Lecythidaceae
Scytopetalum pierreanum
- Seedling with remains of endocarp still attached.
- Seedlings in leaf litter during the dry season.
- Base of adult tree, dry season.
- Germinating seedling with remains of endocarp still attached.
- Slash.
- Fruit.
- Leaf margin, upper surface.
- Young stem.
- Midrib and venation, leaf lower surface.
- Leaves, lower surface.
General Information
This 20 m tree has fragrant white flowers. The ripe fruits are bluish and 2 cm long. Inside is a five-sided endocarp with a single seed. The alternate leaves have unequal bases and a line from the base of the petiole along the twig to the next petiole. Like other members of Lecythidaceae it has a fibrous bark.
Ecology
This species is a flooded forest specialist. It does not occur on terra firma. In fact it is one of the few trees that can occur in the seasonally flooded forest along the Likouala aux Herbes River, which is subject to extreme variations in water level. There it forms almost pure stands on the flood plain with up to 6 m of seasonal flooding. On the Sangha River it occurs as single individuals on the riverbank, or in mixed species seasonally flooded forest with about 4 m fluctuation in the water table.
Distribution
Distribution: South east of Cameroon to DRC, absent from Gabon.