Terminalia catappa
Terminalia
tropical almond, West Indian or Indian or tropical almond
tropical almond
erect and horizontal with leaves clustered at ends of erect, short shoots, separated by longer, ± bare stem segments.
persistent or tardily deciduous (then turning red and plants briefly leafless);
petioles 5–28 mm;
blade obovate, 6–35 × 2.6–16.5 cm, base narrowly cuneate to rounded or narrowly and obscurely cordate, apex acuminate or short-acuminate to obtuse or rounded, surfaces glabrate to moderately pubescent abaxially, midvein and secondary veins sparsely to densely pubescent, with nectar glands near base, glabrous or glabrate adaxially, midvein densely to sparsely pubescent, at least basally;
with pit-domatia at junction of secondary and tertiary veins with midvein, or junction of tertiary with secondary veins, or other vein junctions.
persistent or tardily deciduous (plants then briefly leafless), alternate and spiral;
stipules present, appearing as fingerlike, multicellular, glandular hairs at petiole base;
petiole not differentiated proximally and no part of it persistent, nectar glands absent [sometimes with sessile glands], sessile glands sometimes present at blade base;
blade papery to leathery, venation brochidodromous [nearly eucamptodromous], apex acuminate, acute, mucronate, obtuse, retuse, or rounded;
with or without hair-tuft or pit- [pocket-] domatia abaxially, at junction of secondary and tertiary veins with midvein, or junction of tertiary with secondary veins, sometimes also at other vein junctions, without glands.
axillary, spikes, usually clustered on branches distally;
bracteoles absent.
5–25 cm, with bisexual flowers proximally, staminate flowers distally.
5-merous, bisexual and staminate;
free portion of hypanthium 1–2 mm;
sepals 1–2.8 mm;
stamens 3–4.5 mm;
style 3.5–4 mm.
somewhat conspicuous [inconspicuous], bisexual or bisexual and staminate on same plant, with staminate flowers distal [proximal] on spikes (or mixed with bisexual flowers);
hypanthium cupulate, free portion 1–2 mm, from constriction at apex of ovary, pubescent abaxially throughout or pubescent proximally and glabrous distally [glabrous throughout];
sepals 4 or 5, pale green, yellow, or white, sometimes red-tinged, triangular to ovate-triangular, glabrous abaxially or pubescent;
petals 0;
stamens [4–]8–10, exserted;
nectary disc lobate, atop ovary, pubescent;
ovary terete, straight to slightly curved;
style ± straight, free from hypanthium, pistillode absent in staminate flowers;
ovules 2 or 3.
green or red, slightly flattened, ovoid to ellipsoid, 35–70 × 20–50 mm, sparsely pubescent or glabrous;
with 2 well-developed ridges or wings;
hypanthium and calyx deciduous in age.
radially symmetric in cross section to slightly [strongly] flattened, ovoid to ellipsoid;
with 2 poorly developed ridges, 2 well-developed ridges or wings [2–5 well-developed wings], or 5 poorly developed and rounded lobes [terete and without lobes or wings];
hypanthium and calyx persistent or deciduous.
Terminalia catappa
Terminalia
Terminalia catappa is commonly used as an ornamental tree in southern Florida, and has naturalized in Brevard, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Species ca. 200 (4 in the flora).
The flowers, with their exposed nectar glands, attract a variety of insects. Terminalia has a distinctive branching pattern, in which the main axis is erect and monopodial and the lateral branches are horizontal and sympodial. On the lateral branches, each segment originates as a lateral branch within the terminal leaf cluster of the previous segment. At first, each lateral branch grows horizontally, but eventually its apex becomes erect as a short shoot, producing a new terminal leaf cluster. Each sympodium as a whole branches where two lateral shoots continue its growth, substituting for the erect, terminal short shoot.
Terminaliabuceras and T. molinetii often have been placed in Bucida, a genus traditionally separated from Terminalia by the retention of the free portion of the hypanthium and calyx on the fruit. The calyx is more or less deciduous in T. molinetii and it is persistent in three species of Madagascar and two of the Solomon Islands, which are phenetically quite different and likely not closely related to T. buceras or T. molinetii, calling this generic distinction into question (C. A. Stace 2007, 2010). A DNA-based phylogenetic analysis (O. Maurin et al. 2010) indicated that the recognition of Bucida renders Terminalia non-monophyletic. Bucida, therefore, has been placed in the synonymy of Terminalia (Stace 2007, 2010) as sect. Bucida (Linnaeus) Alwan & Stace.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Flowers bisexual and staminate; spikes with numerous staminate flowers distally; drupes slightly flattened, with 2 poorly developed and rounded ridges, or 2 well-developed ridges or wings; hypanthia usually deciduous in age; leaf blades usually with pit- or hair-tuft domatia, also with nectar glands (near base). | → 2 |
2. Drupes 35–70 mm, with 2 well-developed ridges or wings; leaf blades 6–35 cm, with pit-domatia. | T. catappa |
2. Drupes 12–20 mm, with 2 poorly developed and rounded ridges; leaf blades 4.2–19.5 cm, usually with hair-tuft domatia. | T. muelleri |
1. Flowers bisexual; spikes with bisexual flowers distributed evenly or clustered distally; drupes radially symmetric in cross section, with 5 poorly developed and rounded lobes; hypanthia ± persistent or deciduous in age; leaf blades without domatia and nectar glands. | → 3 |
3. Leaf blades 2–11 cm; branches without thorns in mature plants, with stout thorns in juvenile plants; spikes with flowers distributed along 1–6 cm; drupes (4–)5–8 mm. | T. buceras |
3. Leaf blades 0.4–2.8(–3.5) cm; branches with slender thorns; spikes with flowers clustered in distal 0.2–1 cm; drupes 3–6 mm. | T. molinetii |
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
