Revisional study of neotropical Beilschmiedia species (Lauraceae ...

Tree, to 20 m tall. Terminal buds pubescent with erect short curly hairs. Twigs terete,
angular when young, densely pubescent with erect short curly hairs, less denser when old.
Leaves alternate; petioles 1-1.5 (2) em long, almost flat above, sparsely pubescent with erect
short curly hairs, concolorous with twigs; blades coriaceous, obovate, rarely elliptic, 6-13 x
4-7 em; base cuneate, not inrolled, apex obtuse; leaf surface glabrous on both sides, lower
leaf surface glaucous; midrib immersed above, raised below, secondary veins 7-11 pairs,
almost immersed, rarely impressed above, raised below, tertiary veins percurrent,
ramification fine, areolate without free veinlets, imn1ersed above, raised below.
Inflorescences axillary, paniculate, 5-12 em long, sparsely pubescent with erect short curly
hairs or almost glabrous, with 20-30 flowers per inflorescence flower pedicels of the lateral
divisions 0.5-0.7 (1) mm long, pedicels of the central flowers up to 2 mm long. Flowers
creamy, ca. 2.3 mm long, ca. 2.6 mm in diam.; tepals 6, equal, ovate, ca. 1.5 mm long, ca.
1.2 mm wide, sparsely pubescent with erect hairs on both sides; stamens 9, filaments ca.
0.4 mm long, pubescent; anthers ca. 1 mm long, all anthers 2-celled, apex of the anthers
obtuse, apex of the anthers glabrous, glands of the innermost three stamens globose;
staminodia 3, triangular in outline, ca. 0.7 mm long; pistil ca. 1.5 mm long, glabrous, ovary
as long as the style or longer than and gradually narrowed into the style; receptacle sparsely
pubescent with appressed hairs. Fruits ellipsoid or obovoid, black, 5.5-6.5 x 2-2.5 em, the
surface smooth; infructescence axis 3-4 mm in diam., fruit pedicels thickened to 4-6 mm in
diam. below the fruit; fruit pedicels not constricted at the base, covered with lenticels and
almost concolorous with the infructescence axis.
Phenology: Collected in flower in April, with relatively mature fruit in January and March.
Distribution: Costa Rica and Panama, 1000-1600 m alt. (Fig. 11).
Habitat: Pren1ontane forest.
Common name: unknown.
Economic use: unknown.
Additional specimens examined: Costa Rica. Alajuela: Cerros de la Palma de San Ram6n, 1300-1500
malt., Jan. 24, 1984 (fr.), Gomez 9800 (CR, F). Guanacaste: Parque Nacional Guanacaste, Estaci6n Cacao,
Liberia, 10°55'45"N 8Y28'15"W, 1100 m alt., Dec. 11, 1990 (immature fr.), Chavez 433 (MO); 1km N of La
Cruz, 10°2 l'N 84°50'W, ca. 1480 malt., Mar.10.1996 (immature fr.), Yasuda 1313 (INB, MO). Puntarenas:
Canton de Tilaran 4-5 km NW Monteverde, at and just below Continental Divide, 2-4 km W of Santa Elena
between road to Canitas and upper road to Las Nubes, 10° 20'N 84°49'W, 1400-1500 m alt., Apr. 11, 1992 (fl.),
63