Trichilia elegans A. Juss. subsp. richardiana (A. Juss.) T.D. Penn., Fl. Neotrop.

Pennington, Terence D., 2016, Systematic Treatment Of American Trichilia (Meliaceae), Phytotaxa 259 (1), pp. 18-162 : 56-57

11b. Trichilia elegans A. Juss. subsp. richardiana (A. Juss.) T.D. Penn., Fl. Neotrop. 28: 88 (1981). Map 17

Trichilia richardiana A. Juss. in A. St.-Hil., Fl. Bras., Mer. 2: 78 (1829). Type:— BRAZIL, Rio de Janeiro, near Rio de Janeiro, fl., St.- Hilaire s.n. (holotype, P).

For synonymy see FN 28: 88 (1981). Illustration: FN 28: 85, fig. 11 (1981).

MAP 17. Distribution of Trichilia elegans A.Juss. subsp. richardiana (A.Juss.)T.D.Penn. Solid dots, distribution pre-1981, open dots new records 1981–2010.

Distribution & Ecology. Brazil from the mouth of the Amazon (Pará), through Maranhão and Ceará, southwards to Rio de Janeiro. Throughout most of its range it is a species of lowland rain forest. In Ceará there is no information on its ecology, and there it may be present in seasonal semi-deciduous vegetation.

Representative Additional Collections. BRAZIL. Bahia: Municipio Jequie, 14.7 km S of Mandacarú (SW1340), Thomas et al. 13889 (NY). Ceará: Serra da Araripe, Araras (SW0647, Luetzelburg 26399 (K). Espirito Santo: Municipio Guarapari, Rodovia do Sul (SW2040), Kallunki & Pirani 335 (K). Maranhão: Municipio de Altamira, Igarapé Ipixuna (SW0452), Balee & Ribeiro 1700 (K). Minas Gerais: Caratinga (SW1942), Couto 120 (K). Pará: Altamira, EMBRAPA Station (SW0352), Bahía 40 (F). Rio de Janeiro: Alto Boa Vista, Estrada Vista Chinesa (SW2243), Oliveira 621 (K).

Relationships. The extensive geographical distribution, and great ecological and morphological variability of this species have been discussed at length (FN28: 88 (1981)). The ITS placement of T. fasciculata and T. pallens nested between the two accessions of T. elegans suggests that a broadly based study of all the variants of this species is required to evaluate their correct status.