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(Last Modified On 9/11/2013)
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(Last Modified On 9/11/2013)
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Species
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Pentagonia nuciformis Dwyer
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Note
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TYPE: Panama, Croat 23093 (MO, holotype).
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Description
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Trees to 17 m tall, the twigs terete, ultimately angular, the nodes moderately crowded; petiole scars oblong or obovate rotund, to 1 cm long. Leaves oblong, entire, 15-30 cm long, 5-16 cm wide, widely rounded or widely deltoid toward the apex, scarcely acuminate or with the acumen to 1 cm long, the costa prom- inulous above and ridgelike, prominent beneath, the lateral veins 12-14, at first strict, then arcuate toward the margin, the intervenal areas lineolate, thinly co- riaceous, glabrous; petioles 2-4 cm long, slightly dilated at the base, glabrous; stipules free, deltoid oblong, to 4 cm long, to 2 cm wide, acute, glabrous, cori- aceous, black when dry, with 2 well-spaced proximal keels converging toward the apex. Flowers not seen. Fruits ca. 15, axillary, oblong or subrotund, often angular, to 4 cm long, to 3 cm wide, nutlike, lignose, glabrous but with minute, brown scales, deciduous, the persistent calycine cup 0.3-0.5 cm long with a few glands within, the glands to 5 mm long, the lobes 5, often withered, oblong, equal to or longer than the tube, the pericarp lignose, to 4 mm thick, smooth and lightly reticulate within; seeds abundant, disposed as 2 oblong rotund clusters when dry, to 2 cm long, the individual seeds oblong, ca. 7 mm long, angular, shiny, minutely honeycombed in appearance.
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Habit
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Trees
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Distribution
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known only from Panama.
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Note
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The height of the tree and the large fruits immediately distinguish it from all other Central American species of the genus. Croat (pers. comm.) considers it strikingly different from the several species of Pentagonia with which he is familiar in the field; he points out that the tree branches freely. This is noteworthy as Pentagonia usually has a simple trunk.
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Specimen
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VERAGUAS: 5 mi W of Santa F6 on the road past Escuela Agricola Alto Piedra, Pacific side of divide, 800-1200 ft, Croat 23093 (MO).
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Tag
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Project Name
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