Eperua glabra Cowan

Eperua glabra Cowan

Eperua glabra Cowan, Brittonia 8:251, 9 Jan 1957.

Tree 5–20 m tall and to 30 cm in diameter, the bark variegated colored, conspicuously corkylenticillate, the branchlets glabrous, nitid; stipules caducous, foliaceous, falcate-lanceolate, glabrous, about 2.5 cm long and 1.5 cm wide; leaves glabrous, the petioles (10−)25–35 mm long, the rachis 11.5–19 cm long; leaflets 3- or 4-jugate, the petiolules 5–8 mm long, the blades epunctate, chartaceous, the lowest pair ovate, cordulate basally, 9.5–14.5 cm long, 5–7 cm wide, those of the other pairs elliptic, 11–17 cm long, 5–7.5 cm wide, the second pair obtuse basally, the upper two pairs acute at the base, all leaflets long-acuminate abruptly, the upper and lower surfaces of the leaflets strongly discolorous, the costa plane above, salient beneath, the venules minutely prominulous; inflorescence a pendent, terminal raceme of racemes to 3 m long, the lateral axes (2−)5–6 cm long, the axes glabrous, the bracts and bracteoles deciduous, glabrous except ciliolate marginally, about 2–3 mm long and wide, broadly ovate, the bracteoles arising near the pedicel base; flowers glabrous, the pedicels about 25 mm long, the hypanthium 5 mm long, funnel-form, the nectaries included within the hypanthial cup; sepals 20–22.5 mm long, 8–12.5 mm wide, elliptic, acute, two outer ones cucullate; petal glabrous, 28–30 mm long, 35–50 mm wide, flabelliform, truncate basally, mostly cream-colored but greenish at the base and rose-colored marginally, the petalodia ca. 1.2 mm long, oval, obtuse, glabrous; androecium glabrous, the staminal tube subequilateral, 2.5–3.5 mm long, all stamens fertile, the filaments ca. 78 mm long, the anthers 9 mm long, 2 mm wide, narrowly oblong; gynoecium glabrous, the stigma capitate, the style 60 mm long, the ovary 12.5 mm long, 3.5 mm wide, oblanceolate-oblong, 5-ovulate, the gynophore 8.5 mm long; immature fruit narrowly oblance-oblong, 22–30 cm long, 5–9.5 cm wide, arcuate, the carpophores 3.5–4 cm long.

TYPE COLLECTION.—N.G.L. Guppy 430 (FD No. 7445) (holotype NY, isotypes K, NY, US), near Chodikar Landing, Acarai Mts., 250 m elevation, Guyana, 17 October 1952.

DISTRIBUTION.—Known only from the type locality, the mountainous frontier separating Guyana and Brazil, where it is locally abundant.

GUYANA: Shodikar Creek, 8–22 Jan 1938, A. C. Smith 2882 (A, F, G, NY, U, US).