Luma chequen (Molina) A.Gray

  • Authority

    Landrum, Leslie R. 1986. Campomanesia, Pimenta, Blepharocalyx, Legrandia, Acca, Myrrhinium, and Luma (Myrtaceae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 45: 1-178. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Myrtaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Luma chequen (Molina) A.Gray

  • Type

    Type. Illustration and description of Feuillée in J. obs.

  • Synonyms

    Eugenia chequen Molina, Myrtus chequen O.Berg, Eugenia gayana Barnéoud, Myrtus uliginosa Miq., Myrtus uliginosa f. major Miq., Myrtus gayana O.Berg, Eugenia bella Phil., Eugenia pulchra O.Berg, Eugenia myrtomimeta Diels, Luma gayana (Barnéoud) Burret, Myrceugenella chequen (Molina) Kausel, Myrceugenella gayana (Barnéoud) Kausel, Myrceugenella langerfeldtii Kausel, Myrceugenella chequen var. myrtomimeta (Diels) Kausel

  • Description

    Species Description - Shrub or small tree up to ca. 9 m high, the bark greyish-brown; hairs whitish, 0.1-0.5 mm long; young twigs glabrous to densely puberulent, usually densely glandular, yellowish-brown or light reddish-brown, becoming brownish-grey with age. Leaves elliptic, ovate or lanceolate, rarely suborbicular, 0.5-2.5(-4) cm long, 0.4-1.5(-l.8) cm wide, 1.3-3 times as long as wide, glabrous or puberulent along the midvein and margins below; apex acute or scarcely acuminate, with or without an apiculum ca. 0.5 mm long; base acute to rounded; petiole 0.5-2 mm long, 0.51 mm wide, densely puberulent to glabrous; midvein flat or only slightly impressed above, prominent below; lateral veins indistinct or a few pairs faintly visible; marginal veins equalling laterals in prominence; blades submembranous to subcoriaceous, drying greyish-green, somewhat darker above than below, normally strongly glandular, the margins revolute or not. Peduncle uniflorous, 0.5-2.5 cm long, ca. 0.5 mm wide, glabrous to sparsely puberulent; bracteoles linear, 1-2 mm long, 0.2-0.3 mm wide, puberulent, normally deciduous before anthesis; Calyx-lobes concave, ovate-orbicular, 1.8-3.2 cm long, 2-3 cm wide, ca. 1-1.5 times as long as wide, ciliate, glandular; petals suborbicular, ca. 4-7 mm long, ciliate or glabrous; hypanthium glabrous to sparsely puberulent, glandular, infundibular, 2-3 mm long, the sides concave; disk ca. 2-3 mm across, raised only slightly in the center after the petals and stamens fall; stamens ca. 90-230, ca. 3-7 mm long; anthers ca. 3-5 mm long; style ca. 7 mm long, normally glabrous; ovary 2-locular; ovules 6-11 per locule. Fruit subglobose, 0.6-1 cm in diam., dark purple. Seeds 1-9 per fruit, 3-5 mm long.

  • Discussion

    Apparently the first published account of Luma chequen was Feuillee’s (1725), in which he described and illustrated the species and reported its medicinal uses. Molina (1810) first gave the species a binomial, Eugenia chequen, and cited Feuillee’s work. Because Molina left no type specimen, Eugenia chequen should be typified by Feuillee’s illustration and description. Sprengel (1825) cited both Molina and Feuillee, but transferred the species to Myrtus. When Gray transferred the species to Luma, he apparently thought that the plants of Molina and Sprengel were different, because he specifically excluded Eugenia chequen Molina while accepting Myrtus chequen Sprengel. But because Molina’s and Sprengel’s species are homotypic synonyms, Luma chequen is a new combination of the first binomial, E. chequen Molina.

    In the southern part of its range Luma chequen is small-leaved and has traditionally been given a different name (Eugenia gayana, or its equivalent in Myrtus, Luma, or Myrceugenella). There is essentially no other difference between the southern and the northern populations and the variation is continuous, so I have reduced L. gayana to synonymy under L. chequen.

    Populations of Luma chequen in Peru and Bolivia are probably introduced. McVaugh (1958) has expressed the same opinion about L. chequen in Peru. My reasons for believing this are: (1) the species is cultivated as well as growing wild near Tarma, Peru (pers. obs.) and some labels mention that it is cultivated or growing near houses in Peru and Bolivia; (2) the common name in Tarma is “arrayan” (i.e., a Spanish rather than an Indian name); (3) the plant is known in Perú and Bolivia for its medicinal properties; and (4) the species was not collected in Perú or Bolivia before about 1900. Probably L. chequen was first introduced to Lima for its medicinal properties or ornamental uses and then was transferred to other areas. It seems to thrive near Tarma in a climate not unlike the mountains of central Chile.

    Luma chequen has been known for its medicinal properties at least since Feuillée (1725). Rusby (1935) reports that Parke, Davis and Co. imported dried leaves from Chile in the late 19th century. I do not know how it was utilized by them, but according to M. Muñoz et al. (1981) the species has several uses in traditional medicine, among which are the following: as a treatment for blennorrheas and leucorrheas; the sap from the stems mixed with water is used against eye infections; an infusion of leaves used as a tea acts as an expectorant and stops coughing, stimulates the appetite, and helps digestion, or used as an enema cures diarrhea; and the buds in a bath relieve pains.

  • Common Names

    Chequen, arrayan bianco, arrayán

  • Distribution

    A small tree or shrub in Chile from Coquimbo to Llanquihue. Typically growing in habitats that are continually wet such as stream beds, marshes, and the edges of lakes, often in association with Juncus.

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