Spondias venulosa (Mart. ex Engl.) Engl. in A. DC. & C. DC., Monogr. phan. 4: 245. 1883

Mitchell, John D. & Daly, Douglas C., 2015, A revision of Spondias L. (Anacardiaceae) in the Neotropics, PhytoKeys 55, pp. 1-92 : 51-54

Spondias venulosa (Mart. ex Engl.) Engl. in A. DC. & C. DC., Monogr. phan. 4: 245. 1883 Figs 2, 6, 15, 16, 24

Spondias purpurea var. venulosa Mart. ex Engl. in Mart., Fl. bras. 12(2): 373. 1876.

Spondias venulosa Type. Based on Spondias venulosa (Mart. Ex Engl.) Engl.

Spondias myrobalanus sensu Vell., non L., Fl. flumin. 4: 197, t. 185. 1825[1829].

Type.

BRAZIL. Rio de Janeiro: Rio de Janeiro (cultivated), November (w/o year), Martius Obs. 274 (lectotype: M, n.v., here designated; F-photo!; G-photo!; NY-photo!).

Description.

Hermaphroditic trees, reproductive height 5-30 m. Trunk 11-92 cm diam., outer bark (brownish) gray, rough, sparsely to densely fissured, the fissures broad, deep and wavy, shed in long, thick, irregular plates; inner bark soft and whitish with beige to pale red striations. Trichomes white to yellowish, erect to flexuous, 0.4-0.6 (0.8) mm long. Leaves 3-5jugate, 12.3-23 cm long, the petiole, rachis and midvein often red when young; petiole 5.3-7 cm long, petiole and rachis glabrous; lateral leaflets subsessile or the petiolules to 3 mm long, the terminal one 7-15 mm long, petiolules pubescent; basal leaflets 2.2-7 × 1-3.5 cm, ovate to broadly elliptic, other laterals 3-8 × 1.2-4.2 cm, usually (broadly) elliptic or ovate or less often lanceolate, terminal leaflet 2.8-8.7 × 1.1-4.2 cm, elliptic to obovate; leaflet apex abruptly and narrowly acuminate, the acumen 3-16 mm long, the apex tip sharply acuminate; lateral lamina often medially strongly asymmetrical and then the acroscopic side ovate and basiscopic side elliptic, base subsymmetric or asymmetric, the acroscopic side cuneate to cordate, the basiscopic side acute to rounded, basal insertion often slightly asymmetric, often decurrent; leaflet margin usually revolute, strongly so at base, entire or occasionally serrulate, with blunt convex-convex teeth; leaflets chartaceous to coriaceous, often both surfaces glossy (mature leaflets); intramarginal vein submarginal. Inflorescences subterminal and terminal, developing with leaf flush, (3.5) 7-19.5 long, 1.3-2.3 mm diam near base, broadly branched, secondary axes 0.5-5 cm long; bracts on primary and secondary axes 0.6-2.4 mm long, lanceolate to lorate and acuminate, bracteoles 0.4-0.6 mm long, ovate to subulate and often semi-clasping; pedicel 1.8-3.5 mm long overall, portion distal to the articulation 1.5-2.7 mm long. Calyx 0.7-1.4 mm long overall, aestivation apert, lobes 0.4-0.8 mm long, deltate to triangular, the margin erose; petals 1.8-2 × 0.7-1 mm, lanceolate to deltate, slightly acuminate, white to yellowish, reflexed at anthesis; stamens inflexed, antesepalous and antepetalous ones 1.2-1.3 and 0.9-1.1 mm long, respectively, the anthers 0.4-0.5 mm long, elliptic in both dorsiventral and lateral views; disk 0.35-0.4 mm tall, 0.3 mm thick, summit undulate and outer margin sulcate, yellow; pistil 1-1.2 mm long, thickly subcylindrical overall, divided nearly to base into subulate, apically connivent styles 0.5-0.7 mm long, the stigmas extrorse, obovate. Fruits 3.6-6 × 1.9-3.6 cm (dry; when fresh 4-8 × 3.2-3.8 cm), (slightly) oblong(-obovoid) to slightly (ob)ovoid, often lumpy, apex rounded, truncate, or sometimes acuminate, base obtuse to truncate, maturing yellow and glossy, surface shallowly pitted and very sparsely lenticellate, the lenticels flat; endocarp usually slightly obovoid and usually acuminate.

Leaflet venation: Secondary veins 10-20, straight, spacing uniform, angle slightly acute and decreasing toward apex, insertion decurrent; intercostal tertiaries few per pair of successive secondaries, usually arising from near intramarginal vein, with (usually composite) admedial branching; areolation at tertiary rank, quaternaries freely ramified; FEVs 4+-branched, dendritic, terminating in tracheoid idioblasts; marginal ultimate venation mostly looped; on abaxial side all venation narrowly prominent, pubescent on revolute base (sometimes extending onto midvein), usually glabrescent; on adaxial side all venation flat or more often broadly prominulous but fluted, veins often discolorous (drying blackish).

Distribution.

Spondias venulosa ranges from eastcentral Bahia to southern Rio de Janeiro and extreme southeastern Minas Gerais; cultivated as far south as Campinas and São Paulo city in São Paulo state.

Ecology.

This species occurs in moist upland forests of the Mata Atlântica Complex, also also in the tabuleiro forests that occur on red-yellow dystrophic podzols in the low, flat, subcoastal tablelands of Espírito Santo.

There is no literature or herbarium label data that shed light on the pollination or dispersers of this species. It is known to flower in Aug-Feb and fruit Jan-Sep.

Common names.

Brazil, Espírito Santo: taipá (Spada 51, NY), cajá (Folli 1608, NY).

Economic botany.

The fruits of Spondias venulosa are edible and occasionally used to make juices; most fruits are wild-collected ( Lorenzi et al. 2006). The species is not widely planted in home gardens; it is found in some Brazilian parks, botanical gardens and arboreta, e.g., Belo Horizonte (Macedo 5451, US), Rio de Janeiro (pers. obs. and Kuhlmann s.n. (GUA 11051), GUA), Itabuna (Bahia, Hage 230, NY), and São Paulo (Gehrt [Hatschbach] s.n. (SP 39886), NY, SP).

Selected specimens examined.

BRAZIL. Bahia: Mun. Senhor do Bonfim, Povoado de Estiva, Serra de Santana, 10°21'57"S, 40°11'51"W, 689 m, 13 July 2005, Cardoso et al. 716 (NY); Anguera, Fazenda Retiro, ca. 18 km from Feira de Santana, on Feijão-Ipirá road, 12°09'42"S, 39°11'02"W, elev. 300-600 m, 22 May 2007, Cardoso & Santos 1935 (NY); Mun. Mairi, km 41 Capim Grosso-Mairi road, 11°39'S, 40°08'W, elev. 460 m, 21 Sep 1996, Pereira-Silva et al. 3638 (NY); Mun. Feira de Santana, Campus of Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, 12°15'S, 38°58'W, 31 Jan 1992, Queiroz 2604 (NY); Mun. Itajú da Colônia, 7.5 km SE of Itajú do Colônia on road to Palmira, 15°09'13.1"S, 39°39'27.6"W, elev. 250 m, 19 Mar 2001, Thomas et al. 12363 (MO, NY); Espírito Santo: Mun. Brejal, 15 km N of Colatina, dirt path along left bank of rio Pancas, approx. 19°23'S, 40°41'W, 28 Jan 1997, Arbo et al. 7777 (CEPEC, GH); Águas Claras, Escola Agroecológica, 18°53'32"S, 40°43'48"W, elev. 300-500 m, 6 Jun 2006, Demuner et al. 2382 (NY); Rio Bananal, Alto Bananal, property of Jonas Graci, 19°14'56"S, 40°24'59"W, elev. 300-600 m, 25 Apr 2007, Demuner et al. 3783 (NY); Reserva Vale (BR-101 Norte, km 122), Estrada Flamengo, 19°07'14"N, 30°54'59"W, 1 Mar 2011, Stefano et al. 201 (NY, RB); Minas Gerais: Aimorés, km 15.5 of BR-259 highway, in pasture, 18 Oct 2004, Luz 248 (CVRD, NY); Belo Horizonte, Praça Benjamin Guimarães, no cruzamento com avenidas Getúlio Vargas, e Afonso Pena, 15 Sep 1988, Macedo 5451 (US)(cultivated); Parque Florestal Rio Doce, 2 Nov 1992, Stehmann s.n. (BHCB 20855) (BHCB, NY); Rio de Janeiro: Quinta da Boa Vista, 22 Oct 1930, Brade s.n. (R 73762)(R); Mun. Armação dos Búzios, Fazenda Caravelas, S slope between Peró and Caravelas beaches, 4 May 2000, Farney et al. 4083 (NY, RB); Rio de Janeiro, w/o date, Gaudichaud 826 (P; syntype of S. venulosa); Rio de Janeiro, Morro do Inglez [ Inglês], Corcovado, 22 Aug 1886, Glaziou 827 (K, P; syntype of S. venulosa); Mun. São Pedro d’Aldeia, Morro de Sapiatiba [Serra de Sepetiba], elev. 200-400 m, 10 Sep 1987, Leitman et al. 284 (NY, RB); Mun. Cabo Frio, new road to Búzios, Baia Formosa, entrance to Capão da Pedra, Fazenda of Sr. Henrique Massala, 6 May 1987, Lima 2883 (NY, RB); Mun. Niterói, road to Itaipu, near entrance to Itacoatiara, base of slope of Serra da Tiririca, 25 Sep 1990, Lima et al. 3988 (NY, RB); Sete Pontes, 9 Feb 1876, Rohan 43 (R 73728)(R); Rio de Janeiro, 1816-1821, St.-Hilaire 1026 (K, P); Niterói, Pico do Alto Mourão [ Moirão], between Niterói and Maricá, 6 Aug 1991, Santim [Santin?] et al. s.n. (RB 300478) (NY, RB); Mun. Niterói, between Campos and Morro do Côco, 8 Sep 1964, Trinta & Fromm 1050 (NY); São Paulo: São Paulo, 29 Nov 1938, Gehrt [Hatschbach] s.n. (SP 39886) (NY, SP) (cultivated); Campinas, 18 Nov 1936, Hoehne & Gehrt [Hatschbach] s.n. (SP 36835)(NY) (cultivated).

Conservation status.

We consider this species to be of Least Concern. It is rather widespread in the Atlantic Coastal Forest of Brazil, and despite severe fragmentation of that region’s lowland forests, it appears to thrive in even rather small forest fragments.

Discussion.

The similarities and differences between this species and Spondias admirabilis are discussed under the latter species.