Sapranthus campechianus (Kunth) Standl.

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 : 56-57

1. Sapranthus campechianus (Kunth) Standl. — Map 1

Sapranthus campechianus (Kunth) Standl.(1922) 279. — Asimina campechiana Kunth (in Humboldt et al. 1821) 61 (as ‘ Asimia campechiana ’). — Type: Humboldt & Bonpland s.n. (lecto, here designated, P [ P00322482 ]; iso B), Mexico, Campeche .

Asimina insularis Hemsl.(1886) 16, t. 1514 (as ‘ Asimia insularis ’) (incorrectly placed under the genus Anona [= Annona ] as ‘ Anona insularis Hemsl. ’ in Millspaugh (1895) 17. — Type: Gaumer 71 (collection number not desig- nated in protologue,but plate 1514 clearly based on such) (holo K), Mexico, Yucatán, Cozumel Island, 20 Apr. 1885.

Tree or shrub 2–10 m tall, 3–30 cm diam; young twigs and petiole densely covered with erect and appressed, white hairs to c. 0.5 mm long. Leaves: petiole 2–9 mm long, 1–2 mm diam; lamina elliptic to obovate to narrowly so, 6–21 by 3–9 cm, rather densely covered with erect and appressed hairs, becoming sparsely so to glabrous above, densely covered with erect and appressed, white hairs below, base acute to obtuse, apex acute to acuminate (acumen 5–15 mm long), venation weakly brochidodromous, primary vein slightly impressed above, secondary veins 8–12 on either side of primary vein, slightly raised to flat above, tertiary veins slightly raised to flat above, more or less percurrent. Inflorescence and flower indument: pedicels and outer side of bracts, sepals, and petals densely to rather densely covered with appressed and erect, white hairs. Flowers solitary, leaf-opposed; pedicels 5–20 mm long, c. 1 mm diam, to c. 3 mm diam in fruit; bract leafy, ovate-triangular, 3–30 by 3–15 mm; sepals c. 6-veined, ovate-triangular, 4–8 by 3–5 mm, finally reflexed; petals membranous, green, maturing red to brownish red, 5- or 6-veined, narrowly oblong-ovate, 20–40 by 5–12 mm, base obtuse to rounded and ultimately truncate, c. 4 mm wide, abruptly narrowed into a geniculate claw, c. 3 by 2 mm, the food body white, glistening, apex obtuse to acute with a rounded tip. Monocarps 2–11, green to yellow, matur- ing orange, ellipsoid, obovoid, to spherical, 10–35 by 10–25 mm, densely to sparsely covered with erect, curly, white hairs, finally glabrous, wall 1–2 mm thick, stipes absent. Seeds 1–6, in one or two rows, spherical wedge-shaped, 10–15 by 4–9 mm, smooth, pale brown.

Distribution — Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras.

Habitat & Ecology — In low, dry, semideciduous forest. At elevations of 0–250(–1200) m. Flowering: March to June; fruiting: March to December.

Vernacular names — Belize: Bastard Custard Apple (Gentle 3980), Boy Job, Elemuy, Palanco, Sufricaya, Tuspi del monte (Arvigo 263). Guatemala:Anonilla (Contreras 5439), Ché ku’uk xib’al (WallnÖfer & Tut-Testucun 5925, Maya name), Cojon de Venado , Nitxmaxche (Maya name), Saramuyo silvestre (WallnÖfer 9652, Itzá Maya name). Honduras: Palanco. Mexico: Anonillo, Chac Elemuy (Yucatán) , Chacmax (Campeche), Chac Nich Max (Yucatán), Ganiste Tsub (Yucatán), Hazche (Yucatán), Kanistetsub (Quintana Roo), Lancewood (Yucatán) (Schott 559), Zac Elemuy (Yucatán).

Uses — ‘Make a hedge around the house; to fasten the palm leaves on the roof of a house; fire wood’ (WallnÖfer 9652, Guatemala).

Note — Fries (1930) included S. campechianus in his sect. Microsapranthus along with S. microcarpus because of its relatively smaller flowers with fewer carpels. However, with rela- tively larger monocarps and wedge-shaped seeds in two rows, and lacking verruculose leaves with domatia, S. campechianus is clearly more closely related to all other Sapranthus species than it is to S. microcarpus , and is therefore assigned herein to sect. Sapranthus . Within sect. Sapranthus , S. campechianus is distinguished by its small sepals (4–8 mm long), membranous, red petals and smooth, sessile monocarps.

Figures

Map 1 Distribution of Sapranthus campechianus (Kunth) Standl. (t), S. chiapensis Standl. ex G.E.Schatz (▲), S. hirsutus van Rooden ex G.E.Schatz (■), and S. viridiflorus G.E. Schatz (●).