Guatteria polyantha R.E.Fr.

Maas, P. J. M., Westra, L. Y. T., Guerrero, S. Arias, Lobão, A. Q., Scharf, U., Zamora, N. A. & Erkens, R. H. J., 2015, Confronting a morphological nightmare: revision of the Neotropical genus Guatteria (Annonaceae), Blumea 60 (1), pp. 1-219 : 135

127. Guatteria polyantha R.E.Fr. — Map 27

Guatteria polyantha R.E.Fr. (1939) 475, f. 24f,g. — Type: Monteiro da Costa 284 (holo S; iso F 2 sheets), Brazil, Pará , Tapajós, Cajatuba, 20 Jan.1932.

Tree 18 m tall, c. 44 cm diam; young twigs rather densely cover- ed with erect, brown hairs, soon glabrous. Leaves: petiole 3–4 mm long, 1–2 mm diam; lamina narrowly elliptic, 6–10 by 2–3 cm (leaf index 3–4), chartaceous, not verruculose, dull, greyish above, greyish brown below, sparsely covered with erect hairs above, soon glabrous, sparsely covered with erect hairs below, the primary vein sparsely to rather densely covered with erect hairs, base acute to obtuse, apex acuminate (acumen to c. 5 mm long), primary vein impressed above, secondary veins distinct, 12–14 on either side of primary vein, raised above, smallest dis- tance between loops and margin 2–3 mm, tertiary veins raised above, reticulate. Flowers in 1–2-flowered inflorescences, in axils of leaves or on leafless branchlets; pedicels 10–15 mm long, 1–2 mm diam, rather densely to sparsely covered with erect hairs, articulated at c. 0.4–0.7 from the base, bracts 5–7, soon falling, not seen; flower buds depressed ovoid, obtuse; sepals free, broadly ovate-triangular, c. 4 by 4 mm, appressed, at last reflexed, outer side rather densely to sparsely covered with appressed hairs; petals colour in vivo not recorded, nar- rowly obovate, 10–15 by 7–10 mm, outer side densely covered with appressed, brown hairs; stamens c. 1 mm long, connective shield densely hairy. Monocarps and seed not seen.

Distribution — Brazil (Pará).

Habitat & Ecology — In ‘highland’.At low elevations. Flower- ing: January; fruiting: not recorded.

Vernacular name — Brazil: Envira-amarela (‘amarella’).

Uses — Brazil: ‘Wood for civil constructions and furniture’ ( Monteira da Costa 284).

Note — Guatteria polyantha is only known from the type collection. It was placed by Fries (1939) in sect. Trichostemon with G. foliosa , G. maypurensis and G. trichostemon , all characterized by hairy connective shields and small leaves.A noteworthy feature is the location of the articulation of the pedicel, usually above the middle. Its systematic position is still unclear.