Eschweilera sect. Tetrapetala (Mori & Prance, 1990)

Ribeiro, Michel, Mori, Scott A., Alves-Araújo, Anderson & Peixoto, Ariane L., 2016, A new species of Eschweilera (Lecythidaceae) from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, Phytotaxa 255 (3), pp. 267-273 : 271

Key to the species of Eschweilera sect. Tetrapetala from Brazil

1. Bark thick and corky; leaf blades widely oblong, rarely widely elliptic or ovate, strongly coriaceous; flowers with 600 – 700 stamens; Brazilian cerrado.......................................................................................................................................................... E. nana

- Bark not thick and corky; leaf blades usually elliptic, coriaceous to chartaceous; flowers less 300 stamens; Atlantic Forest........2.

2. Leaves chartaceous with margins serrulate; inflorescence rachis with 0.5–2.5 cm long; pixidium with pericarp 5 – 9 mm thick, seeds 6–10 ............................................................................................................................................................................... E. compressa

- Leaves coriaceous with margins entire, sometimes crenate or minutely crenulate; inflorescence rachis with (3 –) 4 – 22 cm long; pixidium with pericarp 10 – 25 mm thick, seeds less than 6...............................................................................................................3.

3. Inflorescence in racemes; calyx-lobes imbricate, calycine rim absent, 4 petals...............................................................................4.

- Inflorescence in spikes; calyx-lobes valvate, calycine rim present, 4 to 6 petals.............................................................................5.

4. Bark smooth; leaf blades 4.5 – 7 × 3 – 3.5 cm; flowers 2 – 2.5 cm diam., androecial hood entirely yellow; pixidium with 1 – 3 seeds ... ............................................................................................................................................................................................. E. alvimii

- Bark fissured to deeply fissured; leaf blades 11 – 20 × 6 – 9 cm; flowers ca. 4 cm diam., androecial hood mostly white, yellow at appendices region; pixidium with 4 – 5 seeds................................................................................................................. E. tetrapetala

5. Bark smooth to slightly fissured; leaf blades elliptic to lanceolate; calyx-lobes apex regular, petals 6; pixidium broadly turbinate, operculum with umbo ............................................................................................................................................... E. mattos-silvae

- Bark deeply fissured; leaf blades elliptic, obovate, oblong or rare suborbicular; calyx-lobes apex irregular, petals 4(– 6); pixidium globose or depressed globose, operculum without umbo..................................................................................................................6.

6. Leaf blades 9 – 20 × 5.5 – 9.5 cm; flowers 3 – 4.5 cm diam., petals and androecial hood dark yellow; pixidium depressed globose; seeds globose............................................................................................................................................................... E. complanata

- Leaf blades 5.8 – 7.4 × 2.6 – 5 cm; flowers 2.5 – 3 cm diam., petals white and androecial hood light yellow; pixidium globose; seeds ellipsoid .................................................................................................................................................................... E. sphaerocarpa