86. Guatteria jefensis Barringer — Plate 5a, b; Map 19

Guatteria jefensis Barringer (1984) 1186. —

Type: Hammel 6302 (holo MO), Panama, Panamá, Cerro Jefe near radio tower, in Clusia forest, 1000 m, 3 Mar. 1979.

Tree or shrub 1–6 m tall, 2–5 cm diam; young twigs sparsely covered with appressed hairs, soon glabrous. Leaves: petiole 3–8 mm long, 1–3 mm diam; lamina narrowly ovate to elliptic, 7–20 by 3–7 cm (leaf index 2.3–3), coriaceous, often folded lengthwise when dry, not verruculose, dull, greyish green above, brown below, sparsely covered with erect hairs along primary vein and secondary veins above, sparsely covered with appressed hairs below, base obtuse, apex acuminate (acumen to c. 10 mm long), primary vein impressed above, secondary veins distinct, 10–13 on either side of primary vein, impressed to flat above, smallest distance between loops and margin 3–4 mm, tertiary veins flat above, reticulate. Flowers in 1– 2-flowered inflorescences in axils of leaves or on leafless branchlets; pedicels 10–50 mm long, 1–3 mm diam, fruiting pedicels 30–50 mm long, 3–4 mm diam, densely covered with appressed hairs, articulated at c. 0.2 from the base, bracts 5–7, gradually increasing in size from basal to c. 2 mm long to uppermost to c. 5 mm long, occasionally foliaceous, elliptic, 20–30 mm long; flower buds depressed ovoid; sepals free, broadly ovate-triangular, 5–8 by 5–7 mm, appressed, finally becoming spreading to slightly reflexed, margins revolute, outer side densely covered with appressed hairs; petals yellowish green or yellow in vivo, broadly ovate to obovate, 10–15{–20} by 7–15 mm, outer side densely covered with appressed hairs; stamens 1–2 mm long, connective shield glabrous, sometimes slightly umbonate. Monocarps 25– 50, green, maturing blackish purple in vivo, black in sicco, ellipsoid, 10–13 by 5–7 mm, glabrous, apex rounded to apiculate (apiculum nipple-shaped, to c. 1 mm long), wall 0.2–0.3 mm thick, stipes 4–8 by 1–2 mm, distinctly constricted at the apex. Seed ellipsoid, 8–11 by 5–6 mm, dark brown, pitted, raphe not distinct from rest of seed.

Distribution — Panama.

Habitat & Ecology — In dwarf cloud forest. At elevations of 800–1000 m. Flowering: January to June, September, November; fruiting: January to April, October, December.

Vernacular names — Not recorded.

Note — Guatteria jefensis, one of the many narrow endemics of Cerro Jefe, is easily distinguished by its thick, often lengthwise folded leaves and by its constricted stipes.