Bocoa viridiflora (Ducke) R.S.Cowan

Ireland, H. (2007). Taxonomic Changes in the South American Genus Bocoa (Leguminosae-Swartzieae): Reinstatement of the Name Trischidium, and a Synopsis of Both Genera. Kew Bulletin, 62(2), 333-349. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20443359

Type

Brazil, Manaos, silvis loco alto ultra Flores, 29 Nov. 1932. A. Ducke 24219 (lectotype RB! (chosen by Cowan, 1974); isolectotypes F [fragment]!, G!, K!, MAD, NY., P, U, US).

Morphology General Habit

Tree 15 - 30 m tall

Morphology Trunk

DBH 20 - 42 cm

Morphology General Bark

Bark smooth, shallowly cracked, brown, exuding a red sap

Morphology Stem

Young and older branchlets glabrous

Morphology Leaves

Leaf rachis 35 - 93 mm, glabrous, channelled above; petiole (12 -)18 - 55 mm long; leaflets opposite or occasionally sub opposite, (1)3-foliolate, often with a large 'tulip shaped' resting bud in the leaf axil, elliptic, glabrous above and beneath, the terminal leaflet 80 -175 mm long, 44- 63 mm wide, lateral leaflets 46- 117 mm long, 27- 60 mm wide; costa and lateral veins slightly raised beneath; petiolule channelled above, 5 - 7 mm long, c. 1.5 mm wide, glabrous

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Inflorescence ramiflorous, in clusters of 2 - 8, 30 - 95 mm long, the axis sparsely tomentulose to glabrous; floral bract c. 1 mm long, broadly deltoid, caducous in fruit; pedicel c. 1 - 2 mm long, densely pubescent

Morphology General Buds

Buds 4 - 5 mm long, globose

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers fragrant, green; calyx splitting to the base into 2 - 4 irregular segments, recurved, pubescent externally, glabrous internally, caducous in fruit; stamens 25 - 30, anthers 1 - 1.5 mm long, 0.5 - 1 mm wide, oblong, splitting latitudinally, filaments 7 - 11 mm long; ovary and immature fruit glabrous, style 3 - 4.5 mm long, laterally positioned, curved at the tip, persistent in fruit

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Fruit body 24-45 mm long excluding remnants of the style, 11 - 20 mm wide, 5 - 10 mm broad, glabrous, the surface with a fine scaly texture, stipe c. 1 mm long

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seed ellipsoid, 28 mm long, 12 mm wide, 7 mm deep, with a white aril.

Distribution

Brazil (Pará and Amazonas), French Guiana, Surinam

Ecology

Tropical moist forest; 200 - 400 m alt.

Vernacular

Ijzerhart (Surinam).

Phenology

Flowering time: Sept. to Nov.

Note

From the Latin 'viridis' meaning green, and 'florus' meaning flower. This species resembles the monospecific genus Candolleodendron in the vegetative state and in fruit, and has a similar geographical distribution, both occurring in northern Brazil and French Guiana. It differs because Candolleodendron brachystachyum (DC.) R S. Cowan has more leaflets (5 - 7), with larger, more robust flowers that have longer (c. 5 mm) anthers that are basifixed, a petal, and a densely pubescent ovary. Results of a cladistic analysis of more than 60 species in the Swartzioid clade (sensu Ireland et al. 2000) using combined data from trnL and atpB-rbcL sequences showed C. brachystachyum and B. viridiflora to be sisters (unpublished data, Ben Torke, pers. comm.). Moreover, Kite and Ireland (2002) noted a chemical affinity between C. brachystachyum and B. viridiflora, both species containing the non-protein amino acid trans-5-hydroxypipecolic acid, which was not present in any Trischidium species or in B. prouacensis. This suggests that B. viridiflora might be more closely related to C brachystachyum than it is to B. prouacensis, but floral characters still place it in Bocoa, and until more information becomes available, it is proposed to keep it here.

International Legume Database and Information Service

Conservation

Not Threatened

Morphology General Habit

Perennial, Not climbing, Tree

Vernacular

Gombeira Amarela