Sapranthus microcarpus (Donn.Sm.) R.E.Fr.

Schatz, G. E., Maas, P. J. M., Kamer, H. Maas-van de, Westra, L. Y. T. & Wieringa, J. J., 2018, Revision of the Neotropical genus Sapranthus (Annonaceae), Blumea 63 (1), pp. 54-66 : 59-61

5. Sapranthus microcarpus (Donn.Sm.) R.E.Fr. — Fig. 2a ; Map 3

Sapranthus microcarpus (Donn.Sm.) R.E.Fr. (1900) 12. — Porcelia microcarpa Donn.Sm. (1895) 1. — Type: Donnell Smith 1484 (holo US; iso B, GH,K, M, US 2 sheets),Guatemala, Quezaltenango,shores of Rio Ocosito, c. 100 m, Apr. 1892.

Asimina purpusii Brandegee (1913) 375 (as ‘ Asimina? purpusii ’). — Type: Purpus 6276 (holo UC, not seen; iso BM, F, GH, MO, NY, US), Mexico, Veracruz, near Baños de Carrizal , Aug. 1912 .

Sapranthus ligularis Saff. ex R.E.Fr. (1948) 14, t. 6a, b. — Type: Donnell Smith 4508 (leg. Heyde & Lux) (holo US; iso GH, NY, S fragment), Guate- mala, Sacatepequez (‘Zacatepéquez’),Embaulada, 5500 p.p., Dec. 1889.

Shrub or tree 1–15 m tall, c. 6 cm diam; young twigs and petiole rather densely covered with appressed and erect, white hairs to c. 0.5 mm long, soon glabrous. Leaves: petiole 3–6 mm long, 0.5–1 mm diam; lamina elliptic to obovate to narrowly so, 3–20 by 1.5–7.5 cm, shiny above, glabrous or with a hairy primary vein above, rather densely to sparsely covered with appressed and erect, white hairs below, usually verruculose, especially on the upper surface, base obtuse to acute, apex acute, obtuse to shortly and bluntly acuminate (acumen to c. 10 mm long), venation weakly brochidodromous, primary vein impressed above, secondary veins 5–8 on either side of primary vein, slightly raised above, mostly with pocket domatia in the axils of the secondary veins with the primary vein below, tertiary veins slightly raised to flat above, reticulate. Inflorescence and flower indument: pedicels and outer side of bracts and sepals densely to sparsely covered with appressed and erect hairs, petals sparsely so. Inflorescence 1- (or 2-)flowered, leaf-opposed; pedicels 10–40 mm long, 0.5–1 mm diam, to c. 80 mm long and 1–3 mm diam in fruit; bract leafy, ovate to broadly ovate-triangular, 3–33 by 2–13 mm; sepals distinctly 5–10-veined, narrowly triangular to triangular, 5–12 by 3–5 mm, spreading to reflexed; petals membranous, green, maturing cream-yellow with a purple blush at the base inside to pink or dull red to deep maroon, 2–6-veined, narrowly ovate, 15–35 by 3–11 mm, base tapering abruptly and forming a claw of c. 2 by 2 mm, the food body c. 2 by 4 mm, white, glistening. Monocarps 3–15, green, maturing orange, pulp fleshy, orange, subglobose to oblongoid to ellipsoid-oblongoid, 12–45 by 10–20 mm, rather densely covered with erect and appressed, minute, white hairs, wall 0.5–1 mm thick, stipes 1–4 mm long, 1–3 mm diam. Seeds 1–6, in one row, discoid, subspherical to broadly ellipsoid, or hemispherical, 8–12 by 4–6 mm, smooth to slightly grooved, pale brown.

Distribution — Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras.

Habitat & Ecology — In tropical dry to moist forest. At eleva- tions of 0–1100 m. Flowering: May to July; fruiting: November, December, February.

Vernacular names — El Salvador: Asta ( Rosales 466, 723, 1240, Sandoval 1455), Asta de bajillo (Martínez 56), Asta de costa ( Chinchilla s.n.), Canjuro, Chufle, Guacoco blanco ó tresillo ( Chinchilla s.n.), Hasta arbusto ( Rosales 1902), Huevo de iguana ( Chinchilla s.n), Palanco. Mexico: Anona ( Torres 8323), Anonillo (Chiapas), Coloradillo (Schatz 1199, Veracruz), Colorado ( Ibarra Manriquez 2164 ).

Uses — ‘Medicinal para colicos’ ( Torres 8323, Mexico).

Field observations — ‘Flores con olor suave, similar a las brácteas de los bananos’ ( Linares 7528, El Salvador); ‘flow- ers with odour of rotting apples or fermented fruit’ (Lott 3432, Mexico); ‘flesh of fruit orange with a faint chlorine smell’ (Monro 1951, El Salvador); ‘fruit said to be eaten by Chachalacas’ (Schatz 1199, Mexico).

Notes — Despite possessing typical flowers with evident petal venation, S. microcarpus differs markedly from all other Sapranthus species, and is here retained as the sole member of an emended sect. Microsapranthus, with S. campechianus reassigned to sect. Sapranthus , as discussed above. Sapranthus microcarpus is distinguished by its weakly to strongly verruculose leaves with domatia present on the lower side of the lamina in the axils of the secondary veins with the primary vein, and its brightly orange-coloured monocarps with mostly discoid seeds arranged in a single row, all characters unique within Sapranthus .

The types of Asimina purpusii Brandegee (Purpus 6276) and Sapranthus ligularis Saff. ex R.E.Fr. (Donnell Smith 4508) both possess a verruculose lamina with domatia, and thus clearly belong in S. microcarpus .

Figures

Fig. 2 a. Sapranthus microcarpus (Donn.Sm.) R.E.Fr. Flowering and fruiting branches. — b, c. Sapranthus palanga R.E.Fr. b. Fruit at Santa Rosa NP; c. flowering trunk at Santa Rosa NP. — d, e. Sapranthus viridiflorus G.E.Schatz. d. Flower; e. fruiting branch (a: Schatz 1199; b, c: without voucher; d: Schatz 963; e: Schatz 1031). — Photos by G.E. Schatz.