Spondias purpurea L., Sp. pl., ed. 2, 1: 613. 1762.

Mitchell, John D. & Daly, Douglas C., 2015, A revision of Spondias L. (Anacardiaceae) in the Neotropics, PhytoKeys 55, pp. 1-92 : 36-40

Spondias purpurea L., Sp. pl., ed. 2, 1: 613. 1762. Figs 2, 3, 4, 14, 16, 22

Spondias myrobalanus L., Fl. jamaic. 16. 1759, nom. illegit. (based on same type as Spondias purpurea , vide Jarvis 2007: 871; not homotypic with Spondias myrobalanus L., Syst. nat., ed. 10, 2: 1036. 1759). Type. Based on Spondias purpurea L.

Spondias myrobalanus sensu Jacq., Select. stirp. amer. hist., 139, t. 88. 1763, non L., Fl. jamaic., 1759.

Spondias cirouella sensu Tussac, Fl. Antill. 3: 37, t. 8. 1824, excl. synonyms of Spondias mombin L. Spondias jocote-amarillo Kosterm., Kedondong, Ambarella, Amra - The Spondioideae ( Anacardiaceae ) in Asia and the Pacific area: 27. 1991, nom. nov. based on Spondias cirouella Tussac).

Spondias purpurea Type [icon]: Tussac, Fl. Antill. 3: 37, t. 8. 1824 (lectotype, designated by Kostermans, l.c.: 27).

Warmingia pauciflora Engl. in Mart., Fl. bras. 12(2): 281, t. 57. 1874.

Spondias purpurea Type. Peru. Tarapoto (cult.), Jul 1855, Spruce 4093 (lectotype: K!, here designated; isolectotypes: C, GH!, P!).

Spondias mexicana S. Watson, Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 22: 403. 1887.

Spondias purpurea Type. Mexico. Jalisco: Tequila, Aug-Sep 1886, E. Palmer 408 (lectotype: US-2 sheets!, here designated; isolectotypes: GH!, K!, NY!, PH!).

Spondias purpurea L. var. munita I.M. Johnst., Sargentia 8: 182-183. 1949.

Spondias purpurea Type. Panama. San José Island, Perlas Archipelago (55 mi. SSE of Balboa), 29 Mar 1945, I.M. Johnston 573 (lectotype: US!, here designated; isolectotype: GH!).

Spondias negrosensis Kosterm., Kedondong, Ambarella, Amra - The Spondiadeae ( Anacardiaceae ) in Asia and the Pacific area: 27. 1991.

Spondias purpurea Type. Philippines, Luzon, Rov. Rizal, Panay, Merrill, Sp. blancoan. 639 (holotype: BO n.v.; isotypes: NY!, US!, W!).

Type

[icon]. " Myrobalanus minor folio fraxini alato, fructu purpureo " etc. (lectotype, designated by Bornstein in Howard 1989: Sloane, Voy. Jamaica 2: 126, t. 219, Figs 3 - 5. 1725. (Typotype): herb. Sloane 7: 66 (BM-SL!)).

Description.

Dioecious trees , sometimes shrubby and broadly branching, often deciduous for long periods, reproductive height 3-15 m.Trunk 10-50 cm diam, outer bark pinkishgray to dark gray, smooth or ornamented with corky spinose projections to 6.2 cm long (Johnston 964, GH), sometimes with spinose short shoots; inner bark whitish with brown striations. Trichomes of three types: uncinate to crispate (rarely erect) 0.1-0.2 mm long, erect bristles to 0.05 mm long (only sometimes on calyx), and capitate glandular hairs (when present, on bract margin, distally on pedicel, and on calyx). Often leafless for extended periods. Leaves 2-13jugate, 6-28 cm long; petiole 2-5.2 cm long, rachis sometimes subalate, petiole and rachis glabrous or with dense uncinate hairs; lateral petiolules 1-4 mm long, the terminal one to 15 mm long, hairs as on rachis; basal leaflets 1.4-5 × 0.9-2.6 cm, obovate, other laterals 3-6.8 × 1-2.7 cm, elliptic, oblanceolate, or obovate, terminal leaflet 2.6-5.6 × 1.1-2.9 cm, obovate; leaflet apex obtuse to acute, occasionally retuse or slightly acuminate, the acumen to 5 mm long, apex tip mucronate and glandular, often breaking off; lateral lamina usually medially and basally asymmetric, the acroscopic side of base obtuse, the basiscopic side cuneate or attenuate, basal insertion symmetric and decurrent, leaflets chartaceous and dull; margin flat, entire to serrulate toward apex, the teeth irregularly spaced, concavo-convex, the tooth apex setose (setae often deciduous). Inflorescences axillary and trees often ramiflorous, developing before or during leaf flush, staminate inflorescences 1-16 cm long, 2-3 mm diam near base with secondary axes to 1.4 cm long, the pistillate inflorescences 1-4.5 cm long with secondary axes to 8 mm long; axes glabrous or with sparse to dense uncinate hairs; bracts subtending inflorescences to 1.5 mm long, those subtending secondary axes to 1-2 mm long, bracteoles 0.6-0.8 mm long, lanceolate to ovate, apex acute; pedicel (0.5) 1.7-3.6 mm long, portion distal to articulation 0.3-1 mm long, the distal portion sometimes with capitate glandular hairs. Calyx 1-1.6 mm long overall, aestivation quincuncial, lobes 0.7-1 mm long, rotund to broadly ovate, usually red to purple (Fonnegra & Corral 1633, NY), abaxially with sparse to dense erect bristles to 0.05 mm, the margin ciliate; corolla aestivation quincuncial, petals 2.5-3(3.5) × 0.85-1.2 mm, oblong-lanceolate to narrowly ovate, apex acute, usually red to purple, sometimes yellow, cream, or white, glabrous, the margin ciliate with straight to curved whitish hairs to 0.1 mm, suberect at anthesis; in staminate flowers the stamens suberect, the antesepalous and antepetalous ones 2-2.35 and 1.45-1.7 mm long, respectively, the anthers 0.8-1 mm and 0.65-0.85 mm long, respectively, in dorsiventral view broadly oblong to ovate, in lateral view oblong, the disk 0.25-0.5 mm tall, 0.4-0.7 mm thick, summit rugose and outer margin crenellate, pink; pistillode consisting of (3)4-5 erect, awn-shaped, parenchymatous styles 0.6-1 mm long; in pistillate flowers the antesepalous and antepetalous staminodes 2.3-2.5 and 1.5-2 mm, respectively, the anthers 0.4-0.55 and 0.5-0.6 mm, respectively, in dorsiventral view broadly oblong (antesepalous ones) or ovate (antepetalous ones), in lateral view oblong; disk 0.4-0.6 mm tall, 0.25-0.5 mm thick, summit very slightly undulate and outer margin nearly entire; pistil 1-1.5 mm long, depressed-ovoid to subcylindrical overall, tinged red toward apex, divided less than half its length into thickly subulate, divergent styles ca. 0.3-0.8 mm long, shorter than the ovary and separated by the flat roof of the ovary, each terminating in a thin, introrse, obovate stigma. Fruits 2.5-5 × 0.5-3 cm (dry), oblong to obovoid, maturing yellow to (reddish) orange or red, the surface smooth, often glossy; pyrene oblong, bony. Seedlings (Magallanes 3887, NY) with linear cotyledons ( Duke 1965), first eophylls alternate and trifoliate, serrate, subsequent ones pinnate.

Leaflet venation: Fimbrial vein absent; secondary veins 5-10 pairs, usually arcuate, spacing decreasing toward apex and increasing toward base, angle acute and slightly irregular but increasing toward apex and decreasing toward base, insertion excurrent or decurrent; intersecondaries average <1 per intercostal area, perpendicular to midvein and slightly acroflexed; epimedial tertiaries 1 per intercostal area, perpendicular to midvein; intercostal tertiary fabric irregular-reticulate and strongly admedially ramified; quaternaries irregular-reticulate and freely ramified, areolation at tertiary and quaternary ranks, FEVs highly branched, dendritic, with some terminal thickening; marginal ultimate venation mostly looped; on abaxial side the midvein and secondaries flat to prominulous, glabrous except midvein often sparsely pubescent toward the base, the surface sparsely to densely micro-pustulate, on adaxial side the midvein prominulous and secondaries flat to prominulous, glabrous except the midvein sparsely to densely pubescent.

Distribution.

Spondias purpurea naturally grows in tropical deciduous forests from NW Mexico to Panama and possibly N Colombia; its cultivated distribution extends well beyond its native distribution, and its true range is complicated by its long association with humans. In some areas where the species has been assumed to be native, some evidence suggests that it has been introduced; for example, Janzen (1985) reported that Spondias purpurea and Spondias mombin co-occurred in Guanacaste Province in Costa Rica, but he observed that the former was usually found near roads and trails. Miller ( Miller and Schaal 2005) and others have noted that Spondias purpurea produces fruit parthenocarpically where it is not native, and it is known that the species is propagated asexually in many places, but the observations of Janzen and others suggests that it can reproduce sexually outside its native range.

Ecology.

Spondias purpurea grows in highly seasonal tropical (semi-)deciduous forests ( Miller and Knouft 2006), and it appears to thrive best in dry conditions; for example, at Chamela Biological Reserve in Jalisco, Mexico, it was much less abundant in semi-deciduous forest than in adjacent deciduous forest ( Mandujano et al. 1994), where it is sympatric with Bursera spp., Cyrtocarpa procera and Comocladia sp. ( Lott 2002). Still, it thrives in a broad range of habitats and soil types, and its cultivated range is primarily in more humid environments. It has been found (probably cultivated) at elevations up to 1200 m in both Mexico and Ecuador.

Given this species’ broad distribution, its known phenology is broken down by region. Mexico: flowering Dec-Aug, fruiting May-Sep; Central America: flowering Dec-Sep, fruiting Mar-Oct; NW South America west of the Andes: flowering Feb-Oct; remainder of N South America: flowering (Jan) Sep-Nov.

Several studies in Mexico have shown that this species is markedly deciduous and flowers when leafless, while the fruits mature near the interface of the dry/leafless and wetter /leafy seasons. In Sinaloa, the trees were leafless from Jan-May, flowering in Feb-Mar and fruiting in Jun, and in Puebla the trees were leafless Jan-Apr, flowering Dec-Jan and fruiting Apr-May ( Cuevas 1994), while in Chamela (Jalisco) the trees were leafless Nov-Jun, flowering in Feb and the fruits maturing in May ( Bullock and Solís-Magallanes 1990).

Spondias purpurea dispersal was studied in detail by Mandujano et al. (1994) in a deciduous forest in Chamela, Mexico. They found that the major dispersers were white-tailed deer, collared peccaries (see also Martínez-Romero and Mandujano 1995), coatis, gray foxes, chachalacas, orioles, and ctenosaurs. At Chamela there was no evidence of bat dispersal, although Lobova et al. (2009) cite references containing observations of this species being dispersed by several species of bats. White-faced capuchin monkeys were observed dispersing fruits of Spondias purpurea at Santa Rosa National Park in Costa Rica ( Freese 1977).

Common names.

This species has been recorded as being called ciruela or ciruelo in Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico (Jalisco), Puerto Rico, Brazil (as ciriguela), Ecuador, Panama, Honduras, and Bolivia, and called jocote in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Belize, Panama, Honduras, and El Salvador. Other common names include the following: Bahamas: Hog plum (Howard & Howard 10049, NY); Belize: ab-úl (Maya, Balick et al. 2467, NY), huhun (Maya, Lentz et al. 2436, NY), mombin, golden plum, hog plum (Riesema & Beveridge 52208, NY); Colombia, Antioquia: hobo colorado, jobo colorado (Fonnegra G. & Corral 1633, NY); Costa Rica: jocote invierno (Miller & Paschke 206, NY); Dominican Republic: jobo ( Peláez F. 1230, NY); El Salvador: jocote de iguana (Rosales 2198, NY); jocote de pava (Rosales 297, NY; Sandoval 1210, MO); French West Indies: monbin cirouellier (Tussac 3: 37, t. 8. 1824); French Guiana: mope, puune ( Boní; Fleury 729, NY); sewal (Haitian; Prévost 1988, NY); Grenada: Chili plum (Broadway s.n., NY); Guatemala: té-pah pom, jocote de coche (Castillo & Castillo 1792, NY); Guyana: Surinam plum (Omawale & Persaud 118, NY); Honduras: jocote rojo, tronadora (Miller et al. 149, NY), jobo de chancho (Molina & Molina 35164, NY); Jamaica: plum (Yuncker 18612, NY); Martinique: prune d’Espagne (Duss 326, NY); Mexico, Chiapas: xo-ko (Nahuatl, Miller et al. 324, NY); jobo (Miller et al. 327, NY); pitch-kuhl (Popoluca, Miller et al. 323, NY); Guerrero: ciruelo de jardín ( Germán et al. 239, NY); México: ciruelo del zorro (Hinton 3217, NY); Oaxaca: cuachalalate (Flores M. 1218, NY); Sinaloa: ciruelo de coyote (Gentry 7108, NY); Puebla: guajite (Nahuatl, Mendoza & Amith 1447, NY), ciruela simarrón (Spanish, Mendoza & Amith 1447, NY); Veracruz: ciruelo natural (Miller et al. 314, NY); Nicaragua: walak (Ulwa, Coe 2959, MO) Puerto Rico: jobillo (Little, Jr. 16442, NY); Panama: ciruela san juanero (Miller et al. 294, NY), ciruela morada (Miller et al. 237, NY), jobito (Miller et al. 258, NY), ciruela traqueadora (Miller et al. 241, NY); ciruela amarilla (Miller et al. 252, NY); ciruela de casa (Miller et al. 255, NY); Peru. San Martin: ushún (Schunke Vigo 14495, NY).

Economic botany.

Some cultivated populations preserve genetic diversity of the species which may have been lost from wild populations ( Miller and Schaal 2005); this is due to the highly fragmented and reduced extent of tropical dry forests in Mexico and Central America ( Mooney et al. 1995). In addition to being introduced and possibly naturalized in tropical America, it has also been introduced in the Paleotropics, especially in the Philippines (not coincidentally a former Spanish colony).

Most cultivated populations of Spondias purpurea are apparently parthenocarpic ( Juliano 1932, Miller and Schaal 2005); the major means of propagation is by stem cuttings ( Cuevas 1994, Macía-Barco and Barfod 2000). The species is sometimes grown in large orchards, but it is most commonly planted as a living fence or as individual fruit trees in home gardens.

The primary use is for its fruits, which are eaten raw or made into juices, alcoholic beverages (for flavoring or fermented), or less often preserves ( Morton 1987, Cuevas 1994, Macía-Barco 1997). The fruits are reportedly high in vitamin C ( Kolzio and Macía-Barco 1998). The fruits of cultivated varieties range in color from red, orange, green, or purple; the pulp (mesocarp) is usually thicker, sweeter and less acid than that of wild populations. The leaves and young shoots have been boiled or used in salads ( Lim 2012). Phylogeographic evidence suggests multiple domestications of the species ( Miller and Schaal 2005, 2006; Miller 2008).

A limited number of medicinal uses for the species have been recorded. In French Guiana it has been used to purify the blood ("clarifie le sang," Prévost 1988, NY; plant part and preparation not specified). In Panama, a leaf infusion has been used for skin problems (Miller et al. 260, NY). In Sinaloa, Mexico, the leaves are eaten raw (H. S. Gentry 7108, NY). In Nicaragua, a decoction of the bark and leaves is used as an abortifacient and to treat fever, malaria, diarrhea (Coe 2959, MO).

Selected specimens examined.

BAHAMAS. Andros: Mangrove Cay, along ridge road in Grant’s Town, 23 July 1978, Correll 50042 (NY). BELIZE. Cayo District: Arenal Village, on Guatemalan border near Benque Viejo del Carmen, 17 Aug 1981, Ratter R4669 (NY). BOLIVIA. Santa Cruz: Prov. Andrés Ibánez, 8-10 km S of center of Santa Cruz city, 17°52'S, 63°10'W, 1 Jan 1992, B. Mostacedo 237 (MO); Prov. Velasco, Parque Nacional Noel Kempff M., Campamento La Torre, 13°38'24"S, 60°47'45"W, 23 Nov 1993, Quevedo et al. 2548 (NY). BRAZIL. Acre: Mun. Rio Branco, Fazenda Experimental Catuaba, off km 22 of BR-364 (Rio Branco-Porto Velho), 500 m from highway by house along un paved road leading to station, 10°06'S, 67°36'W, 23 Sep, Daly 13105 (HUFAC, NY); Amazonas: Manaus, Chapéu de Palha, Vila Municipal (cultivated), 22 Dec 1973, Prance & Steward 20105 (NY); Bahia: Mun. Juazeiro, 7 km S of Juazeiro along BR407, grounds of Pousada Juazeiro (cultivated), 9°25'S, 40°35'W, 23 Jan 1993, Thomas et al. 9567 (NY); Mato Grosso do Sul: Mun. Jardim, Boqueirão, (cultivated), 14 Mar 2004, Hatschbach et al. 77113 (US). COLOMBIA. Antioquia: Mpio. de Venecia, 4.2 km E of Bolombolo on road to Venecia, Hacienda La Plata (cultivated), 6°01'N, 75°48'W, elev. 920 m, 12 Mar 1987, Zarucchi & Echeverry 4665 (MO, NY); Chocó: Riosucio, Sautata, Parque Nacional Las Katios, 7°50'N, 77°06'W, 90 m, 11 Feb 1992, Palacio 25 (MEDEL); Huila: outskirts of Garzón town, near 2°11'57"N, 75°38'59"W, elev. ca. 780 m, 23 Oct 2010, (cult.) Daly et al. 13968 (COAH, NY). Santa Marta: Masinga, elev. 250 ft., 27 Mar 1898, H. H. Smith 1746 (GH, NY). COSTA RICA. Guanacaste: Cantón Bagaces, Valle del Tempisque, Sen dero La Venada y Sendero Guayacancito, 10°21'N, 85°21'W, 24 May 1994, Chavarría 958 (NY); Puntarenas: Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve, 0-200 m, 9°35'N, 85°06'W, 1-7 Dec 1969, Burger & Liesner 6667 (NY). CUBA. Camaguey: Cayo Ballenato Grande (cultivated), 22 Mar 1909, Shafer 1035a (NY); Pinar del Río: Guayabal, 24 Feb. 1911, Britton et al. 9592 (NY). DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. La Vega: 2-3 km from Higuero (de Bayacanes) toward Jagua Gorda, 19°15'N, 70°36'W, elev. 280 m, 29 Sep 1981, Zanoni et al. 16840 (NY). ECUADOR. Esmeraldas: Borbón, edge of town ( “planted?”), 25 Apr 1943, Little 6366 (NY); Guayas: Isla Puná, path from Puná Nueva to Las Pozas, 2°45'S, 79°54'W, 28 May 1987, J. Madsen 63428 (NY); Loja: Bosque Petrificado de Puyango on Loja side of river, 3°54'S, 80°54'W, elev. 380 m, 24 Aug 1996, Lewis 2520 (MO). EL SALVADOR. Ahuachapán: Río Paz, along Canaleto Road, 13°54'02"N, 90°01'96"W, elev. 101 m, 6 Mar 2002, Monro et al. 3624 (MO). FRENCH GUIANA: Bourg de Maripasoula, basin of Maroni River (cultivated), 3°37'N, 54°05'W, 9 Dec 1988, Fleury 729 (NY). GRENADA: St. Patrick, River Sallee, 12°12'N, 61°37'W, 15 June 2001, Hawthorne et al. 519 (FHO, NY). GUATEMALA. Alta Verapaz: Kobán, elev. 1350 m, 1907, von Türckheim II=1778 (GH); Izabal: Puerto Barrios, ca. 20 km from town on road to Machacas (cultivated), 15°46'N, 88°32'W, 9 Mar 1988, Marshall et al. 356 (NY). GUYANA: Demerara: east coast, Nabaclis (cultivated), 30 Jun 1970, Omawale & Persaud 118 (NY). HONDURAS. Comayagua: 75 mi. SW of Salitron, 15°00'58"N, 87°35'14"W, 15 May 1981, Meigs 1197 (BRIT). JAMAICA. Manchester: Marshall’s Pen, 2.25 map miles NW of Mandeville, 2300 ft, 8 Jun 1976, Thorne & Proctor 48066 (NY). MARTINIQUE: SaintPierre (cultivated), 1879, Père Duss 326 (NY). MEXICO. Campeche: Mpio. Calakmul, Zoh-Laguna, elev. 290 m, 18°35'39"N, 89°24'48"W, 19 May 1997 (MO). Chiapas: San Miguel Chimalapa, old road to Sta. María Chimalapa y Cofraclia, 16°42'20"N, 93°31'56"W, elev. 652 m, 14 Jun 2002, Miller et al. 323 (NY); Colima: Manzanillo, 1-31 Dec 1890, Palmer 998 (GH, NY); Guerrero: Mun. Eduardo Neri (Zumpango del Río), Amyaltepec, between there and Xalitla, Puerto el Rancho, hill E of intersection of roads to Amyaltepec, Xalitle, San Juan, toward río Tepecuacuilco, 17°58'00"N, 99°31'50"W, elev. 900 m, 4 Oct 2001, Amith & Hall 241 (NY); Jalisco: Chamela: Mpio. La Huerta, Estación de Biología, Chamela (UNAM), 12 Dec 1982, Bullock 1061 (MO); San Francisco de Ixcatán, Paso de Guadalupe (cult. from wild-collected seed), elev. 934 m, 20°50'16"N, 103°19'37"W, 23 May 2002, Miller et al. 275 (NY); México: Dto. Temascaltepec, Tejupilco, elev. 1340 m, 27 Jan 1933, Hinton 3217 (A, NY); Michoacán: Mun. Apatzingan, Chiquihuitillo, ca. 5 km SE of Apatzingan along road to Nueva Italia (cultivated), 257 m, 19°00'31"N, 102°20'16"W, 2 Jun 2002, Miller & Avila-Días 306 (NY); Nayarit: Mun. Tepic, Guadalajara-Mazatlán highway, elev. 632 m, 21°37'02"N, 104°58'03"W, 24 May 2002, Miller et al. 279 (MO, NY); Oaxaca: Mpio. San Miguel Chimalapa, old trail to Sta. Maria Chimalapa y Coraclia (cultivated), 16°42'52"N, 94°14'53"W, elev. 125 m, 13 Jun 2002, Miller et al. 322; Sinaloa: Culiacán and vicinity, Laguna Colorado, 21 Oct 1944, H. Gentry 7108 (GH, NY); Sonora: Quirosoba, Río Fuerte 17 Mar 1935, Gentry 1435 (A); Veracruz: km 28 of Tuxtepec-Valle Nacional road (cultivated), elev. 684 m, 17°52'37"N, 96°12'04"W, 10 Jun 2002, Miller et al. 314 (NY). NICARAGUA. Boaco: N slope of Cerro Mombachito and adjacent plain, between Cerro and main road (Boaco-Camoapa), ca. 12°24'N, 85°32'W, 8 Oct 1979, Stevens & Grijalva 14724 (NY). PANAMA. Bocas del Toro: Punta Peña (cultivated), 8°54'52"N, 82°11'10"W, elev. 90 m, 30 Aug 2001, Miller et al. 258 (NY). Darién: Mamey Village, 8 Mar 1982, Whitefoord & Eddy 434 (BM). PERU. Cusco: La Convención, Dist. Echarate, Papelpata, 12°45'45"S, 72°35'03"W, elev. 320 m, 28 Feb 2008, Suclli et al. 2926 (MO); Loreto: Yurimaguas, lower río Huallaga, elev. 135 m, 22 Aug-9 Sep 1929, Killip & Smith 27661 (NY); Cajamarca: San Ignacio, San Martín del Chinchipe, 5°19'16"S, 78°41'55"W, elev. 1000 m, 15 Sep 1999, Flores et al. 151 (MO); Cusco: La Convención, Dist. Huayopata, Abra de Málaga, 13°08'20"S, 72°18'16"W, elev. 370 m, 3 Dec 2003, Valenzuela et al. 2457 (NY); San Martín: Pongo de Cainarachi, río Cainarachi, tributary of río Huallaga, elev. 230 m, Sep-Oct 1932, Klug 2610 (A, NY). PUERTO RICO: Mun. Ciales, Reserva Tres Picachos, N of Road 533 at km marker 3.5, 18.232705° N, 66.540775°W, elev. 630 m, 20 Aug 2008, Atha et al. 6690 (NY). ST THOMAS: Bluebeard’s Castle (cultivated), 1-9 Mar 1924, Britton & Britton 218 (NY). TRINIDAD: Tahaquite, 30 Oct 1918, Broadway s.n. UNITED STATES. Florida. Miami: in pinelands, 1-30 Nov 1904, Small 2283 (NY). VENEZUELA. Aragua: Tovar, valley of Macarao, elev. 1000 m, 1854-55, Fendler 1308 (GH); D.F.: Caracas and vicinity, elev. 3000-3500 ft., 20 Jan 1921, Bailey & Bailey s.n. (NY).

Conservation status.

Although this species often occurs in dry forests and although local populations may be threatened, we consider this species to be of Least Concern because it has a relatively broad range, moreover it is widely cultivated.

Discussion.

Spondias purpurea is the most distinctive of the species occurring in the Neotropics. It is strictly dioecious and often ramiflorous, the inflorescence a pseudoracemose panicle or botryoid (versus a much-branched panicle), the calyx red, the petals petals red to purple (yellow in one cultivar), spreading to suberect at anthesis (vs. white to cream to greenish-yellow and reflexed), the disk often pink, and styles much less than half the length of the pistil. Moreover, it usually flowers before (not during or after) leaf flush, the sepals are slightly imbricate at base and rotund to ovate vs. apert and deltate or less often triangular, and the stigmas are slightly introrse to capitate (vs. extrorse) as the ovary develops.