Trichilia elsae Harms

Pennington, Terence D., 2016, Systematic Treatment Of American Trichilia (Meliaceae), Phytotaxa 259 (1), pp. 18-162 : 88-89

35. Trichilia elsae Harms in Engler & Prantl, Nat. Pflanzenfam. ed. 2, 19b1: 115, 177 (1940); T. D.Penn. & Styles, Fl. Neotrop. 28: 189 (1981). Type :— PERU. Brazil frontier, R. Acre , Seringal Auristella, fl., Ule 9518 (holotype, B, destroyed; lectotype, K, chosen here; isolectotypes, G, US). Map 41

For synonymy see FN 28: 189 (1981). Illustration: FN 28: 190, fig. 40 (1981). MAP 41. Distribution of Trichilia elsae Harms. Solid dots, distribution pre-1981, open dots new records 1981–2010.

Young branches slender, 3–5 mm diam., minutely strigulose (most hairs dibrachiate) at first, soon glabrous, smooth, greyish-white, sometimes with lenticels. Bud scales absent. Leaves imparipinnate or pinnate with one of the terminal pair orientated to simulate a terminal leaflet; petiole 2–7 cm long, channelled and narrowly winged, glabrous; rhachis 13–22 cm long, semiterete or flattened, glabrous; petiolule 1–2 mm long. Leaflets opposite to alternate, 15–17, 7.5 × 1.7–19 × 4 cm, narrowly oblong to oblanceolate, apex narrowly attenuate, base acute to rounded or slightly cordate, chartaceous, glabrous, not glandular-punctate or -striate; venation eucamptodromous, midrib sharply prominent on the upper surface, secondaries 15–22 pairs, shallowly ascending, arcuate, slightly convergent; intersecondaries moderate to obscure; tertiaries reticulate. Inflorescence axillary, 15–25 cm long, a pyramidal, laxly branched panicle, longest lateral branches 5–10 cm long, densely flowered, subglabrous; peduncle 2.5–6 cm long, pedicel ca. 1 mm long (above the articulation). Calyx ca. 1 mm long, patelliform, with 5 broadly ovate lobes up to half the length of the calyx, appressed puberulous. Petals 5, 5–5.5 mm long, fused near the base and becoming free as they reflex, valvate, narrowly lanceolate, apex acute, hooded, densely appressed strigulose outside, glabrous inside. Staminal tube 4–4.5 mm long, ca. 2 mm broad, cylindrical, filaments completely fused with alternate ones slightly shorter, margin with 10 short acute lobes alternating with the anthers and ca. 1/4 of their length, glabrous; anthers 10, 1–1.2 mm long, narrowly lanceolate, glabrous. Nectary absent. Ovary 2–2.5 mm long, ellipsoidal or ovoid, 3-locular, ovules with 2 collateral ovules, densely long stiff pubescent; style ca. 2 mm long, stout, glabrous; style-head capitate, equalling or exceeding the anthers. Capsule 2–2.3 cm long, 1–1.1 cm broad, 3-valved, narrowly obovoid, apex rounded to obtuse, base tapering and acute, smooth, pubescent with a mixture of long and short appressed hairs; pericarp ca. 0.75 mm thick. Seed solitary, 1.8–2 cm long (including the arillode), completely surrounded by the thin fleshy arillode, which also develops around the aborted ovules. Embryo with plano-convex, collateral cotyledons, radicle apical, included; endosperm absent.

Field Characters. Tree to 20 m high and 30 cm diam, with whitish-cream flowers and orange fruit; the seed is surrounded by a bright red fleshy arillode. Flowering recorded January to March and in July, mature fruit in October and January.

Distribution & Ecology. Western Amazonian Brazil (Acre and Amazonas), Amazonian Peru and Ecuador, in lowland rain forest, on non-flooded or occasionally flooded (restinga) land, below 400 m elevation.

Additional Collections Examined. ECUADOR. Napo: Aguarico, Huaorani Reserve Maxus road km 108 (SW0076), Aulestia et al. 3012 (K, NY, QCNE); Yasuní National Park (SW0076), Cerón & Hurtado 4131 (K, QCNE); Rio Payamino, km 2–10 on road Coca-Loreto (SW0077), Cerón & Palacios 3013 (K, QCNE); Aguarico, Huaoroni Reserve, Maxus road, km 102–105 (SW0076), Dik 1474 (MO, NY, QCNE); Yasuní National Park (SW0076), Palacios 2385 (K); 2403 (K, QCNE).

PERU. Loreto: Maynas (SW0472), Vásquez et al. 23405 (QCNE). Madre de Dios: Tambopata, Cumunidad Natura de Infierno (SW1269), Alexiades 609 (K).

BRAZIL. Acre: Municipio Sena Madureira, R Taco, Nova Olinda (SW1069), Daly et al. 7977 (K); Municipio Assis Brasil, basin of R. Acre, Colocacão Beira Rio (SW1069), Daly et al. 9611 |(K); upper R. Acre, Colonia Odessa Lourenço (SW1069), Daly et al. 9789 (K, Y); Municipio Sena Madureira, R. Taco (NW1069), Figueiredo et al. 464 (K); Municipio Rio Branco, Humaita Forest Reserve (SW0967), Figueiredo et al. 601 (K); Municipio Acrelandia BR-364, km 85 (SW0967), Rivero et al. 257 (K). Amazonas: São Gabriel (SW0067), Alencar 695 (FHO).

Note. Specimens from Pacific coastal Ecuador, e.g. Delinks & Roble 350, referred to this species in the Flora of Ecuador ( Palacios (2007)) belong in T. quadrijuga subsp. cinerascens .