Spondias testudinis J. D. Mitch. & Daly, Brittonia 50: 447-451. 1998

Mitchell, John D. & Daly, Douglas C., 2015, A revision of Spondias L. (Anacardiaceae) in the Neotropics, PhytoKeys 55, pp. 1-92 : 45-46

Spondias testudinis J. D. Mitch. & Daly, Brittonia 50: 447-451. 1998 Figs 2, 15, 16, 17, 24

Type.

BRAZIL. Acre: Mun. Cruzeiro do Sul, Rio Juruá, left bank, Igarapé Viseu, 15 min. upstream by canoe, ca. 8°18'S, 72°44'W, 21 Mar 1992, D. C. Daly, J. Ramos, L. Ferreira & F. Walthier 7559. (Holotype: HUFAC!; isotypes: AAU!, BIOT!, INPA!, L!, MG!, MO!, NY!, RB!, US!).

Description.

Hermaphroditic trees, reproductive height 15-38 m. Trunk 35-65 cm diam.; outer bark grayishbrown, rough, shallowly to deeply fissured, with vertical stripes of raised lenticels; inner bark red and whitestriate. Trichomes of three types: white, flexuous to uncinate or suberect hairs to 0.3 (0.4) mm long (on leaves); capitate glandular hairs; and yellow, appressed to suberect, blunt glandular trichomes to 0.2 mm long (on inflorescences). Leaves (5) 7-13jugate, 20-33 cm long; petiole 3.1-5.6 cm long, petiole and rachis with dense flexuous to uncinate hairs; lateral petiolules 1-2 mm long, the terminal one 0.7-1.7 cm long, petiolules with hairs as on rachis; basal leaflets 2.9-3.8 × 1.5-2 cm, obliquely ovate to broadly elliptic, other laterals 5.2-7.6 × 1.6-2.3 cm, obliquely lanceolate to elliptic, terminal leaflet 5.5-5.9 × 1.4-1.8 cm, oblanceolate to elliptic; leaflet apex acuminate, acumen 4-13 mm, glandular-mucronate; lateral lamina medially and basally asymmetrical; acroscopic side rounded to obtuse, basiscopic side acute; basal insertion sometimes asymmetrical and slightly decurrent; leaflet margin often slightly revolute, subentire to sparsely serrate, the teeth concave-convex with acute (sometimes spiculate) apex; leaflets chartaceous to membranaceous, both surfaces dull Inflorescences (pseudo-)terminal, produced with new flush of leaves, ca. 9-17 cm long, secondary axes 5-8 cm long, axes with scattered to dense hairs and sparse to scattered appressed glandular hairs; bracts subtending secondary and higherorder axes 0.5-0.6 mm long, bracteoles 0.25-0.4 mm long, all bract(eole)s lanceolate to narrowly ovate, sparsely pubescent to glabrous, the margin with sparse glandular hairs; pedicel 1.5-1.7 mm long overall, portion distal to articulation 1.25-1.3 mm long, with scattered hairs. Calyx 0.6-0.9 mm long overall, aestivation apert, divided nearly to base, 0.4-0.6 mm long, deltate, margin entire to slightly erose; petals ca. 2-2.5 × 0.9-1.2 mm, narrowly ovate to elliptic, acute, greenish white, glabrous or with a few scattered hairs, reflexed at anthesis; stamens spreading, antesepalous and antepetalous ones 2.4-3 and 1.5-2.7 mm, respectively, the anthers 0.7-1.2 mm long, in dorsiventral view oblong-ovate, in lateral view oblong-elliptic; disk 0.75-0.8 mm tall, 0.15-0.2 mm thick, summit craggy and outer margin deeply sulcate, yellow; on recently opened flowers the pistil 1.3-1.6 mm long, cylindrical to slightly ovoid overall, divided ca. half its length into thickly subulate, apically divergent styles 0.6-0.8 mm long, the stigmas extrorse, obovate. Fruits (3.8) 4.9-6.3 × 2.3-2.7 (3.4) cm (dry), essentially oblong, apex truncate to rounded or slightly acuminate, base truncate; maturing dull (grayish) yellow to orangebrown, the surface (densely) raised-lenticellate, the endocarp 4.8-5.2 × 3-3.2 cm, oblong(-ellipsoid). Seedlings (based on Daly et al. 7251, NY): cotyledons linear, ca. 3.6 cm long; eophylls imparipinnate, 2-3jugate, leaflets of eophylls lanceolate, serrate, teeth laciniate.

Leaflet venation. Fimbrial vein absent; secondary veins 15-17 pairs, essentially straight, spacing somewhat irregular and decreasing toward base, angle acute and uniform, insertion on midvein abruptly decurrent; inter-secondaries present, ca. 1 per pair of successive secondaries, parallel to secondaries and more than 50% their length, usually with strong (often composite) admedial branching; some epimedial tertiaries present, parallel to secondaries; intercostal tertiaries irregular-reticulate and with (often composite) admedial branching; areoles poorly developed at tertiary and quaternary ranks, FEVs 5+-branched, dendritic, sometimes terminating in tracheoid idioblasts; marginal ultimate venation incompletely looped; on abaxial side the midvein prominent, secondaries prominulous; on adaxial side the midvein prominulous, secondaries flat to impressed, on both sides the midvein densely to sparsely pubescent, hairs scattered to sparse along remaining veins.

Distribution.

Spondias testudinis is endemic to southwestern Amazonia in Acre, Brazil and nearby portions of Bolivia (Pando) and Peru ( Huánuco, Ucayali).

Ecology.

This species occurs in lowland dry to wet tropical forest on terra firme, elev. 200-780 m. It is known to flower in Sep-Oct and to fruit Feb-Jun.

Common names.

Brazil, Acre: cajá de jabotí (Daly et al. 7559, NY), cajarana (Cid Ferreira et al. 10116A, NY), cajarana da mata (Silveira et al. 475, NY), cajarana de anta (Figueiredo et al. 639, NY); Peru, Huánuco: ubos (Tello 354, NY); Ucayali: ubos colorado ( Magín 112, NY), ushum ( Vásquez & Jaramillo 10481, NY); Bolivia, Pando: casharana del monte (Jardim 717, MO). The fruits are eaten fresh or made into a juice; the juice is drunk sweetened, or added to a distilled alcoholic drink, or mixed with hot peppers to make a sauce (pers. obs.).

Selected specimens examined.

BOLIVIA. Pando: Manuripi, 35 km N of Puerto América, old well of Mobil, 11°44'S, 67°59'W, elev. 200 m, 13 May 1994, Jardim 717 (MO); Candelaria, km 36 Cobijaextremo Pando, 15 Jun 1978, Brig. Meneces 690 (INPA). BRAZIL. Acre: Mun. Brasiléia, Reserva Extrativista Chico Mendes, road to Seringal Porongaba, Colocação Santo Antônio, 30 km from Brasiléia, 25 May 1991, Cid Ferreira et al. 10116A (HUFAC, INPA, UFAC, NY); Mun. Cruzeiro do Sul, left bank of Rio Juruá, Igarapé Viseu, ca. 8°18'S, 72°44'W, 21 Mar 1992, Cid Ferreira et al. 10879 (HUFAC, NY); Mun. Senador Guiomard, Área de Estudos Florestais of FUNTAC, km 68 of BR-317 highway, 10°27'53"S, 67°44'30"W, 17 Mar 1997, Costello & Saraiva 25 (HUFAC, NY); Mun. Rio Branco, Reserva Florestal of EMBRAPA, km 14 of BR-364 (Rio Branco-Porto Velho) highway, 10 Jun 1997, Costello et al. 50 (HUFAC, NY); Mun. Bujari, Riozinho do Andirá, tributary of Rio Acre, approx. 9°39'S, 68°02'W, 12 Jun 1997, Costello & Saraiva 88 (HUFAC, NY); Mun. Xapuri, Rio Acre, 3 hrs downstream by boat downstream by boat from Xapuri, then 1 hr walking inland from left bank, 10°45'S, 68°28'W, 9 Nov 1991, Daly et al. 7251 (HUFAC, NY); Mun. Sena Madureira, basin of Rio Purus, Rio Macaua, below Colônia Barro Alto, 9°12'.48'S, 68°44.17'W, 4 Apr 1994, Daly et al. 8182 (INPA, NY); Mun. Marechal Taumaturgo, basin of Rio Juruá, Reserva Extrativista do Alto Juruá, Colocação Ceará, 9°12'S, 72°44'W, 5 Apr 1993, Silveira et al. 475 (CAS, CTES, HPA, HUFAC, INPA, MEXU, NY, RB). PERU. Huánuco: Prov. Puerto Inca, Dtto. Yuyapichis, Unidad Modelo de Manejo y Producción Forestal DANTAS, 9°40'S, 75°02'W, 1-15 Oct 1990, Tello 354, 396 (NY); Pasco: Prov. Oxapampa, trail between Pozuzo and Yanahuanca, 10°03'S, 75°33'W, 17 Mar 1984, Smith et al. 6406 (MO); Ucayali: Yarina Cocha, Nueva Esperanza de Panaillo, 8°15'S, 74°40'W, elev. 148 m, 1 Apr 1988, Vásquez & Jaramillo 10481 (MO, NY).

Conservation status.

We classify this species as of Least Concern; although it has a more limited geographic distribution than most of its congeners, it is relatively common where it occurs in SW Amazonia, and that region is still mostly forested.

Discussion.

Spondias testudinis closely resembles Spondias macrocarpa because both have leaves (5) 7-13-jugate, the leaf rachis densely pubescent; intersecondary veins sometimes present, parallel to secondaries and with admedial branching; anthers 0.7-0.9 mm long (to 1.2 mm in Spondias testudinis ), and the disk much taller than thick. The former is distinguished by the following characteristics: leaflet teeth spiculate (vs. not), secondary veins 15-17 (vs. 10-15) pairs; pedicel 1.5-1.7 mm (vs. 2.5-3.5 mm) long; and fruits (3.8) 4.9-6.3 cm (vs. 3.5-4.2 cm) long.

It differs from the sympatric Spondias mombin by a number of features, including the following: trichomes on leaves flexuous to uncinate or sub-erect (vs. always straight), to 0.3 (0.4) mm (vs. to 0.2 mm); leaves (5) 7-13-jugate (vs. 3-7-jugate), the midvein on adaxial side sparsely or more often densely pubescent (vs. glabrous or sometimes with trichomes on midvein and secondary veins); fruit surface lenticellate (vs. smooth); eophylls on seedlings imparipinnate, 2-3jugate (vs. trifoliolate) and the eophyll leaflets lanceolate (vs. ovate) and laciniately (vs. simply acutely) serrate ( Spondias mombin seedlings described and illustrated in Vogel 1980).