Name
Vachellia gentlei (Standley) Seigler & Ebinger, Phytologia 87: 158. 2005.syn. Acacia gentlei Standley, Publ. Field Mus. Nat. Hist. Bot. Ser. 22: 77. 1940.
Synonymy and types
Basionym: Acacia gentlei Standl., Publ. Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Bot. Ser. 22: 77. 1940. - TYPE: BELIZE: P. Gentle 185 (holotype: F).
Formal description
Tree to 20 m tall. Bark not seen. Twigs dark reddish brown, not flexuous, densely puberulent. Short shoots absent. Leaves alternate, 70-180 mm long. Stipular spines reddish to dark brown, most commonly black, mostly symmetrical, terete, suberect to recurved around the stem, stout and inflated, 35-80 x 3.5-6.0 mm near the base, usually lightly puberulent. Petiole adaxially grooved, 9-20 mm long, densely puberulent; petiolar glands 1(2), located near the base to the middle of the petiole, sessile, narrowly volcano-shaped and usually laterally compressed, base 2-3 mm long, apex nearly circular, 0.6-1.2 mm across, puberulent and lightly striate. Rachis adaxially grooved, 50-170 mm long, puberulent, a narrow, sessile, volcano shaped gland located along the rachis between the pinnae pairs. Pinnae 5 to 12 pairs per leaf, 55-90 mm long, 13-20 mm between pinna pairs. Petiolules 1-2 mm long. Leaflets 20 to 35 pairs per pinna, opposite, 1.7-2.4 mm between leaflets, linear, 7-14 x 1.8-3.1 mm, glabrous, lateral veins obvious, 3 to 5 veins from the base, base oblique, margins ciliate, apex obtuse to acute; beltian bodies 1-2 mm long. Inflorescence a densely flowered cylindrical spike nearly the same thickness throughout, 15-40 x 4-6 mm, commonly in racemes on fertile branchlets with usually one (2-4) spike in the axil of a reduced leaf. Peduncles 16-22 x 0.7-1.1 mm, puberulent. Involucre 4-lobed with 2 lobes longer, located near the middle of the peduncle, puberulent, persistent. Floral bracts peltate, 0.7-1.0 mm long, apex circular and usually puberulent, deciduous. Flowers sessile, yellowish; calyx 5-lobed, 0.5-0.8 mm long, puberulent; corolla 5-lobed, 1.3-1.8 mm long, twice as long as the calyx, puberulent; stamen filaments 1.6-2.6 mm long, distinct; ovary glabrous, subsessile. Legumes black to dark brown, straight to slightly curved, elliptical in cross section, not constricted between the seeds, linear, 160-300 x 9-14 mm, coriaceous, reticulately striate, glabrous, eglandular, dehiscent along both sutures; stipe 10-30 mm long; apex beaked 10-40 mm long. Seeds uniseriate, imbedded in a white to yellowish pulpy material, light brown, ovoid, slightly flattened, 7.0-9.5 x 3.8-5.5 mm, smooth; pleurogram oval to elliptic, 3.3-4.5 mm across. Flowers in January to May. Chromosome number: Not determined.
Distribution
Rain forests, wet successional area where the vegetation is 15-20 years of age, wet disturbed sites, swamps, and river edge vegetation in the lowlands of Belize, northern Guatemala, and extreme southeastern Mexico (Seigler and Ebinger 1995).
Additional info
Vachellia gentlei is a common species in wet sites at lower elevations in Belize, Guatemala, and extreme southeastern Mexico. It is distinguished easily from all other ant-acacias by the combination of its elongate inflorescence, laterally compressed, volcano-shaped glands scattered along the leaf rachis, very thin spines (usually less than 6 mm thick), and relatively large leaflets (7-14 mm long) with obvious secondary veins.
Unlike many of the wet forest ant-acacias, Vachellia gentlei is a common species in areas of human disturbance. It appears as a successional species after logging, and in many parts of its range is found along roadsides. Unlike most wet forest ant-acacias, it has relatively large Beltian bodies (1-2 mm long) on most of the leaflets. Like most of the other ant-acacias, it usually lacks cyanogenic glycosides in the leaflets. Of the specimens examined, only one, Lundell 16903, from Guatemala, was weakly cyanogenic.
Flowering time
January-May.
Representative specimens
BELIZE:
- Chaa Creek, Cayo Dist., 30 Apr 1922, J.L.Brown & R.Cocon 27 (MO);
- Dist. Cayo, vicinity of Cuevas, S of Millionaria, alt. 1900 m, 29 May 1973, T.B.Croat 23546 (US);
- Toledo Dist., Maya Mts., alt. 100-200 m, 12 Mar 1987, G.Davidse & A.E.Brant 32402 (MO);
- Rio Frio Caves area near Augustine, 8 Jul 1972, J.D.Dwyer 10152 (MO);
- 28.5 miles NW of Belize, Northern hwy., Belize Dist., 24 May 1973, J.D.Dwyer 10729 (MO, US, WIS);
- 3-6 miles S of Belmopan, Cayo Dist., 30 May 1947, J.D.Dwyer 12544 (F, GH, MO);
- Southern Hwy., 14 miles N of Punta Gorda, San Antonio, alt. 300-500 ft., 11 Jun 1973, A.Gentry 8072 (MEX, MO, US);
- Maskall, Jan 1934, P.H.Gentle 1121 (F, GH, MICH, MO, NY, US);
- El Cayo Dist., near camp 6, 9 Mar 1938, P.H.Gentle 2311 (F, MO);
- near Condemn, Branch Pine Ridge, Toledo Dist., 27 Jan 1945, P.H.Gentle 5165 (F, MO);
- Toledo Dist., between Orange Point and Moho River, 9 Apr 1952, P.H.Gentle 7643 (MO);
- Hummingbird Hwy, Cayo Dist., 28 Apr 1956, P.H.Gentle 9078 (F, MICH, MO, NY);
- 7.3 miles NW of central X-road in Spanish Lookout settlement, Cayo Dist., 14 Apr 1970, R.R.Innes 271 (MO);
- 13.5 miles S Santa Elena on hwy from Ciudad Chetumal to Orange Walk, Corozal Prov., 30 Jun 1966, D.H.Janzen 575 (F, MO, US);
- near Gallon jug, alt. 400 ft., Mar-May 1958, D.A.Lancaster 31 (US);
- Little Cocquericot, Belize River, 27 Mar 1933, C.L.Lundell 4406 (F);
- El Cayo Dist., Valentin, Jun-Jul 1936, C.L.Lundell 6328 (NY);
- 75 miles NE from Bermudian Landing, W bank of Belize River, cattle pasture, 22 Mar 1992, V.Nickerson 62 (WIS);
- on Anderson Road, 0.5 miles S of Chiquibal Road, alt. 480 m, 31 Mar 1989, J.A.Northup 531 (WIS);
- Río Grand River, alt. 250 ft., 25 Mar 1933, W.A.Schipp 1142 (F, MO, UC);
- Boston, a 5 km al S de Corohead Creek, alt. 10 m, 4 Dec 1981, M.Sousa, T.P.Ramamoothy, G.Ibarra M., L.Rico & P.Basurto 12203 (MO);
- Caves Branch, Mountain Cow Hill, 25 Jul 1976, C.Whitefoord 1123 (MO);
- Cayo Dist., Chiquibal Road S of Guacamallo Bridge, 20 May 1981, C.Whitefoord 2871 (MO);
- Mountain Pine Ridge, Blancaneaux Lodge, 18 Aug 1970, J.R.Wiley 457 (MO).
GUATEMALA:
Alta Verapaz:
- along Río Sebol between Sebol and Carrizal, N of Sebol, alt. 200-300 m, 18 Apr 1942, J.A.Steyermark 45762 (F);
Izabal:
- El Zapotillo, 1 km E El Estor (Lake Izabal), 16 May 1965, D.H.Janzen 657 (F, GH, MEX, MICH, MO, US);
- El Zapotillo, 1 km E El Estor (Lake Izabal), 18 May 1965, D.H.Janzen 659 (F, MO, US);
- El Zapotillo, 1 km E El Estor (Lake Izabal), 18 May 1965, D.H.Janzen 690 (F, MO, US);
- Finca El Zapotillo, N shore of Lake Izabal, 17 May 1966, G.C.Jones & L.Facey 3424 (F, LL, UC);
- 1-5 km from hwy. CA-9 on road to Mariscos, Lake Izabal, 26 Apr 1966, C.G.Jones, G.R.Proctor & L.Facey 3095 (F, LL);
- Río Dulce, 2-4 miles W of Livingston, alt. 1-3 m, 16 Apr 1940, J.A.Steyermark 39546 (F);
El Petén:
- Uaxactum, 18 Apr 1931, H.H.Bartlett 12578 (NY, TEX, UC, US);
- Uaxactum, 21 Apr 1931, H.H.Bartlett 12676 (UC, US);
- Dolores, km 82 on Machaquilla road, 17 May 1961, E.Contreras 2318 (F, MO);
- Santa Elena, on La Cueva de Jobitzinaj road, 12 Apr 1962, E.Contreras 3586 (F, MO);
- Tikal National Park, Tikal, in ramonal, Mar 1961, J.A.Ibarra 16 (LL);
- Fallaben-Yaxha road, Mar 1933, C.L.Lundell 2195 (F);
- La Libertad, 1 Apr 1933, C.L.Lundell 2379 (F);
- Chicbul, La Libertad, Apr 1933, C.L.Lundell 2611 (F);
- Chicbul, La Libertad, 7 Jun 1933, C.L.Lundell 3660 (F);
- Tikal, on top of temple in "H" group, 6 Mar 1961, C.L.Lundell 16903 (MO);
- Parque Nacional Tikal, 18 Mar 1970, R.T.Ortíz 786 (F, MO);
- Parque Nacional Tikal, 23 Apr 1970, R.T.Ortíz 999 (F, MO);
- Parque Nacional Tikal, 18 Mar 1970, R.T.Ortíz 1728 (F, US);
- Santa Elena, en el camino para Melchor, alt. 400 m, 10 Feb 1972, R.T. Ortíz 2261 (US);
- Laguna Petexbatum, alt. 50 m, 3 May 1942, J.A.Steyermark 46221 (F);
- San Luis, 20 Apr 1976, P.Ventur 197 (F);
- SE "Cerro Caubui", 14 May 1986, R.L.Walker 1390 (MO).
MEXICO:
Campeche:
- Carretera a Tomás Garrido, 17 Mar 1999, M.Peña-Chocarro & J.Tun 478 (MO);
Chiapas:
- km 10 camino N.C.P. Velasco Suárez-Nuevo Jalisco, alt. 500 m, 9 Mar 1977, J.I.Calzado 3111 (MO);
- a 20 km al SE de la desv. a San Javier-Frontera Echeverría, 12 Apr 1981, R.Durán, A.Chimal & J.Manuel s.n. (MO);
- a 3 km al S de Frontera Corozal, sobre el Río Usumacinta, alt. 120 m, E.Martínez S. 11433 (MEX, MO, NY);
- a 3 km al SE de Lacanjah Tzeltal camino Santa Domingo, 25 Jan 1986, E.Martínez S. 16795 (MO, WIS);
- a 15 km al NW de Boca Lacantum camino a Palenque, alt. 220 m, 10 Apr 1985, E.Martínez S. 11892 (MO);
- en Nvo. Guerrero a 100 km SE de Palenque camino a Boca Lacantum, alt. 350 m, 27 Jun 1986, E.Martínez S. 1907 (MO);
Quintana Roo:
- a 2 km al N de Estero Franco, carretera Chetumal-La Unión, 24 Apr 1982, E.Cabrera & H. de Cabrera 2512 (MEX, MO);
- a 8 km al sur de Tres Garantias, sobre el camino a Tómas Gardido, 26 Apr 1982, E.Cabrera & H. de Cabrera 2520 (MO);
- a 8 km al N de la Unión, extreme S de Quintana Roo, 7 May 1982, M.Sousa, E.Cabrera, G.Davidse & A.Chater 12344 (MO);
- a 5 km al del Ingenio Álvaro Obregón, 10 Apr 1980, O.Téllez & E.Cabrera 1956 (MO);
- a 15 km al S de F. Carrillo Puerto, 6 May 1980, O.Téllez & E.Cabrera 2074 (MO);
Tabasco:
- Carretera W-O por El Poblado de Apatzingán, Balancán, alt. 150 m, 2-4 Apr 1976, J.T.Calzada 2345 (F, MEX, MO).