Chionanthus megistocarpus, Fern. Alonso & Cogollo. Photograph, 2016

Fernández-Alonso, José Luis & Cogollo-Pacheco, Álvaro Alfonso, 2016, Chionanthus megistocarpus (Oleaceae), a new species from the Western Cordillera of Colombia, Phytotaxa 269 (1), pp. 14-20 : 19

Key to separate Chionanthus megistocarpus from morphologically similar species in the north of South America.

1. Deciduous trees, flowers with pink or purple petals, 15–25 mm long. Plants growing in Inter-Andean dry forest ........................... ............................................................................................................................................................................ C. pubescens Kunth

- Evergreen trees, flowers with white petals, rarely pale lilac, less than 15 mm long. Plants growing in tropical wet, gallery forest, moist forest, Subandean cloud forest..................................................................................................................................................2

2. Leaves coriaceous, elliptical or elliptical-oblanceolate, fruit 30–50 mm long ................................................................................ 3

- Leaves not coriaceous and elliptical or elliptical-oblanceolate, fruit shorter than 30 mm long........................................................... ....................................................................................................................................... (Other species of north of South América).

3. Petiole 6–18(–20) mm long, blades with domatia in the veins of the lower surface; axillary inflorescences 5–10 cm long, corolla 13–17 mm long; mature fruit subglobose, 30–40 × 25–30 mm, black when mature (moist forest, c. 600 m, western Ecuador) ...... ........................................................................................................................................... C. colonchensis X.Cornejo & C.Bonifaz

- Petiole (12–)15–30(–35) mm long, blades without domatia on the lower surface; axillary inflorescences 8–16(–20) cm long, corolla less than 10 mm long; mature fruit ellipsoid 45–50 × 42–47 mm, purple when mature (Subandean forest 1700–2100 m, western Colombia............................................................................................................ C. megistocarpus Fern.Alonso & Cogollo