Hymenaea longifolia (Benth.) I.M. Souza, Funch & L.P. Queiroz, 2014

Souza, Isys Mascarenhas, Funch, Ligia Silveira & Queiroz, Luciano Paganucci de, 2014, Morphological analyses suggest a new taxonomic circumscription for Hymenaea courbaril L. (Leguminosae, Caesalpinioideae), PhytoKeys 38, pp. 101-118 : 111-112

Hymenaea longifolia (Benth.) I.M. Souza, Funch & L.P. Queiroz comb. et stat. nov.

Hymenaea splendida var. longifolia Benth., Fl. Bras. (Martius) 15(2): 236. 1870. Hymenaea courbaril var. longifolia (Benth.) Y.T.Lee and Andrade-Lima, J. Arnold Arbor. 55: 448. 1974. Lectotype (designated here): Brasil, Bahia, Villa de Barra, Blanchet 3135 (lectotype: R!, isolectotypes K!, P!).

Description.

Medium-sized trees c. 5-12 (-18) m tall. Petiole 2.6-3 cm long; petiolule 7-8 mm long; leaflets 10.1-12.5 (-15.4) × 4.5-6.5 (-6.9) cm, elliptic, narrow-elliptic, or oblong, not falcate, due to central vein with an angle c. 24°, apex obtuse or acute, base acute or rounded along the inner margin and rounded or slightly rounded along the outer margin, distance from the inner margin to central vein 10-11 mm in the basal region. Flower buds 2.2-3.3 cm long; flower 2.6-3.8 cm long; hypanthium 9-14 mm long; petals 1.3-2.1 cm long. Fruit oblongoid, compressed, wider at distal region, apex slightly truncate and apiculate.

Hymenaea longifolia , as circumscribed here, is characterized by large leaflets, both longer and wider than those of the related species Hymenaea courbaril and Hymenaea altissima , with longer petioles and petiolules ( Table 4 ). The leaflets are elliptic or oblong with obtuse (rarely acute) apices and rounded bases along the outer margin ( Figure 3 ). This species occurs in Seasonally Dry Forests within the Caatinga and Cerrado phytogeographical domains in northeastern Brazil, from Ceará State to the northern portion of Bahia State.

It was first described by Bentham (1870) as Hymenaea splendida var. longifolia, and considered related to Hymenaea courbaril and Hymenaea stilbocarpa because of the glabrous leaflets, but differing from them by having larger leaflets. Lee and Langenheim (1975) treated all these taxa under a more widely circumscribed Hymenaea courbaril , a position not supported by the results presented here. Lee and Langenheim (1975: 86) misinterpreted the specimen Blanchet 3135 (R) as the holotype of Hymenaea splendida var. longifolia. However, when describing this variety, Bentham (1870: 236) cited two syntypes, Blanchet 3135 ("ad Villa da Barra prov. Bahia") and Gardner 1938 ("Serra da Araripé, prov. Ceara"). Thus, the material cited by Lee and Langenheim (1975) as the holotype should be considered as a lectotype.

Figures

Figure 3. Leaf morphology of the species recognized in the Hymenaea courbaril complex: A Hymenaea longifolia B Hymenaea courbaril C Hymenaea altissima. Scale bar = 1 cm.