Otoba novogranatensis Moldenke (1932: 156). (Fig. 11)

Basionym: Myristica otoba Willdenow (1806: 869); Humboldt & Bonpland (1809: 78). Type:— COLOMBIA. Tolima: Mariquita, Humboldt & Bonpland s.n. (or 1743), staminate (holotype: P!; isotypes: B destroyed, G!, P!).

Homotypic synonyms: Otoba otoba (Willdenow) Karsten (1880–1883: 578), tautonym illeg. Palala otoba (Willdenow) Kuntze (1891: 567), comb. illeg. Dialyanthera otoba (Willdenow) Warburg (1895: 89).

Petiole 10–30(–35) × 3–4 mm, winged; lamina 15–33(–36) × 6–16 cm, ferruginous to whitish, densely pubescent to glabrescent below; secondary veins 7–17(–23) per side; rarely with intramarginal veins somewhat evident but not raised. Staminate inflorescence sessile; partial inflorescences 1–2, pubescent, ca. 150-flowered; umbelliform parts alternate, 5–10-flowered; bracteoles present. Staminate flowers with pedicel 6–8 mm long; perianth 4–6 mm long, inner surface smooth, without a swollen basal ring; androecium 2.5–4.0 mm long; filaments slender, free or rarely fused for 1/2 of their length; anthers reniform, apex incurved, basally attached to the filaments apex, 1.0– 1.5 mm long. Pistillate inflorescence similar to the staminate, but with partial inflorescence of ca. 15-flowered. Pistillate flowers similar to staminate ones; gynoecium 3.5–5.0 mm long; ovary pubescent, ellipsoidal, 2.5–3.5 × 1.0– 2.5 mm; stigmatic lobes free or fused along one side. Infructescence with 2 fruits. Fruit 3.0–5.5 × 2.5–4.0 cm, subglobose, apex mucronate to cuspidate; pericarp 2–5 mm thick; aril white-yellow; seed ca. 2.0 × 2.5 cm, with an apical prickle.

Representative specimens examined:— NICARAGUA. Atlántico Sur: El Zapote, 40 km NE [S] de Nueva Guinea, 1984, Sandino 4929 (MO nv). Chontales: Cerro Las Nubes, El Tamagás y Loma San Gregorio, ca. 2 km al N de Santo Domingo, 1984, Grijalva & Ríos 3467 (MO). Matagalpa: Cerro Musún, W and NW side above the Salto Grande of Quebrada Negra, 1977, Neill 1737 (MO nv). Río San Juan: El Castillo, Salick 7824 (MO). COSTA RICA. Alajuela: Upala, Dos Ríos, 10 km NE from town, Herrera 1726 (F). Cartago: Puente Cajón, 1973, Poveda 50172 -catalog number- (CR nv). Guanacaste: Rincón de la Vieja National Park, Río Negro, Rivera 714 (F, K, MO nv). Heredia: Finca La Selva, the OTS Field Station, on the Río Puerto Viejo, E of the junction with Río Sarapiquí, 1983, Chacón 1360 (F, MO nv). Limón: Along Quebrada Diablo, E tributary of Río Pacuare, ca. 2.5 km of Siquirres, 1986, Grayum et al. 7675 (F, NY, CR nv). Puntarenas: Vicinity of Esquinas Experiment Station, Golfo Dulce area, Allen 5367 (F, K, NY, MO nv). San José: Reserva Biológica Carar, Bijagualito, 9-44-40 N 84-32-00 W, 1991, Zúñiga 523 (K, MO nv). PANAMA. Bocas del Toro: Region of Almirante, Daytona farm, Cooper 451 (F, K, NY). Chiriquí: Progreso, Cooper & Slater 257 (F, NY). Coclé: Parque Nacional G.D. Omar Torrijos Herrera. Sendero el Rancho, 2000, Araúz Servellón B 2461 (MO nv). Colón: Área del proyecto minero de Petaquilla, 2008, Araúz Servellón 1485 (MO nv). Darién: Cerro Tacarcuna Expedition, west ridge of Cerro Mali, ca. 1/2 hour W of helipad on trail toward Río Pucuro valley, 1975, Gentry 13833 (MO nv). San Blas: Cangandí. Hills near village, 1986, Nevers 7521 (MO nv). VENEZUELA. Táchira: La Buenaña, 6-12 km W of Quebrada Colorado, ca. 35 km SSE of San Cristóbal, Liesner & González 10820 (MBM nv). COLOMBIA. Antioquia: Municipio de Anorí, Río Anorí Valley, between Dos Bocas and Anorí, 1973, Soejarto et al. 4350 (MO). Bolívar: La Raya, Quebrada La Culebra, Caño Caribon between junction of Ríos Canca and Magdalena, 1987, Gentry 57319 (MO nv). Chocó: Municipio de Quibdó, Quebrada La Platina, road to Medellín, 1983, Arias et al. 142 (MO). Nariño: Corregimiento Chucunés, Reserva Natural La Planada, camino desde la reserva hacia Pialapi, 1991, Betancur et al. 2589 (HUA nv). Norte de Santander: Sarare region, Quebrada de la China, tributary of Río Cubugón, Santa Librada, Cuatrecasas 12977 (F, MO nv). Santander: Vía a Pamplona, ramal a Tona, km18, 1987, García 1002 (UIS nv). Valle del Cauca: Buenaventura, Corregimiento Córdova, Vereda San Cipriano, Reserva Natural Escalerete, Devia et al. 5410 (MO). ECUADOR. Azuay: Cuenca, Molleturo, Manta Real, 1992, Berg 37 (MO). Carchi: Maldonado, 1989, van der Werff & Gudiño 10764 (AAU, GB, MO, NY, PMA, QCNE). Esmeraldas: Reserva Étnica Awá, Ricaurte, 1992, Tipaz et al. 2021 (AAU, GB, MO, NY, QCNE). El Oro: Parroquia El Placer, Reserva Ecológica Buenaventura, propiedad de la Fundación Jocotoco, Sendero Tapaculo de El Oro, 2005, Vargas López 5439 (MO nv). Los Ríos: Estación Biológica Río Palenque, Quevedo-Sto. Domingo de los Colorados road km 56, 1976, Dodson 6200 (AAU, MO, QCA). Pichincha: Santo Domingo de los Colorados, Pennington 66 (F, K, NY).

Distribution:— The most widespread species in the western Andes and Central America (Fig. 12). It is distributed from Nicaragua through Costa Rica and Panamá, along both the Caribbean and Pacific coasts and then in the western part of Venezuela and all of the Colombian and Ecuadorian Chocó, reaching southwestern Ecuador in El Oro, 0–2000 m elevation.

Conservation status:— Not evaluated.

Notes:— This species has a great morphological variation. Specimens from Colombia and particularly from Ecuador have more pubescent leaves than those from other parts of its distribution. Collections from Central America generally have fewer secondary veins and smaller fruits with thinner pericarp than those from South American.

Its latex is watery and red. In living plants, leaves are ferruginous or whitish below, flowers green-yellow and fruits green with a white or red aril. Its wood is used for indoor construction in Colombia and boxes in Ecuador. Oil extracted from its seed is eaten, sold on the market or used medicinally to treat skin parasites and skin infections of domestic animals (Schultes & Holmstedt 1971).

Vernacular names:— Fruta dorada, sebo, níspero (Costa Rica); saba, bogamani verde, roble, white cedar, miguelario, wine wood (Panama); soto (Colombia); aral ami teiug, awepit, cuangaré, cuangaré indio, mujchi, sangre de gallina (Ecuador); otuba medicinado (Venezuela).