Eperua jenmanii Oliv. subsp. sandwithii R.S. Cowan (1975: 37)

Fortes, Elenice A., Dos, Ilka P., Steege, Hans Ter, Aymard, Gerardo, Secco, Ricardo De S., Martins-Da-Silva, Regina Célia V. & Mansano, Vidal F., 2023, A taxonomic revision of the genus Eperua (Leguminosae, Detarioideae, Detarieae), Phytotaxa 617 (1), pp. 1-127 : 68-69

10b. Eperua jenmanii Oliv. subsp. sandwithii R.S. Cowan (1975: 37)

Type: — VENEZUELA. Bolivar : Raudaul Guaiquinima, 200 m elev., 16–19 January 1952, Maguire B. 33136 (holotype NY [00004381] image!; isotypes F [0057802] image!, GH not seen, P [00252890] image!, RB [00539604]!, US [00001147]!) .

Inflorescences glabrous; bracts and bracteoles glabrous, ciliate, pedicel, buds, and hypanthium glabrous; stamens sheath shorter side 4.5–13.0 mm long, longer side 6.1–18.0 mm long.

Phenology:— Flowering in January, March, April, May, July, August, September, and November; fruiting in March, May, September, October, and December.

Distribution:— Unlike the type subspecies it occurs mainly in the Orinoco River basin in Venezuela (Caura, Caroni, Paragua rivers). But it was also collected in Brazil’s upper Uraricoera River and the Kako River in Guyana.

Habitat:— Floodplain forests (e.g. in Mora dominated forest), on white sand and laterite soils, at 107–1000 m elev.

Occurrence in protected areas:— Unknown.

Etymology:— The epithet sandwithii is a tribute to N.Y. Sandwith, a botanist who collected and revised the genus Eperua in Guyana ( Cowan 1975, Sandwith 1931).

Vernacular names:— concha-de-suela (Blanco C.A. 598, Liesner R.L. & González A.C. 5860), opai-yek (Maguire B. et al. 46734), tehuwadu (Maiongong name, Milliken W. 2106), tumai-yek (Steyermark J.A. 75537).

Uses:— Unknown.

Taxonomic notes:— Eperua jenmanii subsp. sandwithii differs from the type subspecies by its glabrous bracts, bracteoles, inflorescence, and hypanthium (vs. puberulent in subsp. jenmanii ), and the stamens sheath tends to be smaller (vs. larger in subsp. jenmanii ). Cowan (1975) described this subspecies as having epunctate leaflets, but the isotype at RB herbarium clearly shows pellucid-punctate glands in the leaflets. Furthermore, observations revealed that both subspecies have blades ranging from epunctate to pellucid-punctate.

Specimens examined:— BRAZIL. Roraima, Alto Alegre , environs of the Maiongon village close to the FUNAI PIN Uaikas on the (alto) rio Uraricoera , 300 m elev., 3°33’0”N 60°28’0”W [inaccurate coordinate not in upper Uraricoera River, not added to map], September 1994, Milliken W. 2106 ( INPA , K, MIRR, NY); vicinity of Uaicá airstrip, rio Uraricoera , river margin, 2°53’0”N 63°36’0”W–3°33’0”N 63°11’0”W, 07 March 1971, Prance G.T. et al. 10871 ( F, INPA , K, MG, NY, R, U, US). VENEZUELA. Bolívar, Aripao, rio Caura, 5 –20 km sur (rio arriba) del campamento las Pavas (salto Para), 220–240 m elev., 6°15’0”N 64°25’0”W, May 1982, Morillo G. & Liesner R.L. 8886 ( US); Caño Pablo, tributary of Río Caura, ca 6–9 km east of Río Caura ca 10 km east south of Las Pavas ( Salto Para ), 240 m elev., 6°14’0”N 64°23’0”W, 10 May 1982, Liesner R.L. & Morillo G. 13972 ( US). Barceloneta, Sierra Ichun: María Espuma ( Salto Ichun ) along the rio Ichun , tributary of rio Paragua , 500–625 m elev., 4°46’0”N 63°18’0”W, 29 December 1961, Steyermark J.A. 90416 ( US). Gran Sabana, Chimatá Massif, vinicity of base camp, near Río Tirica , lower southwestern slopes of Chimantá-tepuí (Torono-tepuí), 1000 m elev., 24 May 1953, Steyermark J.A. 75537 ( F).