Alfaroa hondurensis
Alfaroa hondurensis is a Central American tree species from the family of the walnut family ( Juglandaceae ).
Features
Alfaroa hondurensis is a large forest tree of height up to 25 m. The wood is pink. The branches bear oval to oblong lenticels that are darker than the surrounding bark. The branches are bare, young but possibly scaly. Branch - ends and petioles are sometimes coated with a waxy layer that is penetrated by resin drops. The young leaves are covered with a resinous excretion. The leaves are opposite, each pair of equal size and up to 30 cm long. The petiole is 4 to 4.5 cm long and swollen to the point of attachment. The rachis is 10 cm long, glabrous or covered with a waxy layer, but it disappears with age. There are 6-8 leaflets, in rare cases, the number is odd. The leaves are elliptic to oblong- lanceolate, acute to acuminate, glabrous on top, filled at the bottom with numerous small scales. A leaflet is about 11 to 16 cm long and 3.8 to 5 cm wide. The underside is much brighter than the top. The stems of the leaflets are 2 to 4 mm long, swollen at the base.
Inflorescence and flowers of the species were not known when the first description in 1959.
The fruit is oblong- ovate, flattened round in cross section to easily. The surface is not hairy, dark brown and filled with many small lenticels pustelförmigen. The fruit has no or only faint longitudinal ribs. It is about 6.5 cm long and 2.5 to 3 cm in diameter. The scar remains on the fruit. The endocarp wall is thick ( 4-5 mm) and very hard. The ovary is achtfächrig in the middle.
Dissemination
The type specimen was found in Honduras, near El Sauce, near Lake Yojoa, in the department of Santa Bárbara, at 1200 m above sea level. The species is geographically well separated from the vegetative quite similar Alfaroa manningii.
The species is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN.
Documents
Wayne E. Manning: Alfaroa and Engelhardtia in the New World. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, Volume 86, 1959, pp. 190-198. ( JSTOR )