Licania platycalyx (Cuatrec.) Sothers & Prance, 2014

Sothers, Cynthia, Prance, Ghillean T., Buerki, Sven, Kok, Rogier De & Chase, Mark W., 2014, Taxonomic novelties in Neotropical Chrysobalanaceae: towards a monophyletic Couepia, Phytotaxa 172 (2), pp. 176-200 : 193-194

Licania platycalyx (Cuatrec.) Sothers & Prance , comb. nov.

Basionym: Couepia platycalyx Cuatrecasas (1950: 66) . Type:— COLOMBIA. Cundinamarca , 04 June 1939, Cuatrecasas & Pérez- Arbeláez 15336 (holotype F!, isotypes COL!, US!) .

Illustration:— Prance & Sothers (2003b: 50).

Distribution and habitat: — Costa Rica, Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador. Occurs in higher altitude Andean and Central American forests, from 1000 m to 2700 m, but has been recorded from 250 m.

Conservation status: — Licania platycalyx occurs over an extensive geographic range encompassing four countries, however, it is restricted to higher altitudes and therefore is here assessed as near threatened, NT ( IUCN 2001). This species was assessed as EN for Colombia alone ( Calderón et al. 2002).

Selected specimens examined: — COSTA RICA. Limón: Cantón de Talamanca, Bratsi, Alto Lari , Kivut , 15 March 1992, Aguilar & Schmidt 1133 ( INB!, K!, MO!) . Heredia: Cantón de Sarapiqui, Rara Avis , 15 km SW of Horquetas, 2 October 1989, Vargas 175 ( CR!, K!, MO!) . VENEZUELA. Lara: Distr. Jiménez, camino entre San Carlos y el camino a Sanare , 15 km S of Sanare, 9 August 1970, Steyermark et al. 103618 ( M!, NY!, S!, VEN!) . COLOMBIA. Antióquia: Mun. de El Retiro , 4 km WNW of Cabecera of Quebrada La Agudelo, 12 April 1980, Bernal & Galeano 142 ( HUA) . Mun. de Yarumal: 1–5 km on road to San Fermin de Briceño , 4–5 June 1989, Luteyn & Escobar 13275 ( NY!) . Valle: Res. Nat. El Refugio Torremdinos, Mun. de Dagua , December 1988, Calderón-Sáenz 143 C ( K!) . ECUADOR. Esmeraldas: Quinindé, Bilsa Biological Station, Reserva Ecológica Mache-Chindul , 11 March 1998, Clark et al. 4639 ( K!, MO!, QCNE) .

Notes: — Licania [as Couepia ] platycalyx was described by Cuatrecasas (1950), who noted that the species was “an extraordinary member of this genus and of the Chrysobalanoideae ”, and placed it in Couepia “on account of the strongly lateral insertion of the ovary and the numerous stamens”. Prance (1972a) saw only the type and one other specimen so was reluctant to make a change, although uncertain about its affinity to Couepia , since the fruits and the position of the ovary differ from all other Couepia .

Licania platycalyx shares a similar receptacle and leaf morphology with Licania , but differs in the position the ovary, which is laterally inserted on the wall of the receptacle rather than at the base, as in most other Licania . Licania licaniiflora ( Sagot 1883: 308) Blake (1917: 66) , also has a laterally inserted ovary, but differs significantly from L. platycalyx in other characters.