart from each other, forming angle 45°–55° to midvein, strongly immersed adaxially, prominent abaxially, arcuate near margin; intersecondary veins absent; tertiary veins percurrent sinuous or convex; intramarginal vein absent. Inflorescences: ♂ congested cyme with 3 basal branches and up to 80 flowers, ♀ cyme with 3 basal branches and up to 9 flowers, lenticels absent. Pedicels 11–17 mm long, green, distal and proximal portion with same gauge, proximally articulated on lateral flowers of dichasia; calyptrae and lenticels absent. Floral buds 8.5–11 mm long, spheroid, apex rounded, lenticels absent, blackened in sicco. Sepals 4, 8.5–11 × 4–10 mm, circular, apex rounded, greenish; petals 6, 11– 17 × 9–11 mm, oblong to obovate, inner ones strongly patent, apex rounded, white. Staminate flowers: stamens c. 50, 7.5–8 mm long, heterodynamous; filaments dorsiventrally compressed, orangish; anthers c. 1.2 mm long, connective not exceeding thecae; pistillode c. 1 mm high, conic. Pistillate flowers: staminodes 40–45, 5–5.5 mm long; ovary c. 12 mm long, lobed, 6-locular, styles c. 4 mm long, stigmas 6, c. 3 mm in diam., coloration not seen. Capsules fleshy, 3.5–4.5 × 2.6 cm, 6-septate, oblong to pyriform when closed, strongly costate, rostrum present, c. 13 mm long, epicarp smooth, coloration not seen; sepals, petals, staminodes and stigmas persistent. Aril coloration not seen.

Iconography — Illustration available in Ducke (1935: 71).

Distribution — Brazil (Amapá, Amazonas, Pará), French Guiana (Camopi). Fig. 75.

Conservation status — Least Concern (LC, Marinho & Beech 2019).

Recognition and discussion — Tovomita speciosa can be recognized by the long, obovate and coriaceous leaves, with the secondary veins immersed abaxially and forming an angle of 45°–55° to the midvein ( Fig. 14J). In addition, the staminate inflorescences are congested, bearing up to 80 flowers. The floral buds of T. speciosa are spheroid and become blackened in sicco. This species resembles T. clusiiflora , from which it can be distinguished by the absence of bracts covering the dichasia. The species is also similar to T. grandis by the long obovate leaves, but in this species the inflorescences are lax (vs congested in T. speciosa ) and the floral buds are oblong (vs spheroid in T. speciosa ).

Selected specimens examined — BRAZIL: AMAPÁ: Oiapoque , 20 Jul 1960, fl. ♂, B . Maguire & al. 47079 ( MG!, NY!, SP!) . AMAZONAS: Rio Javari, Estirão de Equador , 8 Aug 1973, bud, E . Lleras & al. P17222 ( INPA!, MG!, NY!) . PARÁ: Médio Tapajós , 15 Aug 1923, A . Ducke s.n. ( RB no. 18069!) . — FRENCH GUIANA: CAMOPI: Crique Gabaret – Bassin de l’Oyapock , 03°55'N, 51°48'W, 5 Sep 1996, fl. ♂, Blanc M GoogleMaps . 132 (NY!).