A new species of Cedrela (Meliaceae) from the eastern flanks of Ecuador

Abstract

A new species, Cedrela domatifolia, is described. It is characterized by the leaves of 55–80 cm long, leaflets 10–15 pairs, this oblong-lanceolate, 15–25 cm long × 4–8 cm wide, with prominent and inflated domatium on the axes of the secondary veins on the underside; calyx shortly cupuliform, 2.3–2.5 mm long, 5-lobed, one side (in open flower, not in bud) split down to the base; corolla purple-reddish with the margin and apex cream, and bearded inside. The new species is a tree that reaches 40 m in height and is only known from the eastern slopes of Ecuador, between 800 and 1100 m approximately. It grows exclusively on black laminar rocks, slate type, and has a strong and unpleasant smell of garlic, more noticeable than in other species of the genus. The most related species is C. nebulosa, but with smaller leaflets without domatium. The distribution area of the first one is enclosed within the second.

Chemical Compounds and Biologic Activities: A Review of Cedrela Genus

“…Fatty acids are hydrocarbon chains with a carboxyl group at the end of the molecule and play a number of key roles in metabolism [18]. The main sources of fatty acids are vegetable oils, dairy products, meat products, grain, and fish oils [19], but they were identified in the bark and sapwood oil of C. odorata L. Oleic (2) and linoleic acids (3) are most common in plants, while stearic acid is more common in animals, and a minor component in plants [19]. Stearic (1), oleic, and linoleic fatty acids and n-octacosanol alcohol (4) were identified in the genus Cedrela (Table 1).…”

“…The genus Cedrela P. Browne contains 18 species ( Figure 1 ) and is one of 53 genera of trees and shrubs from the Meliaceae family. These species are distributed from northern Mexico to the northwest part of Argentina [ 1 , 2 , 3 ].…”

Biogeography and ecology in a pantropical family, the Meliaceae

“…Distribution. Nineteen species Koecke et al, 2013;Köcke et al, 2015;Palacios et al, 2019) throughout tropical America (northern Mexico to Paraguay, including the West Indies) (Fig. 6, from Muellner et al, 2010).…”

New scientific discoveries: Plants and fungi

“…Among the new species of timber tree were a Chlorocardium (greenheart) and Cedrela domatifolia (mahogany family) the latter (Palacios, Santiana, & Iglesias, 2019) from a genus used for making traditional cigar boxes. Trees of potential agro‐forestry interest are: Eucalyptus dalveenica, Acacia ammitia and Inga kurserii .…”