Manihot glaziovii Mull.Arg.

Mueller, J. von (Aargau) in Martius, C.F.P. von (1874) Flora Brasiliensis 11(2): 446. Type: T: Habitat prope Rio de Janeiro: Glaziou n. 1022, Paulo Barboza.

Ceara Rubber Tree

Usually a shrub or small tree to 6 m tall but may grow to 20 m. Root tubers absent. Bark silvery grey, flaky. Copious milky exudate flows from cut stems.

Stipules lanceolate, ca. 5 mm long. Leaves bluish-green, petioles often reddish; deeply palmatipartite, 3-5 lobed, the lobes broadly ovate, obovate or obovate-lanceolate, 4-15 cm long, 2-9.5 cm wide; discolorous with underneath paler; tip obtuse to rounded; base attenuate to rounded. Milky exudate flows from cut leaves.

Male flowers: pedicels 7-9 mm long; calyx lobes triangular, 8-9 mm long, ca. 6 mm wide, tube 6-7 mm long. Female flowers: pedicels 8-15 mm long; calyx lobes lanceolate, ca. 12 mm long, 3.5-4 mm wide.

Fruit globose, 18-20 mm long, 18-22 mm diameter. Seeds 3, oboid, 13-15 mm long, 9-12 mm wide.

Features not available.

Occurs in NEQ, introduced, sometimes cultivated and occasionally naturalised. Altitudinal range in NEQ near sea level. Grows in high rainfall riparian forest and rain forest.

Long cultivated in South America as a source of rubber. Food and other uses are also recorded.