Otoba latialata (Pittier) Gentry (1979: 417)

Jaramillo-Vivanco, Tatiana S. & Balslev, Henrik, 2020, Revision of Otoba (Myristicaceae), Phytotaxa 441 (2), pp. 143-175 : 162

Otoba latialata (Pittier) Gentry (1979: 417) .

Basionym: Dialyanthera latialata Pittier (1922: 454) .

Type :— PANAMA. Rio Fató , above Nombre de Dios , Caribbean coast, Aug 1911, Pittier 4193, staminate (holotype: US!; isotypes: G, NY!) .

Tree to 20 m tall; branchlets terete, glabrescent. Petiole 15–40(–60) × 6–14 (including wings) mm, winged; lamina 20–50 × 9–18 cm, elliptic or obovate-elliptic, base attenuate, apex cuspidate, short acuminate or acute, rugose; usually whitish and glabrescent below; secondary veins (17–)20–25 per side, obscurely or not anastomosing; intramarginal veins absent. Staminate inflorescence axillary or on defoliated nodes, 10(–20) cm long, sessile or with a 1–3 cm long peduncle; partial inflorescences 1–3, peduncle 5 cm long, pubescent to glabrescent, ca. 75-flowered; umbelliform parts alternate or opposite, 15 flowers; bracteoles absent. Staminate flowers with pedicel 5–12 mm long; perianth 2.5–3.5 mm long, fused for ca. 1/3 or less of its length, inner surface smooth, without a swollen ring, lobes 3; androecium 1.8–1.9 mm long; filament column bottle-shaped (broadly thickened at base), fused but somewhat free distally; anthers globose, apex obtuse, dorsally attached to the filaments apex, ca. 0.3 mm long. Pistillate inflorescence similar to the staminate one, but to 5 cm long; partial inflorescence ca. 15-flowered; umbelliform parts ca. 6-flowered. Pistillate flowers similar to the staminate ones but with pedicel 2 mm long; perianth 4–5 mm long, fused for 1/4 of its length; gynoecium 4 mm long; ovary glabrous, obconical and stalked, ca. 3 × 2 mm; stigmatic lobes free or fused along one side, ca. 1 mm long. Infructescence with 2–4 fruits, to 11 cm long. Fruit 2–3 cm in diam, globose, base truncate, apex mucronate to acute, apparently glabrous; pericarp 2 mm thick; aril white, almost transparent, laciniate for 3/4 of its length; seed ca. 1.5 cm in diam., with a prickle near the apex.

Representative specimens examined:— COSTA RICA. Puntarenas: Río Piedras Blancas, vicinity of Río Esquinas, Allen 5591 ( F). San José: Acosta, Cuenca del Pirris-Dama, between Río Tiquires and Zoncuano, Grayum & Morales 20786 ( F). PANAMA. Coclé: Road from La Pintada to Coclesito, 8º45’N, 80º30’W, Hamilton & Davidse 2859 ( MO). Colón: Near Peluca, km 25.6 from transisthmian highway on the road to Nombre de Dios, up-stream on tributary to Río Boquerón, Kennedy 2647 ( AAU). Darién: Between Quebrada Venado and Peje swamp on the headwaters of Río Tuqueza, Dwyer 62 ( F, NY). Panamá: Tributary of Rio Chagres, 5 miles SW of Cerro Brewster, 1967, Lewis 3430 ( MO nv). San Blas: Comarca of San Blas, Río Taimdi, 6 km above confluence with Río Mandinga, Nevers & Herrera 7662 ( NY). COLOMBIA. Antioquia: Dabeiba Municipality, 4 km Dabeiba–Chigorodo, Callejas et al. 4751 ( NY). Chocó: Río Mutata, tributary of Río El Valle between Alto de Buey and mouth River, Gentry & Fallen 17287 ( F, MO). Nariño: Reserva Natural La Planada, a 7 km de Chucunés, 1987, Hopkins 9031 ( INPA nv). Valle del Cauca: Old road Cali–Buenaventura, ca. 2–13 km N of Anchicaya, 1984, Luteyn 10379 ( NY).

Distribution:— Same distribution and elevational range as O. gracilipes , but not been found in Ecuador, where we suspect it may occur ( Fig. 9). The two species are easily separated by the size of their leaves as explained under O. gracilipes . Also, it overlaps geographically with O. lehmannii , O. gordoniifolia and O. novogranatensis , but can be distinguished from O. lehmannii and O. gordoniifolia by its indument on the lower leaf surface ( O. latialata has whitish and glabrescent indumenta vs. ferruginous and densely pubescent), with O. novogranatensis by its staminate flowers (filaments free in O. novogranatensis vs. filaments fused in a bottle-shaped column) and in female plants by pubescence of the ovary ( O. latialata with a glabrous ovary) and fruit size ( O. latialata has smaller fruits that are 2.0–3.0 cm in diameter vs. 3.0–5.5 x 2.5–4.0 cm).

Conservation status:— NT, near threatened ( Cogollo et al. 2007).

Notes:— Latex whitish or clear-watery. In living plants, leaves are brownish below when young becoming whitish; flowers are green-yellow to orange; fruits are green with a white aril in young fruits, transparent in ripe ones.

Vernacular names:— Zapatero, pilón ( Costa Rica); guangare, sangre de gallina ( Colombia).