Monographs Details:
Authority:
Luteyn, James L. 1983. Ericaceae--part I. Cavendishia. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 35: 1-290. (Published by NYBG Press)
Luteyn, James L. 1983. Ericaceae--part I. Cavendishia. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 35: 1-290. (Published by NYBG Press)
Family:
Ericaceae
Ericaceae
Description:
Species Description - Epiphytic shrub, completely glabrous; stems terete or subterete, smooth to striate, grayish- or reddish-brown; bark cracking longitudinally. Leaves lance-elliptic to ovate-lanceolate, 6.5-10(-15) x 2.5-4(-5.5) cm, basally short- or long-attenuate, or sometimes cuneate, lamina often conspicuously involute causing petioles to appear winged, apically bluntly acuminate; 3-5-plinerved from at or near base, midrib slightly thickened proximally and impressed above, inner pair of lateral nerves impressed to midway becoming plane to slightly raised distally, outer pair plane to slightly raised, reticulate veinlets raised above, all nerves conspicuously raised beneath; petioles subterete, rugose, 4-9 mm long and 1.52 mm in diam. Inflorescence 20-35-flowered, racemose although rarely once-branched at base; rachis subterete, smooth or striate, 13-17 cm long and 1.5-2 mm in basal diam.; floral bracts caducous, somewhat cucullate, oblong, 2.5-3 (-7) X 3 mm, apically rounded, green; pedicels subterete often sharply angled, thin, 10-18 mm long and 0.5 mm diam.; bracteoles ovate to hemispheric, 0.2 mm long, marginally bearing stout sessile fimbriae ca. 0.2 mm long, these fimbriae often fusing laterally. Flowers: calyx 2.7-3.3 mm long; hypanthium campanulate, smooth, 1.2-2.2 mm long, basally rounded; limb erecto-patent, 1.2-1.6 mm long; lobes apiculate, deltoid, 0.2-0.6 mm long, ± connivent after anthesis, marginally with one large oblong to crescent-shaped callose gland on each side often obscuring the lobe itself; sinus complanate or broadly rounded; corolla cylindric to conical-cylindric, basally swollen, 7-10(-11) mm long, when fresh "red" or whitish at base and purplish-violet distally, lobes triangular, 0.6-1 mm long, reflexed at anthesis; stamens 6.3-8.2 mm long; filaments usually distinct, but fused at very base in Luteyn & Lebrón-Luteyn 7224, glabrous or weakly pilose along margin, alternately 1.2-2 mm and 2.2-3 mm long; anthers alternately 5.6-6.8 mm and 4.7-5.5 mm long; thecae alternately 1.7-2 mm and 1.3-1.7 mm long; style 8-9 mm long, usually exserted at anthesis. Mature berry not seen.
Species Description - Epiphytic shrub, completely glabrous; stems terete or subterete, smooth to striate, grayish- or reddish-brown; bark cracking longitudinally. Leaves lance-elliptic to ovate-lanceolate, 6.5-10(-15) x 2.5-4(-5.5) cm, basally short- or long-attenuate, or sometimes cuneate, lamina often conspicuously involute causing petioles to appear winged, apically bluntly acuminate; 3-5-plinerved from at or near base, midrib slightly thickened proximally and impressed above, inner pair of lateral nerves impressed to midway becoming plane to slightly raised distally, outer pair plane to slightly raised, reticulate veinlets raised above, all nerves conspicuously raised beneath; petioles subterete, rugose, 4-9 mm long and 1.52 mm in diam. Inflorescence 20-35-flowered, racemose although rarely once-branched at base; rachis subterete, smooth or striate, 13-17 cm long and 1.5-2 mm in basal diam.; floral bracts caducous, somewhat cucullate, oblong, 2.5-3 (-7) X 3 mm, apically rounded, green; pedicels subterete often sharply angled, thin, 10-18 mm long and 0.5 mm diam.; bracteoles ovate to hemispheric, 0.2 mm long, marginally bearing stout sessile fimbriae ca. 0.2 mm long, these fimbriae often fusing laterally. Flowers: calyx 2.7-3.3 mm long; hypanthium campanulate, smooth, 1.2-2.2 mm long, basally rounded; limb erecto-patent, 1.2-1.6 mm long; lobes apiculate, deltoid, 0.2-0.6 mm long, ± connivent after anthesis, marginally with one large oblong to crescent-shaped callose gland on each side often obscuring the lobe itself; sinus complanate or broadly rounded; corolla cylindric to conical-cylindric, basally swollen, 7-10(-11) mm long, when fresh "red" or whitish at base and purplish-violet distally, lobes triangular, 0.6-1 mm long, reflexed at anthesis; stamens 6.3-8.2 mm long; filaments usually distinct, but fused at very base in Luteyn & Lebrón-Luteyn 7224, glabrous or weakly pilose along margin, alternately 1.2-2 mm and 2.2-3 mm long; anthers alternately 5.6-6.8 mm and 4.7-5.5 mm long; thecae alternately 1.7-2 mm and 1.3-1.7 mm long; style 8-9 mm long, usually exserted at anthesis. Mature berry not seen.
Discussion:
The occurrence of Ericaceae as epiphytes in mangrove swamps is very rare and only the following species have been collected in this habitat: Anthopterus wardii Ball, Cavendishia palustris A. C. Smith, C. callista Donn.-Sm., Macleania pentaptera Hoerold, Psammisia occidentalis A. C. Smith, Sphyrospermum cordifolium Bentham (listed as S. majus Grisebach by Smith, 1946), and Thibaudia pachypoda A. C. Smith.Cavendishia palustris is poorly represented in herbaria and many additional collections are needed in order to understand its variability. Three of the collections cited, Forero et al. 3189, Gentry & Fallen 17826, and Luteyn & Lebrón-Luteyn 6959, are placed here with some reservation. They are insufficient for positive identification but appear morphologically closest to C. palustris. The bracteoles of C. palustris are very small and often appear to have a continuous marginal gland. Closer examination, however, indicates that the fimbriae have fused laterally to form a pseudo-continuous marginal gland.The Triana 2695 collection was collected at “2100 mets.” according to the label. Seemingly this is much too high an elevation for this species, and I suspect an error in label transcription.The interspecific relationships of C. palustris are discussed under C. isernii.
The occurrence of Ericaceae as epiphytes in mangrove swamps is very rare and only the following species have been collected in this habitat: Anthopterus wardii Ball, Cavendishia palustris A. C. Smith, C. callista Donn.-Sm., Macleania pentaptera Hoerold, Psammisia occidentalis A. C. Smith, Sphyrospermum cordifolium Bentham (listed as S. majus Grisebach by Smith, 1946), and Thibaudia pachypoda A. C. Smith.Cavendishia palustris is poorly represented in herbaria and many additional collections are needed in order to understand its variability. Three of the collections cited, Forero et al. 3189, Gentry & Fallen 17826, and Luteyn & Lebrón-Luteyn 6959, are placed here with some reservation. They are insufficient for positive identification but appear morphologically closest to C. palustris. The bracteoles of C. palustris are very small and often appear to have a continuous marginal gland. Closer examination, however, indicates that the fimbriae have fused laterally to form a pseudo-continuous marginal gland.The Triana 2695 collection was collected at “2100 mets.” according to the label. Seemingly this is much too high an elevation for this species, and I suspect an error in label transcription.The interspecific relationships of C. palustris are discussed under C. isernii.
Distribution:
Colombia South America| Chocó Colombia South America| Valle Colombia South America|
Colombia South America| Chocó Colombia South America| Valle Colombia South America|
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