Tovomita guianensis Aubl., Hist. Pl. Guiane

Marinho, Lucas Cardoso, Fiaschi, Pedro & Amorim, André Márcio, 2025, Taxonomic revision of the neotropical genus Tovomita (Clusiaceae), Willdenowia 55 (1), pp. 145-258 : 194-197

27. Tovomita guianensis Aubl., Hist. Pl. Guiane 2: 957.

1775. – Lectotype (designated by Marinho & al. 2016b:

759) or perhaps holotype: French Guiana, Cayenne , J . B .

C. F. Aublet s.n. (BM [BM000047393] photo!).

= Tovomita brevistaminea Engl. in Martius & al., Fl. Bras. 12(1): 446. 1888. – Lectotype (designated by Marinho & al. 2016b: 766) or perhaps holotype: Guyana, “ad ripas fluvii Pomeroon”, [1844], R. H. Schomburgk 1401 (K [ K000488543 ]!).

=

= Tovomita jenmanii Engl. in Martius & al., Fl. Bras. 12(1): 447. 1888. – Holotype: Guyana, “ad fluvium Mazaruni”, s.dat., G. S. Jenman 659 (K [ K000488542 ]!).

Tovomita triflora Huber in Bol. Mus. Paraense Hist. Nat. Ethnogr. 3: 436. 1902. – Lectotype (designated by Marinho & al. 2016b: 766): Brazil, Pará , [Ilha do Marajó], “Aramá, beira do rio”, J. Huber s.n. (MG [ MG001868 ]!; isolectotypes: F [ F0074933 F] photo!, F [ F0074934 F] photo!, MG [ MG002238 ]!, RB [ RB00539010 ]!).

Description — Trees up to 12 m tall, prop roots inconspicuous; exudate yellowish, scarce. Petioles 1–3 cm long, green, smooth, lenticels absent. Leaf blades 5.5–24 × 1.8–7.5 cm, purplish-red in sicco, black dots absent, subcoriaceous, elliptic to oblong, base convex to decurrent, apex acuminate; papillae, lenticels and fungal spots absent; exudate canals inconspicuous. Venation: secondary veins 11–15 pairs, 3–7 mm apart from each other, forming angle 65°–75° to midvein, immersed adaxially, prominent abaxially, slightly arcuate near margin; intersecondary veins present, one or two per intercostal area, thinner than secondary veins, parallel to major secondary veins,> 50 % of subjacent secondary length; tertiary veins percurrent sinuous; intramarginal vein present. Inflorescences: ♂ lax cyme 3(–5) basal branches and up to 19 flowers, lacking terminal flower, ♀ dichasium, lenticels absent. Pedicels 7–17 mm long, green, distal and proximal portion with same gauge, proximally articulat- ed on lateral flowers of dichasia; calyptrae and lenticels absent. Floral buds 4–5 mm long, spheroid, apex round- ed, lenticels absent. Sepals 2–4, 4–7.5 × 4–5 mm, circular, apex rounded, green to pale yellow; petals 4, 4–6.5 × 3–4.5 mm, orbicular to elliptic, deflexed, apex acute, pale yellow. Staminate flowers: stamens 15–20, 2–4 mm long, heterodynamous; filaments subclavate, yellow; anthers 0.4–0.5 mm long, connective not exceeding thecae; pistillode 0.8–0.9 mm long, conic, yellow. Pistillate flowers: staminodes 16–20, 1.8–3.1 mm long, white; ovary c. 4 mm long, not costate or lobed, 4-locular, yellow, stigmas 4, sessile, c. 1.3 mm in diam. Capsules fleshy, 1.8–2.4 × 1.2–2 cm, 4-septate, spheroid when closed, not costate or lobed, rostrum present, 3–7 mm long, epicarp smooth, green when immature and mature, mesocarp reddish; sepals and petals caducous, staminodes and stigmas persistent. Aril orange. Fig. 45.

Iconography — Illustrations available in Cuello (1998: 319), and Marinho & al. (2016b: 760).

Distribution — Brazil (Alagoas, Amapá, Bahia, Maranhão, Pará, Pernambuco), French Guiana (Kourou, Maripasoula, Saint-Elié, Saul, Sinnamary), Guyana (Barima-Waini, Cuyuni-Mazazruni, Pomeroon-Supenaam, Upper Demerara-Berbice), Suriname (Sipaliwini), Venezuela

(Amazonas, Bolívar, Delta Amacuru, Guárico, Monagas). Fig. 46.

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

Nomenclatural notes — Specimens of Tovomita guianensis from the Atlantic forest in Brazil were for a long time labelled as T. brevistaminea ( Marinho & al. 2016b). The similarity between these two species was pointed out by Cuello (1998), who indicated both as synonyms but maintained the more recent combination, T. brevistaminea , as the name in use. Specimens from French Guiana have the stamens c. 2 mm longer ( Fig. 45F) than those from the Atlantic forest specimens ( Fig. 45E), but we consider that this feature is not sufficient evidence to treat them as distinct species.

Recognition and discussion — Flowers with yellow stamens are not common in Tovomita , where most species have flowers with white stamens/staminodes. Tovomita guianensis has short subclavate stamens (up to 4 mm long, Fig. 45C) that are comparable to those of T. gracilipes ( Fig. 43C), T. hopkinsii ( Fig. 47D), T. leucantha ( Fig. 55D), and T. salimenae (<3 mm long); however, these species have white petals and stamens, while in T. guianensis the petals and stamens are yellow. Moreover, T. guianensis can be recognized in herbaria by the leaf blades drying purplish-red and spheroid floral buds ( Fig. 45B).

Selected specimens examined — BRAZIL: ALAGOAS: Ibateguara, Coimbra , 25 Sep 2002, bud, M . Oliveira & A . A . Grilo 1104 ( HUEFS!, IPA!, MAC!, UEC!, UFP!, UFRN!) . AMAPÁ: Igarapé Ponta-Narri , 8 Oct 1949, fl. ♂, G . A . Black 49-8489 ( IAN!, NY!) . BAHIA: Una , REBIO de Una , 20 Jun 2013, fl. ♀, L . C . Marinho & al. 456 ( CEPEC!, HUEFS!) . MARANHÃO: São Luís, estrada que vai do Rio Anil para a Maioba , 10 Jan 1949, fr., R . L . Fróes 25649 ( NY!). PARÁ : Belém, 7 km NE of Instituto Agronômico do Norte, near Catu , 24 Sep 1942, fr., M . B . Silva 101 ( IAN!) . PERNAMBUCO: Igarassu, Usina São José , 12 Oct 2013, fl. ♂, L . C . Marinho & al. 482 ( CEPEC!, HUEFS!) . — FRENCH GUIANA: KOUROU: Fleuve Kourou à environ 1.700 KM en amont de la Crique Couy, 19 Sep 1967, bud, B-1336 ( P!). MARIPASOULA: Montagne Bellevue de l’Inini , 29 Aug 1985, bud, J . J . de Granville & al. 7895 ( B!). SAINT-ELIÉ: Montagne de La Trinité , sommet NE , in high forest on top of “table mountain”, 550 m, 31 Jan 1984, fr., J . J . de Granville 6403 ( B!). SAÜL : along Botany trail 25–50 km northeast of Les Eaux Claires resort, 03°39'N, 53°13'W, 16 Sep 1995, fr., L . R . Phillippe & al. 26899 ( NY!). SINNAMARY: route de St Elie, près du camp 2, 16 Jul 1977, fl., C . Sastre 5473 ( P!) . — GUYANA: BARIMA-WAINI: Barima river 12 mi E of Arakaka, Tenapu creek , 07°37'N, 59°55'W, 28–30 m, 27 Jul 1986, fl. ♀, J . J . Pipoly & H . Lall 8109 ( B!). CUYUNI-MAZAZRUNI: Ayanganna plateau, 05°28'N, 60°04'W, 550–650 m, 3 Mar 1987, fl. ♂, J . J . Pipoly & al. 10954 ( B!) . POMEROON-SUPENAAM: Pomeroon river 17–24 Dec 1922, J . S . de La Cruz 3174 ( GH!, UC!) . UPPER DEMERARA-BERBICE: Labbakabra Ck. Tiger Ck., Essequibo river , 27 Aug 1937, fl. ♂, N . Y . Sandwith 1217 ( B!) . — SURINAME: SIPALIWINI: area of Kabalebo dam project, distr . Nickerie, 5 Nov 1981, sterile, J . C . Lindeman & A . C . de Roon 770 ( NY!) . — VENEZUELA: AMAZONAS: estación experimental de Sta. Bárbara del Orinoco , 26 Feb – 2 Mar 1976, ste, P . Berry & L . Chesney 2077 ( NY!) . BOLÍVAR: San Pedro de las Dos Bocas , 06°59'N, 62°59'W, 200 m, 24 Jul 1978, bud, R . Liesner & A . C . González 5550 ( NY!). DELTA AMA- CURO : north of village of Morichito , May 1997, bud, W . Wilbert & al. 159 ( K!, NY!) . GUÁRICO: carretera Sta. Teresa-Altagracia de Orituco , 600–700 m, Jun 1953, fr., L . Aritesguieta 1769 ( NY!) . MONAGAS: El Encatado, orilla Río Caripito , 21 Apr 1959, sterile, J . J . Buza Bu /409 ( K!, NY!) .