''Bagassa guianensis'' is a tree in the plant family

Moraceae Moraceae is a family of flowering plants comprising about 48 genera and over 1100 species, and is commonly known as the mulberry or fig family. Most are widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, less so in temperate climates; however, their ...

which is native to the

Guianas The Guianas, also spelled Guyanas or Guayanas, are a geographical region in north-eastern South America. Strictly, the term refers to the three Guianas: Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana, formerly British Guiana, British, Surinam (Dutch colo ...

and

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. It is valued as a timber tree and as a food tree for wildlife. The juvenile leaves are distinctly different in appearance from the mature leaves, and were once thought to belong to different species.

Description

''Bagassa guianensis'' is a large,

latex Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latices are found in nature, but synthetic latices are common as well. In nature, latex is found as a wikt:milky, milky fluid, which is present in 10% of all floweri ...

-producing,

dioecious Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dioecious, ) is a characteristic of certain species that have distinct unisexual individuals, each producing either male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproduction is ...

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

tree which reaches heights of up and a

diameter at breast height Diameter at breast height, or DBH, is a standard method of expressing the diameter of the trunk or bole of a standing tree. DBH is one of the most common dendrometric measurements. Tree trunks are measured at the height of an adult's breast, ...

of . The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are deeply three-lobed in juveniles, but become entire as the tree matures. They are usually long, sometimes up to long, and wide (sometimes up to wide). Male and female flowers are borne on separate

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

s. Male inflorescences are arranged in a spike, which is long. Female inflorescences are arranged into a compact head which is in diameter. The

infructescence In botany, infructescence (fruiting head) is defined as the ensemble of fruits derived from the ovaries of an inflorescence. It usually retains the size and structure of the inflorescence. In some cases, infructescences are similar in appearance ...

s are in diameter.

Taxonomy

''Bagassa'' is a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

genus—it includes only one species, ''B. guianensis''. The genus was established in 1775 by French botanist

Jean Baptiste Christophore Fusée Aublet Jean Baptiste Christophore Fusée Aublet (November 4, 1720 – May 6, 1778) was a French pharmacist, botanist and one of the earliest botanical explorers in South America.JSTOR He was one of the first botanists to study ethnobotany in the Neotro ...

in his description of the species. Aublet's description was based on juvenile leaves together with infructescences. Based on mature leaves and male inflorescences, French botanist

Nicaise Auguste Desvaux Nicaise Auguste Desvaux (28 August 1784 – 12 July 1856) was a French botanist. From 1816 he taught classes in Angers, where from 1817 to 1838 he served as director of its botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''bo ...

described ''

Piper A piper is a musician, a player of the bagpipe. As a noun proper, Piper may also refer to: People * Piper (given name) * Piper (surname) Arts and entertainment Fictional characters Comics * Piper (Morlock), in the Marvel Universe * P ...

tiliifolium'' in 1825 and

Charles Gaudichaud-Beaupré Charles Gaudichaud-Beaupré (September 4, 1789 – January 16, 1854) was a French botanist. Biography Gaudichaud was born in Angoulême, to J-J. Gaudichaud and Rose (Mallat) Gaudichaud. He studied pharmacology informally at Cognac and Angoulême, ...

described ''Laurea tiliifolia'' in 1844.

Raymond Benoist Raymond Benoist (10 June 1881, Vendresse – 17 January 1970) was a French botanist and entomologist. He is known for his research involving the plant family Acanthaceae. He studied botany in Paris, receiving his doctorate in 1912. Following ...

transferred these to ''Bagassa'' as ''B. tiliifolia'' in 1933. In 1880

Louis Édouard Bureau Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also * ...

described ''B. sagotiana'' based on mature leaves and female inflorescences. Plants with juvenile and adult foliage were thought to belong to different species until at least 1975; in his 1975 treatment of the

for the ''Flora of Suriname'', Dutch systematist

Cornelis Berg Cornelis Christiaan (Cees) Berg (1934–2012) was a Dutch botanist known for his work on the plant family Moraceae. Early life and education Berg was born on 7 February 1934 in Bandung, Indonesia, then part of the Dutch East Indies, and later mov ...

maintained ''B. guianensis'' and ''B. tiliifolia'' as separate species—the former with lobed juvenile foliage, the latter with the entire leaves of mature trees (although he maintained this distinction with reservations). This confusion would later be clarified through observations of live trees in the field.

Common names

The species is known locally as "cow wood", ''katowar'', ''tuwue'' or ''yawahedan'' in

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

. In

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

is it known as ''gele bagasse'', ''jawahedan'', ''kauhoedoe'' or ''kaw-oedoe''. In

French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...

it is called ''bacasse'', ''bagasse'', ''odon'' or ''odoun''. In

Maranhão Maranhão () is a States of Brazil, state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of and it is divided into 217 municipalities. Clockwise from north, it ...

state in Brazil it is called ''tatajuba'' or ''tareka'y''; in

Pará Pará () is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins (state), Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas (Brazilian st ...

it is known as ''amaparana'', ''taraiko'i''''Taraiko'i'' is a Tupi name. or ''tatajuba''; in

Roraima Roraima ( ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil. Located in the country's North Region, it is the northernmost and most geographically and logistically isolated state in Brazil. It is bordered by the state of Pará to the southeast, Amazonas t ...

it is called ''tatajuba''.

Distribution

''Bagassa guianensis'' is found in

and the northern

Amazon basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributary, tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries ...

(in the states of

Amapá Amapá (; ) is one of the 26 federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil. It is in the North Region, Brazil, North Region of Brazil. It is Federative units of Brazil#List, the second-least populous state and the eighteenth-largest state by area ...

, Pará, Maranhão and Roraima) with an apparently disjunct population in the southwestern states of

Mato Grosso Mato Grosso ( – ) is one of the states of Brazil, the List of Brazilian states by area, third largest by area, located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. The state has 1.66% of the Brazilian population and is responsible ...

and

Rondônia Rondônia () is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the northern subdivision of the country (central-western part). It is bordered by Acre (state), Acre in the west, Amazonas, Brazil, Amazonas in the north, Mato Grosso in the east, and Bo ...

Ecology

''Bagassa guianensis'' is a "long-lived pioneer" that frequently established in second growth forests and tree-fall gaps. Although the structure of ''B. guianensis'' flowers suggests bat-pollination, Berg suggested that they might be

wind-pollinated Anemophily or wind pollination is a form of pollination whereby pollen is distributed by wind. Almost all gymnosperms are anemophilous, as are many plants in the order Poales, including Poaceae, grasses, Cyperaceae, sedges, and Juncaceae, rushes. ...

since the trees were "tall and deciduous". Direct observation suggests that pollination is primarily by

thrips Thrips (Order (biology) , order Thysanoptera) are minute (mostly long or less), slender insects with fringed wings and unique asymmetrical mouthparts. Entomologists have species description , described approximately 7,700 species. They fly on ...

, although the thrips themselves may be dispersed by wind. One study in Pará, Brazil, suggests that on average, seeds were produced by pollen that had travelled between from the male flowers that produced the pollen to the female flowers that were pollinated. The seeds of ''B. guianensis'' are dispersed by a variety of animals including monkeys, birds, deer, rodents and tortoises.

Uses

''Bagassa guianensis'' is a valuable timber species and is intensively exploited. It is used for construction, furniture, and boat-building.''Bagassa guianensis
. Technology Transfer fact sheet. Center for Wood Anatomy Research. USDA Forest Service The infructescences are edible.

References

Moraceae Monotypic Rosales genera Trees of Brazil Trees of French Guiana Trees of Guyana Trees of Suriname Moraceae genera Taxa named by Jean Baptiste Christophore Fusée Aublet Dioecious plants {{Moraceae genera