Licania littoralis Warm., Vidensk. Meddel. Dansk Natuhist. Foren. Kjøbenhavn

Barros, Natália, Menezes, Luis Fernando Tavares de, Sothers, Cynthia & Peixoto, Ariane Luna, 2025, Flora of Espírito Santo: Chrysobalanaceae, Rodriguesia (e 00872024) 76, pp. 1-39 : 30-31

7.7. Licania littoralis Warm., Vidensk. Meddel. Dansk Natuhist. Foren. Kjøbenhavn : 67. 1874.

Figs. 7 i-j; 10

Tree, up to 25 m tall, DBH 45–60 cm, stem up to 18 m tall, cylindric, bark rough to scaly;

branches glabrous, lenticellate. Leaves obovate to widely-elliptic, 3–6.9 × 2.1–4.9 cm, chartaceous, discolorous, base cuneate, obtuse or rounded, apex obtuse, rounded or subcordate, glabrous on both sides, stomatal crypts absent, midrib plane to prominulous adaxially, prominent abaxially, glabrous on both sides, primary veins 4–6 pairs, margin plane to slightly revolute; petiole 2–4 mm long, glabrous, terete, eglandular; stipules caducous (not seen). Inflorescence terminal to axillary, racemose panicle or panicle of cymes, pubescent; bracts 1, triangular to lanceolate, 1.5–2 mm long; bracteoles 3, triangular, 0.5–1 mm long, persistent. Flowers light green to white, 1.5–3 mm long, sessile, puberulous; receptacle campanulate, ca. 1 mm long, pubescent on the inside; sepals triangular, ca. 1 mm long, puberulous on both sides; stamens 5–6, inserted in a semi-circle, free, filaments ca. 0.2 mm long, glabrous; ovary ca. 1 mm, tomentulose; style ca. 2 mm long, sparsely pubescent. Drupe ellipsoid, stipitate, ca. 3.1 × 2.3 cm, epicarp smooth, glabrous.

Selected material examined: Aracruz , Coqueiral, 13.VI.1995, fl., J.N. Neves 223 ( VIES) . Conceição da Barra , Itaúnas, área atrás da Fazenda Jequitaia, 11.II.2011, fr., A.G.Oliveira 950 ( RB, SAMES, VIES) . Linhares , Reserva Natural Vale, Estrada 151, km 2700, talhão 501, 27.IV.1978, fl., J. Spada 79-78 ( CVRD, INPA, NY, RBR) ; Estrada Aceiro Apelta , Santa Teresinha, 9.VI.2015, fl. and fr., G.S. Siqueira 1075 ( RB) ; Lagoa do Durão , Rio Doce, 14.IV.1934, fl., J.G. Kuhlmann 208 ( MO101058730 , NY428464 , RB537076 ) . Santa Leopoldina, Fazenda Caioaba , propriedade Virloni, trilha da divisa, 9.VIII.2006, fr., L.F.S. Magnago 1257 ( ESA,

MBML, RB, SPF). Licania littoralis has two varieties, L. littoralis var. littoralis and L. littoralis var. cuneata Kuhlm. , but this classification is not adopted here, as the characters that differ among the varieties overlap in the material examined.

Licania littoralis is similar to Leptobalanus turbinatus in some leaf aspects, as above-mentioned, but it can be distinguished by the lower number of primary veins, flowers with a lower number of included stamens (5–6 in Licania littoralis vs. 10 in Leptobalanus turbinatus ) and stipitate fruit. Collected with flowers from April to June, and with fruits in February and from June to October.

Licania littoralis is endemic to the Atlantic Forest, in Bahia, EspÍrito Santo, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro and Sergipe states ( Sothers & Prance 2023f). In EspÍrito Santo it occurs in Ombrophilous forest and Mata de Tabuleiro, in Aracruz, Conceição da Barra, Linhares and Santa Leopoldina municipalities. This species is assessed as “Vulnerable” (VU) for the state ( Fraga et al. 2019) and it was collected in two protected areas: Reserva Biológica de Comboio and Reserva Natural Vale.

There are two species of Licania collected by J.G. Kuhlmann with the number 208 ( Licania micrantha and L. littoralis ), as well as species from other botanical families such as Fabaceae and Elaeocarpaceae .

The common name for this species is guaracÍ (I.A. Silva 170, G.S. Siqueira 1075).