Conocarpus erectus f. sericeus L.

  • Authority

    Stace, C. A. & Alwan, A.-R A. 2010. Combretaceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 107: 1-369. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Combretaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Conocarpus erectus f. sericeus L.

  • Type

    Type. Specimen  Patria propria ign. certe America,  in herb. L Her. collected by Fors (holotype, G-DC n.v.; IDC microfiche; no duplicate found in S). N. S. Fors collected before 1828, mainly in Pernambuco, Brazil (see under Distribution, below). Fors labeled the specimen Conocarpus sericea; hence I have not included his name in the authority.

  • Synonyms

    Conocarpus erectus var. sericeus (E.Forst.) L. & DC., Conocarpus sericeus (Griseb.) J.Jiménez Alm., Conocarpus erectus var. argenteus Millsp.

  • Description

    Species Description - Leaves densely silvery-sericeous on both surfaces, either only when young or until maturity. Peduncles, inflorescence branches and young stems densely silvery-sericeous.

  • Discussion

    Illustrations. Figs. 5f (domatium), 14c (epidermis), 15a (trichome). Proctor (1984), p. 498.

    Extreme examples are very distinctive and the leaves retain the sericeous indumentum until they are old, but the character is very variably expressed and, coupled with the scattered occurrence of this taxon, recognition as a forma is most appropriate in order to provide a name for a cultivated plant. Semple (1970b) claimed that the character is not genetically fixed; this might be true, but the ability to produce it probably is under genetic control, since the vast majority of plants never develop it and those that do are found in only a limited part of the species’ total range.

    Distribution and Ecology: Fig. 136). Scattered throughout most of the northern part of the range of the species, on both Atlantic and Pacific coasts, but most common in the West Indies and Florida (not in Bermuda [Britton, 1918]); south to Bahia on the Atlantic coast and to Ecuador on the Pacific coast. If the type was collected in Pernambuco it would be only the second Brazilian and fourth continental South American record known to me. Semple (1970b) mapped it extending south only to the Honduras/Nicaragua border on the mainland and southern Jamaica and Cuba on the islands, except for one locality on Grenada. Bornstein (1989), however, stated that most plants from the Lesser Antilles have sericeous young parts, but this is not confirmed by my examination of many specimens. This taxon is nevertheless probably greatly under-recorded. Cultivated in at least Dominican Republic, Florida, and Hawaii.

  • Common Names

    Silver-leaved buttonwood

  • Distribution

    Bahia Brazil South America| Anguilla South America| Yucatán Mexico North America| Campeche Mexico North America| Oaxaca Mexico North America| Sinaloa Mexico North America| Nayarit Mexico North America| Florida United States of America North America| Carazo Nicaragua Central America| Belize Belize Central America| Corozal Belize Central America| Stann Creek Belize Central America| Guanacaste Costa Rica Central America| La Unión El Salvador Central America| San Miguel El Salvador Central America| San Vicente El Salvador Central America| Choluteca Honduras Central America| Islas de la Bahía Honduras Central America| Valle Honduras Central America| Chinandega Nicaragua Central America| León Nicaragua Central America| Manabí Ecuador South America| Hanover Jamaica South America| Barahona Dominican Republic South America| New Providence Bahamas South America| Cienfuegos Cuba South America| Monte Cristi Dominican Republic South America| Clarendon Jamaica South America| Ouest Haiti South America| Crooked Island Bahamas South America| Grand Cayman Cayman Islands South America| Mayaguana Bahamas South America| Little Cayman Cayman Islands South America| Little Cayman Cayman Islands South America|