Manilkara subsericea ( Martius 1839: 3 ) Dubard (1915: 22)

Völtz, Rafael R., Alves-Araújo, Anderson & Goldenberg, Renato, 2020, Native Species of Sapotaceae Juss. in Paraná, Brazil, Phytotaxa 430 (4), pp. 224-276 : 245

4.1 Manilkara subsericea ( Martius 1839: 3) Dubard (1915: 22) . Figure 12

Trunk sections cylindrical, buttressed or not; bark ligth-reddish-brown or pinkish-gray, fissured, fissures deep, long, V-shaped, parallel or oblique, ridges flattened or rounded, sometimes scales are visible on ridges; slash reddish, tangential section with longitudinal streaks, not discoloured, with abundant latex. Stems with young shoots dark-brown, becoming grayish, scarcely lenticellate, slightly fissured or seldom reticulate, rounded, glabrous. Petiole 9.5–27.0 mm long, grooved at the apex and rouded at the base, glabrescent or glabrous. Leaf blade chartaceous or coriaceous, (3.5–)5.0–11.5 × (1.5–) 2.5–6.5 cm, narrow-obovate, wide-obovate or seldom oblanceolate, apex rounded, obtuse, truncate, emarginate or shortly acuminate, base acute or cuneate, adaxial surface glabrous, abaxial surface sericeous at first with whitish hairs forming a pellicle, becoming glabrous or occasionally with sparse hairs, midrib slightly raised but recessed on the adaxial surface, raised on the abaxial surface, secondaries 12–27 pairs, flat on the adaxial surface, slightly sunken on the abaxial surface, tertiaries inconspicuous on the adaxial surface, slightly sunken on the abaxial surface. Inflorescences 2–7-flowered. Pedicel 6.5–16.0 mm long, glabrescent or glabrous. Flowers whitish to yellowish-white in vivo; sepals ca. 4.3–4.8 mm long, the outer ones lanceolate or oblong, apex acute or obtuse, margin ciliate, abaxial surface sericeous, adaxial surface glabrous, the inner ones oblong or elliptic, apex obtuse, margin ciliate, abaxial surface sericeous, adaxial surface glabrous or with sparse trichomes at the apex, both without a broad glabrous marginal stripe; corolla ca. 5.0 mm long, tube ca. 1.5 mm long, lobes 3.3–3.7 mm long, median segment elliptic, apex obtuse, lateral segments lanceolate, apex acute, equalling the median segment; filaments 1.5–2.7 mm long, glabrous, anthers 1.4–2.1 mm long, glabrous; staminodes 1.6–2.5 mm long, glabrous, margin variously divided; ovary ca. 1.0 mm compr., ovoid, style 3.0– 5.3 mm long, glabrous, stigma simple. Fruit ripening red, 1.4–2.0 × 1.3–2.0 cm, globose, exocarp coriaceous, mesocarp or endocarp gelatinous, calyx and style persistent. Seed 1.1–1.7 × 0.8–1.1 cm; scar 8 mm long, ellipsoid.

Selected material: — BRAZIL. Paraná: Antonina, 16 September 1965, G.G. Hatschbach 12764 ( MBM, UPCB). Guaraqueçaba, 23 December 1999, C.B. Jaster s.n. ( UPCB 41162). Guaratuba, 10 August 1987, G.G. Hatschbach 51302 ( MBM, UPCB). Matinhos, 9 August 1989, S.R. Ziller 67 ( MBM, EFC). Morretes, 6 November 1968, G.G. Hatschbach 20213 ( MBM). Morretes, 20 February 2017, R.R. Völtz 1188 ( MBM, UPCB) Paranaguá, 31 January 1997, G. Gatti 91 ( MBM, UPCB, EFC). Pontal do Paraná, 1 November 1966, G.G. Hatschbach 13648 ( MBM, UPCB).

In Paraná Manilkara subsericea occurs in the coastal plain, in the Atlantic coast mountainous region and Serra do Mar between sea level and 500 m elev., in Atlantic Rain Forest. In the coastal plain it grows on sandy soils in Restinga and Lowland forests, while in the mountainous region on clay soil on Submontane forest. Collected with flowers in May and August and fruits in November, December, January and February. It can be recognized by the fissured bark, slash with the outer bark thick, suberose, light-brown to reddish-brown that is distinct from the reddish inner bark. The venation pattern gives the leaves a striate appearance, easily recognizeble by the fallen leaves on the ground. The ripening fruit is red and has a sweet jelly adherent to the seed. During the fruiting period, abundant fruits can be observed on the ground around the tree. Pennington (1990) considers M. subsericea similar to M. salzmannii , and distinguished the former by the whitish or grayish sericeous indumentum on the abaxial surface of the leaf, and by the variously divided staminodes, which may be equal or longer than the stamens. Fabris & Peixoto (2013) did not observe the differences in the staminode and stamen morphology, and distinguished M. subsericea by the young leaves sparsely pilose on the abaxial surface, with whitish or grayish to eventually brownish hairs, while M. salzmannii has young leaves glabrous or sub-glabrous on the abaxial surface, with brownish hairs when present. Hovewer, the leaves usually become glabrous or occasionally with sparse hairs on the abaxial surface with age, making it difficult to identify the species using these characters.

Conservation Status: —This species was listed as “Least concern” ( LC) by CNCFlora (2018). In Paraná M. subsericea is widespread along the Atlantic Rain Forest, although its distribution is irregular. Most of its populations are in protected areas, but nowadays the main problem to its consevation is the loss of habitat to urbanization, mainly in Lowland Atlantic Rain Forest.

Figures

FIGURE 12. Manilkara subsericea. A. Habit. B. Bark. C. Slash. D.Abaxial surface of the leaf. E. Flower, longitudinal section. F.Adaxial surface of the corolla. G. Lateral and frontal view of the seed. H. Abaxial surface of the corolla. I. Stem with flower. J. Detail of the indumentum. K. Fruit. (A–D, G, K from R.R. Völtz 1188; E–F, H from G.G. Hatschbach 53299; I from G.G. Hatschbach 51302; J from J.M. Silva 1680) (ov: ovary; sc: seed scar; st: stamen; stm: staminode).