Chrysobalanaceae
Parinari

Parinari excelsa Sabine

First published in Trans. Hort. Soc. London 5: 451 (1824)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Costa Rica to S. Tropical America, Tropical Africa. It is a tree and grows primarily in the wet tropical biome. It is has environmental uses and social uses, as animal food, a medicine and invertebrate food and for fuel and food.

Descriptions

Rosaceae, R. A. Graham. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1960

Morphology General Habit
A large evergreen tree up to 45 m. tall, with a thick rounded or flatly-spreading crown; with or without basal buttresses up to 3 m. high.
Morphology General Bark
Bark grey-brown, rough, finely and often long-fissured.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves petiolate, lanceolate, elliptic, ovate-elliptic, lanceolate- or oblanceolate-elliptic, 5.5–12 (–15) × 1.5–3.5(–5) cm., long, narrowed to an acute or obtuse apex, sometimes acuminate, similarly or more shortly narrowed to the base (or there rounded to cordate on sterile branches); primary nerves up to 24 “pairs,” irregularly parallel, very prominent below; dark green and glabrous and sometimes shining above, buff and usually with ± appressed fulvous hairs on the midrib below and sometimes on the primary nerves, with the intervening tissues variably glabrous to densely hirsute with appressed hairs.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence paniculate, terminal or axillary, much-branched, shortly but thickly hairy to shaggy with irregularly spreading or ascending silky or brown hairs.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers in (usually) triflorous cymes, 4–8 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx cup-shaped, basally abruptly gibbous, the lobes triangular, 1.75–3.5 mm. long, acute, rather spreading, hairy as the bracts.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals white, ovate, readily caducous, of approximately the same length as the calyx-lobes.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Filaments of antheriferous stamens 1.75–3 mm. long; staminodes reduced to very small teeth not exceeding 0.75 to 2 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil
Ovary shaggy with long hairs; style 2.5–5 mm. long, the stigma flatly capitate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Drupe ovoid to obliquely ellipsoid, up to 5 × 3.2 cm. when mature and dried, sometimes suborbicular, covered with small, thin patches of cork.
[FTEA]

Bernal, R., G. Galeano, A. Rodríguez, H. Sarmiento y M. Gutiérrez. 2017. Nombres Comunes de las Plantas de Colombia. http://www.biovirtual.unal.edu.co/nombrescomunes/

Vernacular
guaraí
[UNAL]

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/61988748/61988753

Conservation
LC - least concern
[IUCN]

Chrysobalanaceae, F. White. Flora Zambesiaca 4. 1978

Morphology General Habit
Large evergreen tree up to 35 m. tall.
Morphology General Crown
Crown rounded, dense, dark green.
Morphology General Bark
Bark fairly smooth or with deep longitudinal fissures.
Morphology Leaves
Leaf-lamina up to 10 x 3·5 cm., narrowly elliptic or lanceolate-elliptic, apex usually acuminate or subacuminate, very rarely acute, base usually acute, sometimes rounded, never subcordate, lateral nerves in 22–24 pairs; petiole 0·5–1 cm. long; stipules up to 2 x 0·2 cm., papery, caducous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence terminal and axillary, up to 12 x 9 cm., lax or congested; inflorescence-axes and outside of flowers fulvous- or grey-tomentose.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Receptacle
Receptacle-tube 0·2–0·3 cm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Sepals and petals 0·25 cm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens 8; filaments 0·2 cm. long; staminodes 7–8, 0·02–0·1 cm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Style
Style 0·25–0·35 cm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Drupe ellipsoid c. 4 x 2·5 cm.
[FZ]

Bernal, R., Gradstein, S.R. & Celis, M. (eds.). 2015. Catálogo de plantas y líquenes de Colombia. Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá. http://catalogoplantasdecolombia.unal.edu.co

Distribution
Nativa en Colombia; Alt. 90 - 250 m.; Amazonia, Guayana y Serranía de La Macarena, Orinoquia.
Morphology General Habit
Árbol
Conservation
Preocupación Menor
[CPLC]

Distribution
Biogeografic region: Amazonia, Guiana Shield, Orinoquia. Elevation range: 90–250 m a.s.l. Native to Colombia. Colombian departments: Amazonas, Caquetá, Guaviare, Vichada.
Habit
Tree.
Conservation
IUCN Red List Assessment (2021): LC. National Red List of Colombia (2021): LC.
Ecology
Habitat according IUCN Habitats Classification: forest and woodland, shrubland, native grassland, wetlands (inland), artificial - terrestrial.
[UPFC]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Rosaceae, Hutchinson and Dalziel. Flora of West Tropical Africa 1:2. 1958

Morphology General Habit
A large evergreen forest tree
Morphology General Indumentum
Pale tomentose branchlets and inflorescence
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit rough-skinned, sometimes eaten.
[FWTA]

Uses

Use Animal Food
Used as animal food.
Use Environmental
Environmental uses.
Use Fuel
Used for fuels.
Use Gene Sources
Used as gene sources.
Use Food
Used for food.
Use Invertebrate Food
Used as invertebrate food.
Use Materials
Used as material.
Use Medicines
Medical uses.
Use Social
Social uses.
[UPFC]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Catálogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Colombian resources for Plants made Accessible

    • ColPlantA 2021. Published on the Internet at http://colplanta.org
    • https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

  • Flora Zambesiaca

    • Flora Zambesiaca
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of West Tropical Africa

    • Flora of West Tropical Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • IUCN Categories

    • IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images

  • Neotropikey

    • Milliken, W., Klitgard, B. and Baracat, A. (2009 onwards), Neotropikey - Interactive key and information resources for flowering plants of the Neotropics.
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Universidad Nacional de Colombia

    • ColPlantA database
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0