Tococa stellata Gleason

  • Authority

    Michelangeli, Fabián A. 2005. (Melastomataceae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 98: 1-114. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Melastomataceae

  • Scientific Name

    Tococa stellata Gleason

  • Type

    Type. Colombia. Caquetá: Corea, near Hetucha, 20 Jul 1926, Woronow 6053 (holotype LE [n.v.]).

  • Description

    Species Description - Young stems distinctly flattened, more or less sordidly pubescent in two opposite lines to each node or all around, otherwise glabrous, the internodes 3-5 cm long; leaves dimorphic, larger leaves: free petioles 10-15 mm long, sordid pubescence on upper side; formicaria didymous, semiobovoid, glabrous, 20-25 mm long, adjacent to the blade but below it; blades thin, lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, as much as 9 X 25 cm, long- acuminate, obscurely denticulate and minutely ciliate, obtuse or subrotund at base, 5-nerved, primary and secondary nerves lightly impressed above, prominent beneath, the latter 6-10 mm apart, ascending at an angle of 70-80°, the tertiary nerves inconspicuous and reticulate; upper surface mostly glabrous, but short setose toward the margin; lower surface very sparsely short-setose on the veins; small leaves: petioles 10 mm long, with small (5 mm) or no formicaria; blades as much as 5.5 X 13 cm, otherwise like the larger; inflorescence a narrow compact panicle; its branches strongly angular and freely short-setose; flowers 5-merous; hypanthium nearly cylindric, narrowly 5-winged, the wings densely hirsute with simple hairs, the side glabrous; sepals in line with the wings, depressed, semicircular, the exterior teeth conical, not projecting, densely hirsute; ovary-summit conic, 10-ribbed, truncate and crowned with about 30 straight bristles 1 mm long; style enlarging upward to the truncate stigma. Tococa stellata is known only from the type specimen, which I did not see. The description presented here is taken directly from the original publication by Gleason (1930). However, the characters mentioned in the description used to differentiate it from T. stephanotricha (leaf shape and pubescence and type of pubescence on the hypanthium) might not be sufficient to separate these two taxa, given the intraspecific variation seen in T. stephanotricha during the course of this study.

  • Distribution

    Colombia South America| Caquetá Colombia South America|