Paullinia degranvillei Acev.-Rodr.,, 2011

Acevedo-Rodriguez, Pedro, 2011, Four new species of Sapindaceae from the Guianas, PhytoKeys 7, pp. 11-20 : 12

Paullinia degranvillei Acev.-Rodr., sp. nov. Fig. 2

Latin

A Paullinia obovata (Ruiz & Pav.) Pers. folioliis nervo reticulatis e fructo pyriformes diversa.

Type.

French Guiana. Crique Caiman, rive gauche de l’ Oyapock à environ 70 km SW St. Georges, de Granville T-1065 (holotype: CAY!; isotypes: CAY!, P, US!).

Description.

Liana to 30 m long. Stems terete, lenticellate, ferruginous, minutely sericeous-pubescent; cross section of stem with a single vascular cylinder. Stipules ca. 0.5 mm long, triangular, early deciduous. Leaves pinnately 5-foliolate; petioles (1) 7-9 cm long; unwinged, adaxially furrowed, sericeous-pubescent to glabrous; rachis 2-8 cm long, narrowly winged or margined, sericeous-pubescent to glabrous; petiolules of distal and lateral leaflets 2-2.5 cm long, glabrous; leaflets (3.5) 12-22 × (2.7) 5.5-8 cm, elliptic, coriaceous, glabrous, the base acute or obtuse on lateral and basal leaflets, attenuate on distal leaflet, the apex obtusely acuminate to caudate, glandular at the very tip, the margins crenate or remotely glandular-dentate, revolute; venation prominent abaxially; tertiary venation reticulate. Thyrses 3-23 cm long, axillary, solitary, racemiform, with sericeous-pubescent axes; cincinni sessile, few-flowered. Flowers unknown (remnant sepals sericeous). Capsule 4-5 cm long, woody, pyriform, unwinged, reddish, long-stipitate (5-8 mm long), glabrous, pericarp ca. 4 mm thick, endocarp sparsely pubescent or glabrous. Seed unknown.

Distribution and ecology.

Known only from French Guiana, from submontane forest.

Additional specimen examined.

French Guiana. Monts Atachi Bacca, 780 m elev., de Granville et al. 10833 (B, CAY, US).

Discussion.

Paullinia degranvillei seems to be closely related to Paullinia obovata (Ruiz & Pav.) Pers. as they both have large, unwinged capsules with a thick mesocarp. Paullinia degranvillei differs from Paullinia obovata by it leaflets with tertiary reticulate venation (vs. clathrate) and by its pyriform fruits (vs. obovoid).

Etymology.

The specific epithet honors Dr. Jean-Jacques de Granville, who collected the type of this new species.

Figures

Figure 2. Paullinia degranvillei. Photo of the holotype.