Shrubs to low trees, densely covered by mul-
tiangulate-stellate, echinate to candelabroid tri-
chomes throughout. Leaves simple, petiolate,
laxly spiral. Inflorescence a short raceme and/or
solitary flowers, terminal, subterminal and/or
axilar; floral bracts absent; flower buds cylin-
drically ellipsoid to cylindrically oblong-ellip-
tic, horizontally to somewhat oblique at
anthesis; flowers zygomorphic. Calyces of 4, 2-
seriate, mostly free, entirely enclosing the
corolla from early bud until anthesis, the outer
pair ± larger and overlapping the ± narrower lat-
erally exposed inner pair; sepals fused at the
base forming a hypanthium, which is coated by
a 3- or 4-dentate nectary cup within. Petals 4,
imbricate in bud, spathulate, sessile, papillose at
the base, adaxially and laterally arranged and ±
reflexed at anthesis. Stamens 7 to 12, filaments
exserted, abaxially arranged and arching
upwards at anthesis, inserted on an unexpanded
glabrous androgynophore; staminodia inserted,
short, thick (nectariferous?) or stamen-like,
adaxially arranged on the androgynophore at
anthesis. Gynophore off-center, oblique, tomen-
tose; ovary tomentose, stigma sessile. Fruit a
pendulous, spherical, cucurbitoid amphisarcum,
bearing many (ca. 10 to 30) reniform, laterally
somewhat compressed seeds, embedded in a
starchy, sticky, white, poisonous pulp; aril white;
testa brown, subwoody-crustaceous, with a lat-
erally orbicular mark; embryo cochleate-reni-
form, white, cotyledons convolute, surrounded
by a thinly membranous endosperm.
Distribución:
A monospecific genus,
restricted to Bolivia, Paraguay, and northern
Argentina.
Due to the presence of stellate to candelabra
trichomes, the calyces with 2-seriate sepals, and
the seeds with white embryos of thinly convo-
lute cotyledons, Sarcotoxicum is morphologi-
cally related to the also South American genera
Mesocapparis and Neocalyptrocalyx. However,
Sarcotoxicum differs from both by having
flower buds cylindrically ellipsoid to cylindri-
cally oblong-elliptic (vs. spherical to widely
ovate-globose); petals of imbricate (vs. sinie-
strorsely-torsivae) aestivation; flowers zygo-
morphic at anthesis, with the petals adaxially
and laterally arranged, the stamens abaxially
disposed, and the gynophore off-center (vs.
flowers actinomorphic at anthesis, with the
petals and stamens radially arranged, and the
gynophore centered); and staminodia and a den-
tate nectary cup present (vs. staminodia and nec-
tary cup absent, but four nectary scales presen
